Dave Kahle Wisdom

Are you paying them to do what you want them to do?

sales team training

Call 616-451-9377 or use the Contact Us button.

Revising a sales force compensation plan is a highly risky endeavor. Reduce your risk and tap into our expertise.

 

Are you paying them to do what you want them to do?

Unfortunately, the answer for most sales force compensation plans is “NO.”

A sales force compensation plan is the biggest single line item on your P&L statement, typically costing you around 25 – 30% of your gross profit. A well -crafted compensation plan can attract the right sales people, stimulate revenues, keep your top performers happy, make management’s job easier and allow you to strategically direct the sales force.

Yet few companies have rarely looked at the strategic implications of their pay plans.

Revising a sales force compensation plan is a highly risky endeavor.  A mistake can cost you thousands of dollars of inappropriate expenses, contribute to lost opportunities and frustrate the sales staff. It’s too big and important a piece of your sales system to attempt to do it yourself.  Reduce your risk and tap into our expertise.

We have coached dozens of companies through the process of creating a win/win sales compensation plan.

Let us send you our ten-step process for helping you refine your sales compensation plan and provide you a custom quote.

Articles on sales force compensation

Myths of Sales Management: The Entrepreneurial Salesperson
I just had a phone conversation with a client who had a familiar story to tell. He had built his business on the model of an entrepreneurial sales force. Give them a territory, pay them straight commission, and tell them they are in business for themselves, free to develop the customers they chose with the products they wanted. And for a couple decades it had worked well. {read more}

Sales Management Myths: Straight Commission
I had just hung up from a phone conversation with one of my clients. He was commiserating with me on the sorry state of his sales force. He had a group of seasoned, experienced salespeople, each of whom was making a good income on a 100% commission sales compensation program. The problem was he couldn’t get them to promote new products or seek new customers. They were content to stay within their comfort zones of established customers and familiar products… {read more}

Is it Time to Revise Your Sales Force Compensation Program?
If you’re paying your sales reps straight commission, you’re using an obsolete formula. If you’re paying your sales reps a straight salary, you’re also using an obsolete formula. {read more}

How to Get ‘Em to Do What You Want ‘Em to Do
A few years ago, it was OK to direct your salespeople to “Go forth and sell a lot, “but today that direction is not sufficient. Successful sales management in the approaching 21st Century world requires a more sophisticated answer from you. {read more}

 

Q & A from Dave Kahle

We are intent on revising our decades-old sales force compensation program. Management is divided. One half favors straight commission, and the other doesn’t. What are your thoughts?
In my work as a sales consultant, I am routinely involved in helping my clients revise their sales compensation programs. My company, on almost any day of the week, has an open compensation plan project that we are working on for some client. I say that to let you know that I have extensive experience with sales force compensation programs. The ideas that I am going to share with you arise out of this extensive experience. In my career as a salesperson, I loved straight commission…. (Read more)

I’m finding it difficult to manage my salespeople in our straight commission environment. Any suggestions as to how I can get them to do what I want them to do?
I spent much of my adult life as a salesperson working on 100% commission. I would not have had it any other way. However, as a consultant and sales educator, I’m generally not in favor of 100% commission programs. Here’s why: It is difficult to more finely direct a sales force when you pay them 100% commission. You can ask them to do anything, but if it doesn’t allow them to make more money right away, it probably won’t get done. For example, you can ask your salespeople to prospect for new accounts…. (Read more)

Call 616-451-9377 or use the Contact Us button.

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