Sales Management Essentials Volume 7 – Sales Incentives and Performance Management

Manage Sales Performance

Every business will benefit from a well-designed sales incentive plan or sales performance management programme. Implemented efficiently and with plenty of forethought, these schemes can go a long way in rewarding desired behaviours in sales staff, optimising sales effectiveness, and maximising returns. In short, they can make good sales people and sales managers into great sales people and sales managers. How do you go about crafting the perfect sales incentive plan?

There’s no one‑size‑fits-all technique. Many companies mistakenly assume that what works for one organisation will work well for all organisations. Companies sometimes attempt to build sales performance and incentive programmes without thinking about how each feature will best suit their targeted audience. The right plan will be linked to your organisation’s current strategy and drive the right performance in areas your business is focusing on, as well as areas you’d like the business to aim for. And it’s vital you measure the right indicators in your plan.

Sales managers can become hamstrung by getting lost in a sea of numbers, focusing only on revenue and profit margins achieved, rather than the vital activities that produce these outcomes in the first place. Of course, not every sales performance and incentive plan needs to be complex. There’s nothing wrong with good old-fashioned praise every now and then! Know your staff; understand who is intrinsically motivated and who is extrinsically motivated. It will help you determine how these people need to be encouraged. The material in this book aims to help you learn how to create robust, practical and rewarding sales incentive programmes and sales performance management plans – and aid you in understanding that you are part of an enterprising, progressive industry that is changing the world for the better.

Remember: everybody lives by selling something.

We hope you enjoy this book.