Making your numbers . . . better.

The Cygnal Group Principals Ink Book Deal with WorldatWork

The Cygnal Group announced today that firm principals Donya Rose and Beth Carroll have signed a contract to write a book on the topic of sales compensation.

The Cygnal Group Welcomes Brenda Rodriguez-Maldonado

The Cygnal Group, a sales compensation consulting firm with offices in Chapel Hill and Chicago, announced recently that Brenda Rodriguez-Maldonado has joined the company as a Managing Consultant.

Incentive Plans Must be Well-Documented to Prevent Costly Confusion

The Logistics Journal, March 2010 – The joke goes that the majority of incentive plans are drawn up by the company president and sales director hastily over cocktails and written on a napkin. While most incentive compensation plans have a bit more thought put into them than this…

The cost of sales compensation vs. productivity over time

Over time, sales people should see their earnings increase with the labor market while their productivity increases at a faster rate, resulting in a reduced compensation cost as a percent of sales.

Cygnal Group Consultants Earn Certified Sales Compensation Professional™ Designation

The Cygnal Group, a sales compensation consulting firm with offices in Chapel Hill and Chicago, announced today that firm managing principal Donya Rose and consultant Marieke Pieterman have earned Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP) status.

Rewarding Behaviors vs. Rewarding Results — Results!

WorldatWork Sales Compensation Focus, March 2010 — “You get what you pay for.” If you pay for behaviors, you’re very likely to get them; if you pay for results, you will improve the chances of getting the needed results significantly.

Donya Rose featured in WorldatWork announcement regarding new CSCP designation

March 2010 — WorldatWork has just launched the new CSCP designation. Donya was quoted in the WorldatWork announcement and featured in a video about the importance of a sales compensation specialty.

How do we establish the right pay mix (fixed/variable)?

To establish pay mix for a sales role, the primary consideration is role prominence. As you increase the base pay, you lose motivation; as you increase variable pay, you lose control. How do you find the right balance? (Talking Slide Show, 10:37, 5 slides)

Who should be involved in designing your sales compensation plans?

To design great plans, and ensure good buy-in, we suggest you include a Steering Committee, a Design Team, and a Technology Team. If you are changing your plans much, a Challenge Team is a good idea too. (Talking Slide Show, 3:52, 3 slides)

Linking Performance Management and Incentive Pay

WorldatWork Sales Compensation Quarterly, Q2 2009 — Incentive Pay and performance management are often managed by different parts of an organization without much thought given to how performance management can work with incentives to increase sales force performance…