Many companies focus on marketing and sales. After all, marketing helps you understand on your markets, find prospects, and communicate your message so that they become receptive to your products and services. Sales uncovers prospects’ needs, develops solutions and drives revenue by applying those solutions to meet the customers’ needs. However, once the sale is […]
Read more...No sales representative earns his or her base salary for just “showing up.” Your sales compensation plan needs to specify clearly the activities for which reps are paid a base salary. Here’s some language I’ve used in the past: Base salary is paid for the timely and accurate completion of administrative and other tasks associated […]
Read more...The debate is ongoing about what percentage of total compensation should be base vs. commissions. Ideally, you want to pay enough base salary so that your sales rep doesn’t need to worry about meeting basic obligations such as food, rent/mortgage and car payments. But you want to avoid paying too much. You don’t want your […]
Read more...Here’s a false argument: Hiring straight commission sales reps can reduce your cost of sales and motivate reps. I’ve often heard business leaders say, “Let’s hire reps at 100% commission. If they don’t work out, we’ll replace them and they haven’t cost us a penny.” Even at 100% commission, bringing new sales reps into a […]
Read more...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.” Sounds too good to be true, huh? Well it is, because you usually “get what you pay for.” Let’s look closely […]
Read more...Many commissions plans are easy to understand and easy to administer. Basically, they pay a percentage of revenue or gross profit for every sale. The plans encourage sales reps to sell as much as they can, driving revenue and growth for the company. When paying sales commissions, the company simply multiplies the total sales the […]
Read more...A territory plan is a sales rep’s individual strategic plan. It’s also a roadmap. It tells the sales rep where to go (goals) and how to get there (action plan). A territory plan is an essential operating tool for a sales rep and an essential management tool for a sales leader. Without it, your reps […]
Read more...Your company’s sales strategy is complete. You’ve identified the market segments and the types of companies you want to reach. You know what offerings you want to sell. You’ve got a clear message. All your sales tools and marketing programs are in place. You’re ready to go. But what about your sales reps? Without them […]
Read more...I’ve seen it many times. Perhaps you have too. Sales teams can’t find the business they know is out there. They can’t reach their prospects. Or, they reach prospects who never become customers. Or, their message is not compelling enough to get through. Often, the problem isn’t with sales. The problem is poor marketing. In […]
Read more...Great sales teams have great support! Support means more than just a good product, a phone list and a commission plan. Great support provides your sales team with the tools they need to sell effectively – goals, plans, training, systems, processes, and collateral, to name just a few. At Wallace Management Group, we work with […]
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