Multiple channels exist for bringing your products and services to market – inside sales, dealers and distributors, and direct sales. Is one channel preferred over another? Can you use multiple channels simultaneously? Can the different channels support one another? Channel Preference Different channels efficiently address different markets and situations. Inside sales teams effectively sell commodity-like [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Sales category.
Negotiating Job Offers
When you bring new sales reps on board, you need to negotiate job offers. To drive a successful outcome, there are a number of principles and strategies to keep in mind as you negotiate. Negotiation Basics Define the limits of your offer before you begin a negotiation. Understand what your goals are, the value of [...]
What Support Should I Give My Sales Force?
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. [...]
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, [...]
Designing Your Sales Compensation Plan
As discussed in “Sales Compensation Plan – Goals” (10/22/09), your sales compensation plan needs to be based on achieving specific goals – corporate, personal and sales team retention. To design your plan, you will incorporate compensation elements such as quotas, awards, bonuses and commission payments that motivate your sales personnel to achieve the plan’s goals. [...]
Sales Compensation Plan – Why Pay a Base Salary?
In today’s economy, I see many postings by companies looking to hire sales professionals on straight commission. Their logic is that if a sales representative is good, the rep will have no problem “eating what they kill.” Straight-commission sales reps are inexpensive to bring on board, do not add to your company’s overhead, and are [...]
Sales Compensation Plan – Goals
Overview Your sales compensation plan needs to motivate your sales representatives to accomplish three goals: Achieve your corporate revenue goals Realize their personal and professional goals Want to work for you and your company In addition, the sales compensation plan should enable you to attract new sales reps as your organization grows. How do you [...]
