Sales Compensation Blog

I was listening to the radio on the way into work the other morning and this economist was saying that what's wrong with the economy is this lack of trust. Basically, people don't trust each other and that's why they aren't lending or spending their money. Everyone is just holding onto their income and waiting.

It hit me that trust really is at the crux of a lot of things, not just the entire economy, but even in something as basic as sales compensation.

In sales organizations that lack trust, reps are pitted against their managers and finance teams at the end of every pay cycle calculating and re-calculating commissions earned, making sure they are getting the money they are owed. Time is wasted and reps aren't focused on their primary goal, selling. This back and forth between reps and managers or reps and finance doesn't build healthy and happy relationships within your organization and it is just a matter of time before either your top performing reps, your best manager, or your most important finance team member starts looking for an organization without all of the drama.

The goal in this economy especially for mid-sized companies, is to retain and motivate. You may not be able to keep every rep you have because there just aren't that many sales out there to be had, but you definitely want to keep the ones that have been performing for you over time. The way to retain and motivate sales teams is by building trust. Build trust by paying commissions correctly and on-time every time. Provide your sales teams with updated performance reports so issues like declining sales and a potential lack of motivation is noted early, before it's too late and your top performer has accepted a competitor's offer. And if you need to adjust your plans and re-align territories in order to help your top performers reach their goals, then, make those tough decisions now.