The challenges with financial incentives that relate to problem-solving roles, and how we can truly drive innovation
How do you create better problem solvers? Spoiler: It isn’t financial incentives
Three signs that your Sales Plans aren’t working effectively
2023 is likely to be a year of challenges for many companies with economic headwinds forcing leaders to regularly adjust their expectations. Most would agree, it's probably not the best time to be a salesperson, but this is also precisely the time that companies need their best sellers to stick around. Generally speaking, adjusting plans... Continue Reading →
What do we mean by compensation cost of sales?
"Yeah, fugazi, fogazi. It’s a wazi, it’s a woozi. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist, it’s never landed, it is no matter, it’s not on the elemental charge" It may seem like fugazi but Compensation Cost of Sales (CCOS) could be the difference between sales plan success and failure. In simple terms, CCOS is the... Continue Reading →
You say SPIFFs, they say SPIVS, I say spiffs, let’s call the whole thing off
Actually, no, let's not call the whole thing off, let's clear this up once and for all. Many people capitalize spiffs claiming it to be an acronym for "Special Purpose Incentive for Field Force" or any one of several possible acronyms. Let's be clear - it does not stand for ANYTHING. At best it is... Continue Reading →
Thresholds or: Why I learned to stop worrying and love first dollar
The debate around the use of thresholds is perennial and it's fair to say that it's one of the areas of sales comp where common practice varies a fair amount. The argument in favor of a threshold goes something like this - "why would I pay a salesperson to underachieve? We'll create a minimum level... Continue Reading →
A quibble with quotas
This week I received an interesting query, asking if I had any market sales quota data that could be used to assess if quotas were reasonable or not. I found this a particularly interesting query. Firstly because I was curious to understand why they felt that market data would help them assess the effectiveness of... Continue Reading →
Sales Incentive Plan Nightmares or: The Perfection of Imperfection
In theory, SIP design is fairly straightforward, pick the measures, design the mechanics, implement. Easy, right? Wrong. All too often the process can leave even the most resilient of problem-solvers a broken, battered, husk of the consultant they once were, clawing at the walls of the sales incentive prison they have created for themselves.¹ Now, some... Continue Reading →