In a BLR webinar entitled "Sales Compensation Strategies: How to Motivate and Re-Energize Your Sales Staff in a Challenging Economy," Dan Kleinman, principal of Dan Kleinman Consulting, a compensation and human resource consulting firm, described the importance of transparency when developing or adapting sales compensation programs.
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Get Your Report Now!Transparency reinforces trust and understanding. When making changes:
- Start small.
- Watch the pressure gauge.
Two key factors in successful transparency are:
- Dialogue
- The sales manager
Dialogue means:
- Active listening
- Ensuring the message got through
- Constructive confrontation
- Building a relationship
- Timely responses
- Mutual responsibility
Sales managers are the bologna in the sandwich. They:
- Hire, coach, foster team ethic and share processes
- Translate plans into action
- Forecast sales productivity and assess outcomes
- Should be equipped with information and tools
- Should be a manger, not a super salesperson
- Make sure the staff knows how to win:
- Quotas
- Territories
- Account assignment shifts
- The model
It's important to align staff and management in a single, focused purpose.
Dan Kleinman is the principal of Dan Kleinman Consulting, a California-based compensation and human resource consulting firm. For the past 18 years, he has served as an independent consultant for a broad spectrum of regional, national, and international companies, providing compensation, performance, organizational planning, and reward-system design services. He may be reached at info@dankleinmanconsulting.com