An Exercise in Questioning Your Sales Compensation Plan

Some might call it eavesdropping, but we call it our uniquely unscientific methodology for tracking distributor trends. We listen. Plus, we get phone calls, emails and occasional text messages from distributors. When we hear the same topic mentioned more than a dozen times in the course of a month, we know the topic is coming to the surface.

For some reason, the topic of sales compensation is showing up --- repeatedly.

Here are a few questions I believe are pertinent to any thinking directed to the topic.

Point One: Do you see you sales efforts becoming more team focused?
• Do you see your business employing more or fewer people in the sales function in five years?
(Potential new positions might be Specialists, Project Managers, Customer Crib/VMI maintainers, Tele-sales, Application Engineers and others.)

• Do you believe a well-developed team could sell more than semi-autonomous salespeople?

• Do you believe your current outside sales force will be or should be part of that team or will/should they operate somehow independently from the team?

• If not operating in a semi-autonomous “lone ranger” capacity, how do you see outside salespeople fitting into the organization?

Point Two: Which is more important, Account Maintenance or New Account conversion?
• Have you ever had accounts which maintained their ongoing volume during the interval “between sellers?”

• Do you have an inside sales team, customer service group or specialists who have built followings amongst your customers that matches or eclipses the efforts of the salesperson?

• How much time do your sellers invest in prospecting for new customers or additional contacts within an existing customer?

Point Three: Do you currently employ commissions or base plus commissions in your compensation plan?
• Are good salespeople open to working in a non-commissioned environment?

• Do you rely on commissions to drive quantity or quality of output from salespeople?

• Do you ever offer additional incentives or special performance awards to impact sales?

• Do you rely on commissions to provide variability to your costs (i.e. lower sales compensation during bad years?)

• In his book Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us (chapters 1 and 2,) Daniel Pink lays out research indicating creative knowledge-based work is not enhanced by monetary rewards. If you use a commission-based compensation plan, could it not be working as planned?

• Do you believe a greater volume of selling engagements is more effective than increased quality of the engagements? How does commission impact the number of appointments?

Point Three: How autonomous are your sellers?
• If you use a compensation plan which is heavily focused on commissions, how do you keep sellers goals aligned with company goals?
• Is it possible for salespeople to be totally autonomous with responsibilities and compensation tied directly to sales results and at the same time be cheerful about attending sales meetings or spending needed time to update CRM systems (in which they see little value?)

• Does a good salesperson view their account list as “their customers” or “your customers?”

• What happens when each autonomous salesperson insists other team members operate according to their specific rules of engagement with “their” customers?

Point Four: How do you handle small customers?
• Do you see small customers as a source of income or growth?

• How many customers are on each outside salesperson’s account list?

• Do you assign accounts and pay commissions to sellers on accounts which probably do not warrant much of their time, just to be sure there is somebody responsible for the account?

• Is there a lower cost way of handling some of these transactions without a “normal” assigned salesperson?

Point Five: How do your sellers spend their day?
• How do you define a sales activity?

Here are some thoughts in order of perceived importance:
 With customers personal visits?
 On the phone with customers?
 Researching customer needs?
 Tracking opportunities?
 Creating quotations?
 Following up on quotations?
 Entering orders?
 Expediting orders?
 Babysitting orders?
 Administrative work?

• Do your salespeople duplicate work performed by others in the organization?

• Would your sales numbers improve if work were routed to others?

Point Six: Thinking about new territories and newly hired salespeople.
• Do you ever use “guaranteed commission” plans for new hires because the territory currently does not generate enough business to justify the seller’s compensation? How long are the guarantees in place?

• How long does it take for a salesperson to build a new territory from nearly zero to profitable for your company?

• Have you ever had an issue where a new seller’s compensation grew to an acceptable level before the territory became profitable?

• Have you ever hired an experienced seller with the promise of them bringing along established customers? What percentage of the promised business came through?


Point Seven: What else impacts selling strategy? Miscellaneous thoughts…
• Does your sales team struggle to launch new products in a timely manner?

• Most distributors depend on manufacturers for leads but the quality and quantity of leads has dropped off significantly in the internet environment. Where do your salespeople get their leads?

• Are there strategic products that require a great deal of missionary work (during which actual sales commissions are not flowing?)

• At what point might a salesperson run out of bandwidth?

• What have you done to make your “outside sales” process more efficient in the past five years?

• If you are currently using internet-based order entry, how are sales compensation be handled? If not, is tis part of your future plan?

A call for your input…
I would love to hear your thoughts on the whole topic of sales commission. Feel free to send us an email or drop an anonymous comment. Specifically, what other questions are missing from your perspective?

It will be better than this one!

There will be prizes…
Everyone sending us a comment will receive a shiny new postcard from Iowa.

Commission Policies in the Automation and High Tech Electrical Industry

We are gathering information and building a list of frequently asked questions.  

I am often asked about commission structures within the Automation, Electrical Distribution Industry and other knowledge-based distributor operations (Power Transmission Distributors PTDA, Fluid Power Distributors FPDA and Industrial Distributors). Considering the frequency of the question (from potential salespeople, experienced seller, managers and others,) I feel it appropriate to post some thoughts on the practice. While this is not our typical kind of post, I wanted to create a forum for discussion.

Commissions based on Gross Margin are one of the most commonly used incentive practices on the channel side of the business. On the manufacturing side, many people are still paid based on their gross sales numbers. Often you will hear distributors refer to this practice as paying on “tonnage” because sales professionals compensated in this matter really aren’t required to worry about whether their company makes a profit or not. Distributors must produce gross margin to survive. Further, the gross margin does not flow straight to the bottom line. Instead, gross margin dollars pay for everything from the light bill, insurance and rent on to the cost of the distributor’s employees (which typically account for 60 percent of the total gross margin).

In nearly four decades of involvement in the industry (which includes service as a sales manager at a major manufacturer, C-Level executive in a regionally based distributor, President of the North American trade association dedicated to the automation channel (The Association for High Tech Distribution) and, over a decade, as a consultant to the industry,) I have seen literally hundreds of commission models. These range all the way from commissions accounting for only 10 percent of the salesman’s total compensation to structures which comprise 100 percent of the salesperson’s monetary package.

I typically recommend a compensation plan which is comprised of a base-salary and a commission. For the record, I find deep fault with both straight commission and straight base salary plans. The exact percentage must be fine-tuned based on the company and conditions in the seller’s territory.

The most common industry practices on payment of commission are:
• Monthly draws on commission which are settled at the end of each year.
These packages are designed to “smooth out” the monthly variations in commission amounts. Draws give the seller some consistency over the year, but often lead to conflict when the total commission for the year is not met and the seller ends up owing money from surplus commission draw.

• Commissions which are paid quarterly, semi-annually (every six months) or annually.
Most companies have discovered the accounting required to provide accurate monthly commission payments are too time consuming to justify payment on a monthly basis; hence the quarterly, semi-annual or annual payments.

As stated before, well over 90 percent of commission plans are paid based on Gross Margin generated by the sale.
Gross Margin is defined using the formula (Sell Price) – (Cost of Goods Sold)

This number does not include incentives to the distributor from manufacturers, buying group rebates, special buys, mark-ups on freight, special handling fees or other income generated by the sale.

Further, distributors do not typically pay commissions on the following:
• Sales made which are not paid in full by the customer due to disputes or other issue.
• Sales made which remain unpaid because of credit/collection issues by the distributor
• Sales made which are turned over to collection agencies.
• Sales which are paid well outside of the distributor’s terms (i.e. paid 60, 90 or more days after the normally extended terms.

Sales are not one time events
It is important to note, sales generated in this industry are not one time events. Instead, the distributor/customer sales cycle is a long continuing relationship where no sale is ever considered final. Distributors are called on to provide after-the-sale service for many years after payment is made and money has changed hands. The unwritten agreement with the customer can be summarized in this manner: If the distributor customer continues to grow the business relationship with the distributor, the distributor will extend follow-up services in perpetuity.

In Knowledge-based distribution commissions serve as a plan to compensate the salesperson for more than just “closing the order,” they also serve as payment for continued support. With this in mind, it is considered an industry norm to not pay commissions for salespeople who leave the company. For instance, when commissions are issued on February 15th for the quarter ending December 31st, and a salesperson resigns on February 1st, commissions are forfeited.

Conversely, it is not uncommon for distributor salespeople to benefit from the work done by their predecessor at the account. Most customers come with a level of “flow business” which once started continues on for many years. The new seller assumes the role of service champion and is rewarded with commissions on sales they had nothing to do with initially generating.

In the world of knowledge-based distribution, sellers are judged on their ability to not only close the sale but to provide the kind of service which causes the customer to buy more from their employer. Distributor salespeople are judged on their ability to grow the relationship as opposed to garnering one time orders.

As stated earlier, this post is in response to the dozen phone calls or emails we get from all levels of the distribution world each month and is by no means a full report on the state of commission (or commission rates) in our industry. Instead, we thought it appropriate to answer many of the common questions asked.


Here are a few random comments:

On Commission starting and end dates
• Typically distributor salespeople in our industry benefit from the past work of others at their accounts. This comes by way of business flow which was developed prior to their assignment to the accounts under their charge. Typically, new salespeople start with some commission based on the work of others.

• When salespeople leave other resources must be assigned to their accounts to maintain the service level at the accounts developed. These resources must be continued whether they are provided by a new salesperson or through resources such as inside sales, customer service, product specialists or others. It should be noted this practice extends not only through the ranks of distributors, but also applies to many other members of the supply chain: supply-partner manufacturers, manufacturer’s rep agencies and others.

• Policies on being currently employed in order to receive commissions have remained unchanged for many years. Recently, we spoke with a gentleman who resigned his post in the late 1960s. He indicated his commission plan was very similar to those of today. When thinking about leaving his (then) current employer, he waited until the week following the issuance of commission checks. He went on to form a company of his own and has no hard feelings on the potential commission left behind.

• Do policies like this favor the person who stays in position for a long time? I believe long duration salespeople do better in the distributor world because they learn more about their accounts and build layer after layer of flow business. This is typically good for seller and employer alike.


Why don’t distributors pay commission on sales volume?
• Typically, manufacturers pay a commission based on total sales volume. Some distributors call this being paid on tonnage. The average manufacturer salesperson is not privy to the internal cost of the product. Sell prices are very likely to be set by others. In addition, the margins for manufacturers is higher than distributors. Distributor salespeople often know their company’s cost of the product and are paid to capture as much gross margin as possible. For the sake of those outside the industry who may be reading this article, the typical distributor ends up with a profit before taxes and interest of between 2-4 percent. They are not working on a gigantic margin.

Different commission rates?
• Is it reasonable to have a different commission rate for various products sold within the distributor organization? Yes. Here is why: The cost associated with doing business with many supply-partners (some distributors have as many as 500) varies. Some provide incoming freight, some are easy to business with and others have mounds of paperwork associated with each order. Fluctuating the commission rate based on the type of product sold is common.

• Can a distributor have different commission rates based on the sales territory? Again, the answer is yes. Size and type of customer play a role in how easy or difficult it might be to create a relationship. Geography plays a part as well. The salesperson responsible for a large urban territory might may discover the sheer number of potential customers to be larger than the more rural based territory.

Commission rate changes?
• How often can commission rates be changed? Business is a fluid thing. Conditions ebb and flow. Product lines become obsolete. Economies rise then fall into recession. The one mistake either seller or employer make is to assume what works today will always work. While I am definitely not in favor of change for change sake, I do believe business conditions warrant changes in commission rates. As a rule of thumb, any commission plan which has not been tweaked for over five years is probably in need of some examination.

Finally….
I am building a repository of questions, comments and background information around commission plans. I would invite your comments be they anonymous or sent via email and posted at this end.

An Open Letter to New Salespeople

An Open Letter to New Salespeople

Maybe the word "slimy" comes to mind.

Last week I had the opportunity to interact directly with a young person thinking about a career in distributor sales.  They were put off by the image of being a “salesperson,” but because of the experience of one of their friends, they were taking a fresh look at the industry.

Their questions revolved around a handful of unknowns. 

·      Is sales a position that taints your ability to do something else later in life?

·      Do customers see salespeople as valuable or as sleaze-ball characters to be avoided?

·      What is this commission thing all about?

·      Do I need to be a natural born salesperson?

·      How hard is the job?  It seems like a lot of people “used to be salespeople but quit. 

For the benefit of everyone just starting or considering a distributor sales opportunity, allow me to answer these questions.

Does Selling have a future?

The answer is unequivocally yes.  A quick look around the executives of both distributors and their manufacturing partners points to a large percentage with selling in their resume.  Selling provides an opportunity to understand customer needs.  And without a product which fills some need or solves some problem, there can be no customers.  And without customers there can be no business.

How are salespeople seen?

The distribution industry is not a “one and done” selling process.  Salespeople develop ongoing relationships with their customers.  The very best sellers are seen as skilled problem solvers.  Often they act as an important extension of the customer’s own staff.  The attitude of the customer is often reflective of the seller’s attitude.  When a sales guy arrives prepared and armed with well thought out products/services tailored for his customer, customers respond in kind.

The commission thing…

Everyone has heard of some family acquaintance who worked on commission and went broke.  This is rarely the case in distribution.  The nature of customer buying habits and market dynamics indicates 99 percent of all selling territories produce revenue in good times and bad times.  From the worst recession to the best of times, a territory might fluctuate by 30 percent.  The secret is to live within your means, bank the upward swings and prepare for downward shifts if the economy should fall into recession.  Further, as you build customer relationships, develop your problem solving skills and increase your efficiency, the whole thing moves in the upward direction.

Natural born salesperson?

There might be such a person.  Most of the folks who claim to be “naturals” don’t stand up to the scrutiny of their description.  Looking back on experience with hundreds of experienced sellers I might have met two “naturals."  The rest have perfected their skills over time and some of the best salespeople start off conversations with, “I am not really a salesperson, I just really like to help my customers and they appreciate my efforts by directing business my way.”

How hard is the job?
I believe selling is the hardest easy job on the planet.  Here’s why I make that statement.  I like meeting interesting people.  I like seeing manufacturing facilities.  I like time spent solving problems.  If I were to wake up and discover I won a Billion Dollar lottery, I would still want to meet new people, see innovative manufacturing plants and devote time to solving problems.  All of these things are so incredibly interesting, it’s hardly like work. 

All of this brings me to a set of core beliefs I have about distributor sales.  This is the short list.

I believe….

1.   The actions of successful salespeople mostly appear different when on the outside looking in.  The projection of their personalities often overshadows the mundane stuff that makes them successful.  Keeping good records, organizing schedules and studying customers are rarely visible to anyone outside their immediate family.

2.   You don’t have to be wonderfully organized to be successful, but if you’re not, expect to work extra hours and occasionally feel stupid because you wasted hours “trying to find” something important which could have been easy to locate if you had just kept up with your notes and filing.

3.   Sales work is mostly solitary and independent of others; you might be attracted to the freedom.  But, many people working independently overestimate the number of hours they actually work.  Further, the ability to intermix personal and professional hours creates an environment where wasted time is often counted as “working hours.”

4.   Most successful sellers work more than 40 hours a week.  The really successful ones often don’t count hours of planning, preparing and learning about their products as real work time.  Working closely with these folks for over three decades, I have discovered many of them count this as “happy time” getting ready for the big game.

5.   There are no “natural born” salespeople in our industry.  Those of you who have the gift of gab, and most would say I do, may actually be at a natural disadvantage in going to the top of the sales heap (read The Challenger Sale.)  Top salespeople often tactfully challenge their customers.  Sometimes they make unpopular recommendations but work hard to provide strong justification to their recommendations.

6.   A few salespeople fall into lucky territories.  They aren’t required to learn the important activities necessary for their own success.  I see them as older, forty and fifty-somethings who have somehow been forced to change jobs…and they struggle.  If you get off to an early start because you inherited a great territory, don’t be complacent in learning important skills.

7.   The keystones of selling success are tied to product knowledge, application skills and customer knowledge.  You cannot really add value to your customers if you don’t know your products and services.  But that’s not the end of the equation.  You must know how your products might be used; including short comings and potential pitfalls.  Finally, if you don’t know your individual and specific customers including their problems, challenges and opportunities, you can never really be much more than a human search engine.  Back in the old days, human search engines were valuable.  Google took away that value.

8.   Salespeople are honest and honor their commitments.  Simple as this sounds, it goes against the human nature of some to say, “I don’t know."  Others state they will be back next Tuesday with an answer and don’t show up until Thursday.  Customers notice.  In addition, many sellers don’t really listen to their customers.  Taking notes focuses your attention.  Referring back to notes a week later to clarify a point adds to the salesperson’s credibility.

9.   Good salespeople demonstrate that lightning strikes twice (or even three times.)  And, typically when they move it is to more freedom, better money and other personal/lifestyle rewards.  It is not unusual to find this kind of person at the top of the sales heap in multiple companies.

Finally….

I believe in the distributor model.  Regardless of all the hype about Amazon taking over the world, I believe the future holds a place for sellers who bring value to their customers.  In the future, we may refer to the group as something else; perhaps solution provider will be the term of choice.  Regardless of title, the opportunities will abound. 

And, feel free to contact me if you have a career question; helping you be successful turns my crank…..