Also known as: Partner Competition, Affiliate Leaderboard, IB Campaign
An IB contest is a time-boxed competition a broker runs among its Introducing Brokers and affiliates, ranking them on a metric such as client trading volume, net new active clients, or total deposits, with prizes for the top of the leaderboard. It is a gamified incentive to make partners scale their marketing in a defined window.
The mechanic works because it stacks a short-term, winner-takes-more reward on top of the partner's ordinary rebate. A partner already earning per-lot commission now has an extra reason to activate dormant clients and launch campaigns during, say, a 90-day contest. Brokers use this to compress a quarter's growth into a burst.
Prizes range from cash added to the withdrawable wallet to luxury items and travel. A typical structure might award a car and an all-expenses trip to the first-place partner, cash bonuses of $5,000 to $20,000 for the next tier, and gadgets or contest-only rebate boosts further down the leaderboard.
Winning delivers more than the prize. A top finish is prestige a partner can show their audience, and it hands them leverage to negotiate a permanently better rebate rate, because they have proven they can move volume. The contest is therefore both a sprint reward and a long-term positioning tool.
The broker defines the metric, the window, and the leaderboard, for example highest aggregate client trading volume over three months. Partners are ranked live in the portal, and prizes are awarded at the end to the top positions. Some contests add tiers so mid-ranked partners still win something, which keeps a wider field engaged.
For the partner, winning is about front-loading. Because early leaderboard position attracts attention and momentum, the effective strategy is to launch the largest campaigns and reactivation blasts at the start of the window rather than pacing evenly. The partner tracks their rank daily and pushes hardest where the gap to the next prize tier is closable.
Confirm exactly what is scored, such as volume, new active clients, or deposits, and the qualifying window and any minimum thresholds.
Launch your biggest promotions and email reactivations at the start to build an early leaderboard lead and momentum.
Re-engage inactive referrals with education and offers, since reactivation often lifts scored volume faster than net-new acquisition.
Monitor the live leaderboard and concentrate effort where the gap to the next prize tier is realistically closable.
Use a top finish and its proof of volume to negotiate a permanently higher rebate rate after the contest.
Why it matters for partnership: IB contests let partners earn outsized rewards for a marketing sprint they were partly doing anyway, and a top finish becomes leverage to negotiate a permanently higher rebate. Timing your biggest campaigns to a contest window can turn ordinary volume into cash, prizes, and prestige.
A broker runs a three-month IB contest scored on aggregate client trading volume; first place wins a luxury car plus an all-expenses trip. An IB front-loads a reactivation email campaign in week one, moves 12 dormant clients back to active, and finishes second, earning a $15,000 cash bonus and using the result to negotiate his rebate from $6 to $7 per lot for the following year.
| Factor | IB contest | Standard rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Timeframe | Fixed window (1-3 months) | Continuous |
| Reward | Prizes for top ranks | Per-lot commission on all volume |
| Who benefits | Top of the leaderboard | Every active partner |
| Strategic value | Prestige and rate leverage | Predictable baseline income |
Schedule your largest campaigns and reactivation email blasts for the first days of the contest window to seize an early leaderboard lead and the momentum that follows it.
Pushing clients to overtrade purely to climb the leaderboard, which produces high churn and lasting reputational damage that outweighs any prize you win.
Prizes can be cash credited to your withdrawable wallet, luxury items such as cars or watches, or travel packages, depending on the broker's terms.
Most rank partners by client trading volume, number of new active clients, or total deposits generated within the contest window.
Not always; contests with tiered prizes reward mid-ranked partners too, and reactivating existing clients can lift your score without new acquisition.
No. The contest is the competition; the gala dinner is often the ceremony where winners and top partners are recognized and rewarded.
Yes, a strong finish proves you can move volume and gives you evidence to negotiate a permanently higher rebate or revenue-share tier.
Inducing overtrading is both a compliance and reputational risk; focus on genuine reactivation and education rather than encouraging clients to trade beyond their plan.