In growing companies, one question tends to linger in the background until it suddenly becomes urgent: Who should manage sales commissions? Get it right, and your sales engine hums. Get it wrong, and you’re fielding complaints and risking missed targets. There’s no universal answer, but the right decision depends on your stage of growth and […]
How Balanced Sales Territories Can Unlock Higher Performance
Territory design shapes outcomes more than most sales leaders realize. When territories are uneven, reps get stretched or sidelined and quotas feel arbitrary. Balanced territories create a fair playing field that links effort to earnings. It raises morale and steadies growth. Below is a practical path to balanced design that your team can implement without […]
The Modern Guide to SPIFs: Short-Term Incentives That Actually Work
Sales leaders have been using SPIFs for decades, yet many still struggle to get them right.Some programs spark energy and results. Others waste money and create lasting headaches. The difference comes down to strategy, design, and timing. This guide explains how high-performing sales organizations approach SPIFs today – based on real-world practice. What a SPIF […]
Commission-Based Pay: How to Design, Manage, and Make It Work
In sales, money talks. For most salespeople, commission isn’t just a nice extra; it’s a central part of their income. The right commission structure can motivate performance, help retain high performers, and drive business growth. The wrong one can cause turnover and disputes. Designing a commission plan means more than picking a percentage. You have […]
The Power of Sales Compensation Analytics
Incentives are supposed to drive results. But in many organizations, sales compensation analytics become a monthly ritual of checking dashboards, nodding at charts, and moving on. Valuable data gets collected, yet rarely acted upon in a meaningful way. The truth is, sales comp analytics aren’t failing because they’re too complex. They’re failing because they’re being […]
Make vs. Buy: Valuable Lessons from a Commission Tracker Misstep That Led to Smarter Solutions
Three weeks. That’s how long it took to build a homemade commission tracker in Google Sheets. What began as a simple project—columns for rep names, deal values, and payout percentages—quickly spiraled into a patchwork of exceptions, edge cases, and Excel gymnastics. What followed is a lesson that speaks to a question every business eventually faces: […]
Driving Growth with Sales Commissions: Transforming a Cost Center into a Revenue Engine
For most growth-focused businesses, sales commissions represent a significant portion of total revenue outlay. In fact, in many organizations, commissions can consume up to 20% of newly acquired revenue. This figure, while hefty, is often considered a necessary cost of doing business—an inevitable line item on the P&L. But this mindset undersells the strategic power […]
The Hidden Cost of Churn: Aligning Commission Structures
Customer churn is often treated as a problem for the customer success team to solve. When a client leaves, it’s seen as a service or product issue, not a sales issue. But what if the very structure of your sales incentives is part of the problem? Most organizations are acutely aware of how churn impacts […]
On-Target Earnings vs. Direct Commission
Compare OTE and Direct Commission to select the best sales compensation strategy.
Uncovering Hidden Risks in Your Sales Commission Process
Identify and address hidden risks to strengthen your sales commission system and enhance team performance.