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YourSalesManagementGuru by Ken Thoreson, Acumen Management Group

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Sales Commissions and Sales Contests

I am speaking this week in Atlanta at a national conference on the topic of sales compensation during challenging times. One of my beliefs is compensation must be strategic and aligned with the goals of the corporation. If your objectives are changing or because of challenging times you are still using the same compensation plan from previous years, consider several ideas:

  1. Build in a team compensation model; where if the team exceeds a quarterly target, pay a bonus. The bonus is paid out based upon per/person contribution. This helps everyone work together to attain the 'company' number.
  2. Build a sales contest now to increase pipeline values and activity to ensure you have a summer full of sales opportunities. Run it for May/June with the rewards non-cash incentives. Send me an e-mail for a free idea.
  3. Create a year-long sales incentive contest based upon a quota for the salesperson to win. If they achieve 115 percent, then their spouse/friend can attend. (cruise/golf resort). All the winning salespeople would attend at the same time/location. Create a theme for the trip; this will give you a common message for the remainder of the year.
  4. Create a companywide contest linking teams of sales/admin/technical teams together to compete for most leads, most sales dollars, most net new accounts. Get your entire organization charged up.

Competition can be fun!

Posted by Ken Thoreson on April 21, 2009


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