Sales Comp Showdown

We surveyed 100 top revenue & sales compensation leaders to uncover where they agree and disagree on sales comp planning, design, and rollout.

Let the Showdown Begin!

Sales compensation planning, incentives, and rollout can look very different depending on who’s in charge: revenue leaders or comp leaders. But one thing is certain – the strategies behind sales comp play a pivotal role in shaping an organization's success.

The Sales Comp Showdown compares different perspectives from 100 revenue and comp leaders on the nuances of sales comp planning, design, and rollout. Based on results from a survey conducted by Forma.ai, it aims to shed light on where these key stakeholders agree and disagree.

Whether you're on the revenue side or deeply involved in compensation strategy, you can use this guide to anticipate where there might be consensus or contention with your comp planning counterparts to better prep for your next strategic planning session.

Med device company plans sales comp 400% faster and eliminates payout errors by 16%

“What is amazing about Forma.ai is that internally, we don’t need the skills to configure a comp tool or our data – Forma.ai’s automation helps us do this and turnaround changes much faster than we would ever be able to with any other ICM platform.”

Sales Compensation Leader

Fortune 500 medical device company

Forma.ai saves Procom >$1M and helps scale ICM process with 33% less resources

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Wendy Kennah

Chief Operating Officer, Procom

Seamless ICM automation

"Forma.ai has significantly cut down the time and resources required for processing the team's commissions."

Darrious Duffin

Director, Sales Ops and Service Delivery, Ritter Communications

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“By optimizing our entire sales comp operation with Forma, our revenue has grown significantly, while reducing costs by 94%.”

Jenny Alblasser

Sales Comp Manager at Stryker

The Topics at Hand

Plan Design Ownership

Disagree

Who should be the ultimate owner of sales compensation plan design at an enterprise org?

Human Resources Finance RevOps/SalesOps Sales Leadership Comp Leaders

Plan Design Process Length

Disagree

How long should the sales compensation design process take at an enterprise org?

1-2 weeks 2-4 weeks 1-2 MONTHS 2-3+ months n/a

Comp Plan Adjustments

Disagree

How often should you adjust your comp plan based on actual spend & effectiveness data ?

monthly quarterly bi-annually annually n/a

Frequency of SPIFs

Agree

How often should you launch and use SPIFs to drive behavior?

Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually, Annually

Non-Monetary Incentives

Agree

Which non-monetary incentive is most impactful for sellers?

Additional Time Off Experiential Rewards (e.g., President's Club) Physical/Tangible Gifts Public Recognition/Praise Title/Responsibility Promotion N/A

SPIF Budgeting

Agree

What % of total sales comp budget should be reserved for SPIFs?

Base/Variable Splits

Agree

What % of a new business reps’ (aka “Hunters”) comp should be variable?

Team-Based Incentives

Agree

Do team-based incentives work for sales teams?

No, they don't work Yes, but only for certain sales roles Yes, they work for all sales roles

Plan Rollout Ownership

Agree

Who should be the ultimate owner of rolling out the sales compensation plan to reps?

Human Resources finance RevOps/SalesOps Sales Leadership Comp Leaders

Rollout Timing

Agree

When is the ideal time to share the new comp plan with sales?

Prior to SKO during SKO Right After SKO

Plan Feedback from Reps – Satisfaction

Disagree

When is the best time to survey reps to gauge satisfaction with the comp plan?

within a month of rollout Within a quarter of rollout 6 months after rollout right before designing the next comp plan

Plan Feedback from Reps – Understanding

Agree

Should a sales rep's understanding of the compensation plan be formally tested?

No, rolling it out and communicating it is enough Yes, every rep should go through a knowledge check

Comp Planning Bottlenecks

Agree

What is the biggest bottleneck to launching new comp plans and quotas on time?

Design and testing time Stakeholder alignment System Limitations

What’s one lesson you learned the hard way around rolling out sales comp plans on time?

“Be sure to involve finance business partners and sales leadership early and often. Use a change management framework and process.”
Meredith Noyes Director, Sales Compensation Programs, Autodesk