Be a better compensation planner and implementer
Money is not everything. But every sales expert knows that having the proper monetary incentives in place will absolutely keep the team spirit alive, retain top talent and keep new business coming in the door. Here are seven helpful tips you can implement in your sales compensation plans to keep your salespeople motivated:
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Make it understandable
Don’t overcomplicate things that are straightforward. Keep it simple has become a mantra for sales compensation plans, and we have recommended this before. Good sales compensation plans are simple enough to be easily understood by salespeople. Have this in mind before adding in all sorts of variables and ties to your sales compensation plans. If your sales reps can’t understand their own pay, then you will end up with some trouble and employee rotation. Here are some ideas to make your commission plan less complex and easy to understand.
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Reward the team, not just individuals
Having good sales performance is a team effort. Therefore, it is important to have sales compensation plans that reward both individual accomplishments and team or company achievements. Compensating the team will make your salespeople perform better hoping not to let down other team members. Information will be shared more freely when sales compensation plans are designed to reward the whole team.
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Use metrics you can track
Don’t kill your sales compensation plans by using metrics that are difficult or impossible to measure. Avoid metrics that are subjective, incomplete, estimated and tend to change over time. Instead, look for something that will give you an accurate snapshot of your team. Accurate metrics in your sales compensation plans will provide you with important benchmarks for strategic planning. Metrics are key to understanding what your team is capable of.
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Automate your process
Having well-structured sales compensation plans with detailed processes is great but following them can become a pain. The solution is automation. Faster processes in your commission plans mean shorter sales cycles, faster time-to-revenue and less waiting on commission payment for your reps. Take manual and repetitive work away. Turn it into an easily automated workflow. A sales compensation software like Blitz is what will bring automation to the table and will maximize performance.
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Provide real-time visibility
A good practice in managing sales compensation plans is to allow your sales team to see real-time performance metrics. Let them know where they stand compared with their teammates. This leads to transparency and trust in the team, and it will ultimately change sales behaviors. Sales reps will close bigger deals faster, and sales managers will be able to measure their team’s performance. You can achieve real-time visibility in your sales compensation plans. Automate your processes with a sales commission tracking software like Blitz.
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It’s ok to make adjustments
Markets evolve rapidly, and we are pretty sure yours is constantly changing too. Regularly revise your sales compensation plans and do proper adjustments. These should respond to the evolving market. Consequently, you will have more chances to maximize effectiveness. You may want to perform adjustments if there’s a change in your sales strategy, go-to-market strategy or if your plan is not working as you expected. But, before performing any change give your current sales compensation plans a thorough evaluation.
At the end of the day, your compensation plans should be part of your strategy. Retain top talent, motivate your salespeople, and achieve overall company goals. A sales compensation software will provide the automation you need to run your sales compensation plans effectively. Blitz is here to set up your sales compensation plans to your specific sales department needs, no errors, no time wasted.