The sales force, no matter how it is configured, is a key element of any organization. However, we have found it is common for incentive plans not be aligned with the business strategy. The above, in many cases, can cause: friction between the sales force and Management, loss of potential sales, neglect of physical or virtual sales territories, penetration of competition, among others.
At Thomas More Management Consulting we have more than 20 years of experience creating successful Sales Compensation plans. The plans, tailored in each case, in multiple countries and sectors, seek to optimize the sales force and boost it to its full potential.
Our DNA of Sales Compensation© works in five blocks the necessary elements to configure the plans with a wide level of detail:
Alignment: this first block seeks a correct adjustment between the business strategy and the plans of the organization. The sales incentive plans must reinforce all behavior in the sense that they indicate, as well as, on the contrary, not do it with those behaviors that do not support them. For that, we examine the strategic and operational plans of the organization and carry out a design in accordance with them. Additionally, we analyze the sales roles: what function each member or groups of members of the sales force fulfill and we draw up plans for those roles. Finally, we select the indicators that are neuralgic correlated with the two previous sections.
Technical Design: once the general design has been verified, the technical design aims to define each element of the plans in a greater level of detail. For this, the payment system is examined, selecting the one that best fits for a correct addressing of the desired results. Pay mix is carefully chosen for each role and position, both horizontally and vertically. The formulas are designed for each case and desired behavior, and finally the sale is defined or when the payment is due
Technical Design-Measures of performance: Verified the general aspects of Technical Design, we enter the configuration of the tables, which pursue the establishment of the correct stimuli to optimize the results, combining the four fundamental measures: threshold, achivement, over-achivement and achivement in advance. For each position and role, specific combinations are selected depending on the case.
External Competitiveness and Internal Equity: these two elements, present in any compensation analysis, are part of the studies for the available information. Thus, for example, in terms of equity, the territories and the possibilities of achieving goals that allow an adequate balance of the sales force are examined, according to the needs of the case.
Governance: in general, there are two major categories of issues in the incentive plans: the design and government plans of the sales plan. Design issues are those that correspond to the previous sections mentioned. But the ongoing management of sales incentive plans is a vital aspect for the control of the process and its results. Thus, each document-incentive plan includes all the conceptual elements, payment formulas and achievements, tables, indicators with their descriptions, eligible jobs, payment tables, performance measures, general rules of administration and transfer, among others. Thomas More Management Consulting can also participate in quota allocation processes, a topic that is usually key to governments' incentive plans, as well as in the assignment of control indicators for plans that aim at their effectiveness.