To better understand the extent of the problem, in 2023 our research team conducted interviews with 38 salespeople, sales leaders, and C-suite leaders in 19 industries ranging from pest control to heavy equipment manufacturing to software and financial services. During those conversations, we heard 64 distinct examples of incentive-related cheating and identified common ways salespeople game their companies’ plans. We also conducted a poll of approximately 100 sales compensation professionals at a 2023 sales incentive conference and learned that 83% struggled to prevent salespeople from cheating.