(.)

Sales Compensation

Most companies use the same basic compensation structure as the other businesses in their industry. Quotas, commission levels, incentives –- they vary little from one firm to another. If asked why they were set up that way, most managers would be hard-pressed to come up with a good explanation.

The way salespeople conduct themselves is often a reflection of the company's sales compensation program; and how well the company does is often a reflection of the effectiveness of its commission program. A well designed sales compensation program focuses salespeople on activities that support the company's business objectives, and, in turn, rewards those salespeople for their contributions.

Base salary, commissions, and sales prizes make up the bulk of a typical salesperson's compensation package, but the specifics vary by industry. Stock options grants to salespeople are becoming more widespread too.

Rich's Recommended Web Sites

Compensation Resources, Inc.

CRI specializes in providing comprehensive Compensation and Human Resource consulting services including executive compensation, sales compensation, salary administration, performance management and litigation support.

http://compensationresources.com/Services/sales-compensation.php

CompensationMaster

CompensationMaster provides a powerful approach to compensating sales associates and other revenue providers that accelerates revenue, motivates your sales force, and builds long-term, sustainable profit into your business. More importantly, you can better meet the needs of your sales force.

http://www.compensationmaster.com/resources.html

CellarStone Inc.

CellarStone Inc., a provider of software products announces the release of QCommission 3.0, a flexible sales commission solution for small to mid size companies.

http://www.qcommission.com/articles/index.htm

Rich's Recommended Reading List

Compensating New Sales Roles by Jerome A. Colletti & Mary S. Fiss

The Sales Compensation Handbook by Stockton B. Colt

Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace by Thomas B. Wilson

Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results by Paul R. Niven

The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation: How to Design And Implement Plans That Work by Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha, Sally E. Lorimer

This one is good too, if you can find it:

Incentive Compensation Strategies for the New Millennium by Rami Loya

Buy these books from Amazon.com

Have a question about this topic?

Then please just email me your question! If the answer is short & sweet, I will pop you back an answer. If the question requires further research, I will look into it and post the reply on my blog, AskRichBohn.com, to share with others. As always, you can email me at rich@sellmorenow.com !