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Motivation
What is the ideal quota attainment distribution?
This is a topic on which sales leaders and finance people have strong opinions. While I’ll discuss some of the nuances around the topic below, my bottom line is that most people should achieve or exceed quota.
There is a lot of press now about curbing incentives. Do incentives actually work?
A well designed incentive usually requires (1) a performance standard (some say quota, others say productivity expectation or goal); and (2) a good tracking and reporting system (have to keep up with it if we’re going to pay on it).
Can sales quotas hurt productivity? Stanford’s Graduate School of Business says so…
October 2009 – New research indicates that, “Eliminating sales quotas boosts company profits says Professor Harikesh Nair. In one case, the new sales compensation plan without quotas resulted in a 9% improvement in overall revenues…”
Do sales incentives actually motivate people for the long run?
Regarding whether or not incentives actually help at all, the best piece I’ve read on the subject is Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation by Cameron and Pierce. The key points relevant to sales compensation design from the book are…
Are there any design principles you recommend I use to differentiate between existing products to new customers and new business/new products?
Generally a sales comp plan may pay differently for new products or new accounts in order to recognize a few typical characteristics of these sales:
What is your advice “sales compensation” for non-profits (e.g., underwriters in non-commercial radio)?
In the non-commercial radio world, there is a role that is referred to as underwriting staff. They go out and solicit contributions from businesses for a mention on the air. It is basically sales in the non-profit broadcasting business…