Honor and glory typically go to the soldiers on the front line. In business, the front-line soldiers are your sales force. Sales reps are in the field working with your customers, understanding their needs, developing solutions, selling your products and services. Your sales reps drive revenue every day. But, can they do it alone? No. [...]
Archive of entries posted on November 2009
When Should I Expand My Sales Force?
To determine when to expand your sales force, you need to ask yourself two questions: “What can I afford?” and “What can the market support?” What Can I Afford? Sales reps produce revenue. They prospect for customers, present your products and solutions, and close deals. The more sales reps you hire, the more revenue you [...]
Sales Compensation Plan – Draw Against Commission
When you bring a new sales representative into a territory, he will often ask about a “draw.” The first time you hear the term, you may not know what it is or why it’s important. A draw is a pay advance against expected earnings or commissions. It can be important to both your sales representative [...]
Sales Compensation Plan – Terms and Conditions
Most sales reps and managers focus on the commissions section of the sales compensation plan. This is where your sales rep figures out how much he or she can make – “if I sell x dollars of revenue, I’ll make y dollars in commissions.” It’s equally important to understand the terms and conditions section of [...]
Sales Compensation Plan – Variable Compensation
The variable compensation portion of your sales compensation plan can be made up of three components: commissions, bonuses and performance awards. Commissions are earnings tied to sales. The more sales your sales representative makes, the more commissions the sales representative earns. Bonuses are earnings tied to pre-defined goals. You may pay bonuses for surpassing quota, [...]
