Situation: The CEO of a software company pays a high base and incentives for their key sales person. While this is in line with the company’s industry, the CEO wants the opinions of others as to the comp packages they offer and any controls that they put in place. What is an effective sales compensation plan?
Advice from the CEOs:
- While the paid seems high, your industry may be different from other industries. Most see a 50/50 split between base and incentive as the norm.
- Consider a draw system so that if the individual falls behind you have the option to reduce future draws.
- Look at both the compensation formulas, and at the individuals’ predilections and the behaviors that you want to generate. Compensation should align with desired behavior and results.
- Do you have bonus incentive plans in place for your sales support people? Consider these, and check whether the goals and objectives for your sales and support people complement each other. They should.
- Consider a discretionary bonus pot that you can use to reward specific achievements at your discretion.
- What will you do if your sales person performs significantly below target – for example, this person is only hitting 40% of the objective after 2-3 quarters?
- Consequences for non-performance should be clearly understood by both you and the employee before you launch any new plan with the individual.
- Whatever you decide for this person, you may well be setting a standard that you will have to live with as you hire additional sales personnel.
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