In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured expert Sally Stevens’ first six mistakes that incent the best salespeople to leave. Today, the rest of her top 10, including being a “DoGooder,” plus an introduction to the “audit-before-the-feds-do” system for preventing expensive pay mistakes.
Stevens is Vice President of R&D at Chally Group Worldwide, a global leadership, sales potential, and performance measurement firm.
[Go here for Mistakes 1 to 6]
MISTAKE 7: Being a Do-Gooder
Since most sales managers enjoy influencing other people, they tend to pride themselves on improvements they see in their sales forces. They have a natural tendency to spend too much time on individuals who are poor performers and, therefore, more in need of improvement. This tendency, popularly called “do-gooder” management, has no place in a successful incentive program. If you are a do-gooder, fight the urge to make special concessions to poor performers.
MISTAKE 8: Being Inflexible
Too often, contest rules and prize choices are clad in iron, and it becomes impossible to improvise rewards that may be more appropriate in a specific situation with a given winner, says Stevens.
For instance, a company once offered a top prize of a year’s use of an automobile. It was won by an antique buff who owned classic cars that were all more attractive and glamorous than the prize automobile. And because the car was a rental, it was not transferable. He had no cash value and gained no satisfaction from winning the prize.
MISTAKE 9: Hoping for X While Rewarding Z
Make sure to gear incentive rewards to reaching the company’s real goal. Many sales managers will talk about goal X but go on to design an incentive plan predicated on reaching goal Z, says Stevens.
For example, a sales manager kicks off a contest by telling salespeople they need to develop long-term customer relationships. Then the manager reveals that incentive points are based on the amount of sales dollars accumulated. This usually happens because Z is easier to evaluate than X and managers are afraid to try out an untested system.
The disconnect frustrates top salespeople.
Compensation.BLR.com, now thoroughly revamped with easier navigation and more complete compensation information, will tell you what’s being paid right in your state—or even metropolitan area—for hundreds of jobs. Try it at no cost and get a complimentary special report. Read more.
MISTAKE 10: Forgetting that Good Salespeople Always Work for Their Own Good First, Not the Company’s
Sales managers are usually paid a set salary and so are motivated by the prospect of promotion and advanced status in the company. They often forget that when a salesperson is not performing up to par, it is because he feels there is not enough in it for him or her. When choosing incentive awards, then, be sure to find out what would make it worth that salesperson’s while. Sales force input is crucial to all aspects of incentive planning, says Stevens.
In summary, says Stevens, the next time you find yourself planning an incentive contest, try a new approach. Imagine your salespeople as customers. Identify their needs and what segment of the force offers the most promise. Of course, don’t forget to figure in a profit for the company!
Sales compensation, just one of many issues comp and benefits managers must deal with. There’s no shortage of challenges, is there? “Maintain internal equity and external competitiveness and control turnover, but still meet management’s demands for lowered costs.” Heard that one before? Many of the professionals we serve find helpful answers to all their compensation questions at Compensation.BLR.com, BLR’s comprehensive compensation website.
And there’s great news: The site has just been revamped in two important ways. First, compliance focus information has been updated to include the latest on COBRA, Lilly Ledbetter, and FMLA. Second, user features are enhanced to make the site even quicker to respond to your particular needs:
- Topics Navigator—Lets you drill down by topical areas to get to the right data fast.
- Customizable Homepage—Can be configured to display whatever content you want to see most often.
- Menu Navigation—Displays all of the main content areas and tools that you need in a simple, easy format.
- Quick Links—Enables you to quickly navigate to all the new and updated content areas.
The services provided by this unique tool include:
- Localized Salary Finder. Based on reliable research among thousands of employers, here are pay scales (including 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles) for hundreds of commonly held jobs, from line worker to president of the company. The data are customized for your state and metro area, your industry, and your company size, so you can base your salaries on what’s offered in your specific market, not nationally.
Compensation.BLR.com, now thoroughly revamped with easier navigation and more complete compensation information, will tell you what’s being paid right in your state—or even metropolitan area—for hundreds of jobs. Try it at no cost and get a complimentary special report. Read more.
MISTAKE 10: Forgetting that Good Salespeople Always Work for Their Own Good First, Not the Company’s
Sales managers are usually paid a set salary and so are motivated by the prospect of promotion and advanced status in the company. They often forget that when a salesperson is not performing up to par, it is because he feels there is not enough in it for him or her. When choosing incentive awards, then, be sure to find out what would make it worth that salesperson’s while. Sales force input is crucial to all aspects of incentive planning, says Stevens.
In summary, says Stevens, the next time you find yourself planning an incentive contest, try a new approach. Imagine your salespeople as customers. Identify their needs and what segment of the force offers the most promise. Of course, don’t forget to figure in a profit for the company!
Sales compensation, just one of many issues comp and benefits managers must deal with. There’s no shortage of challenges, is there? “Maintain internal equity and external competitiveness and control turnover, but still meet management’s demands for lowered costs.” Heard that one before? Many of the professionals we serve find helpful answers to all their compensation questions at Compensation.BLR.com, BLR’s comprehensive compensation website.
And there’s great news: The site has just been revamped in two important ways. First, compliance focus information has been updated to include the latest on COBRA, Lilly Ledbetter, and FMLA. Second, user features are enhanced to make the site even quicker to respond to your particular needs:
- Topics Navigator—Lets you drill down by topical areas to get to the right data fast.
- Customizable Homepage—Can be configured to display whatever content you want to see most often.
- Menu Navigation—Displays all of the main content areas and tools that you need in a simple, easy format.
- Quick Links—Enables you to quickly navigate to all the new and updated content areas.
The services provided by this unique tool include:
- Localized Salary Finder. Based on reliable research among thousands of employers, here are pay scales (including 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles) for hundreds of commonly held jobs, from line worker to president of the company. The data are customized for your state and metro area, your industry, and your company size, so you can base your salaries on what’s offered in your specific market, not nationally.
Try BLR’s all-in-one compensation website, Compensation.BLR.com, and get a complimentary special report, Top 100 FLSA Overtime Q&As, no matter what you decide. Find out more.
- State and Federal Wage-Hour and Other Legal Advice. Plain-English explanations of wage-hour and other compensation and benefits-related law at both federal and state levels. “State” means the laws of your state because the site is customized to your use. (Other states can be added at a modest extra charge.)
- Job Descriptions. The website provides them by the hundreds, already written, legally reviewed, and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandate that essential job functions be separated from those less critical. All descriptions carry employment grade levels to current norms—another huge time-saver.
- Merit Increase, Salary, and Benefits Surveys. The service includes the results of three surveys a year. Results for exempt and nonexempt employees are reported separately.
- Daily Updates. Comp and benefits news updated daily (as is the whole site).
- "Ask the Experts" Service. E-mail a question to our editors and get a personalized response within 3 business days.
If we sound as if we’re excited about the program, it’s because we are. For about $3 a working day, the help it offers to those with compensation responsibilities is enormous.
This one’s definitely worth a look, which you can get by clicking the links below.
Click here to get more information or start a no-cost trial and get a complimentary special report.