We’re in the middle of a couple negotiations between our customers and their top sales candidate selection. The companies are smaller and these positions are fairly important within the department so they are not “slotted” pay ranges that are more common in larger companies. Both negotiations have similar topics (salary and commission plans are always prevalent in sales negotiations) but different approaches by the candidates. Call it serendipity, but I came across a timely SalesHQ article titled How To Structure A Negotiation. The author, Jonathan Farrington, provides 3 important steps for any negotiation whether it be for a potential hire or a potential customer: The recommended structure for negotiations is:… Read More
Continue ReadingSalary Legalities
This I did not know – from a Pioneer Press short Q&A article (my editing): My company has a new district manager. He and I got off to a bad start when he divulged my salary in a mass e-mail and caused an uproar among my new co-workers. Some of them do the same job as me but make considerably less. When I called him on this, he responded, “What’s the big deal? They all tell each other anyway.” A: Even though the manager showed poor judgment, he didn’t break the law, according to Richard Kass, a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Manhattan. “Employees have no right to… Read More
Continue ReadingShould Have Been A Court Reporter
My wife once took classes to become a court reporter. She even bought her own stenograph (is that what they are called?) for the training. Unfortunately, she never completed the training due to other circumstances. Unfortunate because court reporters earn an average salary of $59,970. CNN.com reports this number in their article Five surprising salaries: Surprising salary: $59,970*. You might not have thought typing could earn you so much money, but once you realize court reporters can’t miss a word — often in fast-talking situations — it makes more sense. Here is the other end of the surprising salaries spectrum: Surprising salary: $27,070. Seeing as paramedics have high stress jobs… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Retention Through Compensation
Commission-only sales plans are risky in my opinion. I know they are the truest form of selling – you eat what you kill. I simply think that many salespeople view this structure as a lack of commitment from the company. I’m not saying that is accurate, but I have talked to many salespeople under these plans and this is their perception. Fortune Small Business discusses this topic in their article Why to be wary of commission-only sales staff: “If you hire someone and you’re not really willing to invest time and resources in them – and that’s really what a commission-only sales person suggests – then you’re missing an opportunity,”… Read More
Continue ReadingCEO’s Are Not Overpaid
How is that for a title? Before I get flamed on this topic, let me pull some excerpts from a Human Resource Executive Online article (emphasis mine): A recent study conducted by DolmatConnell & Partners debunks the myth of runaway executive pay. The findings of the study tell a much different story than what the media has heralded — instead of out-of-control CEO pay, the study shows that CEO pay rises and falls with company financials. … The study looked at compensation of CEOs in The Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past 10 years in relation to company financials, such as revenue, market capitalization and total shareholder return. It… Read More
Continue ReadingCompensation In A Task-Based Economy
Now this is a provocative article from BusinessWeek.com titled Defining A Job. The article is quite thorough in it’s reasoning and well worth the read. But let’s start with this explanation: In a nutshell: how do you define a job? For most organizations today, it’s based on the unit of time—40 hours week, for example—but I believe that definition is rapidly reaching the end of its useful life. Going forward, many jobs in our economy will be better defined by and compensated according to the task performed, regardless of the time spent achieving the desired outcome. Ironically, the switch from time to task takes us back to the way most… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Social Salesforce
Salespeople are motivated by many factors, but the primary, most common motivation is Utilitarianism. The drive is for a return on investment. Most people first think of money which is a good example, but it is bigger than that. It involves a return on time, effort, energy, resources, etc. 72% of the top salespeople in any market or company are motivated by Utilitarianism. Now imagine a salesforce that is not compensated in some manner by commission – a group with a strong Social motivation. You would then have this story from the Boston Globe – A noncommissioned sales force? You’re crazy: What is it that Little, vice president of sales… Read More
Continue ReadingDulled By Success
There is an effect we have noticed when recruiting salespeople from larger companies that seems to be consistent across markets. Some salespeople, maybe many, lose their edge when it comes to prospecting when they land a large customer. I see this effect happening in larger companies, for some reason, more than smaller companies. I bring this up because I read an employment ad for a large company that we used to work with in a previous life. This company has an unbelievably strong customer service orientation. I mean that in a negative way. Their “hunter” salespeople believe they can service their way to a sale. This approach is reinforced by… Read More
Continue ReadingCompensation – Keep It Simple
Every year we find December to be a fertile time for sourcing salespeople. One of the biggest reasons – the upcoming year’s compensation plan. More specifically, new commission plans tied to new quotas. The salespeople receive the new plan and are, well, disgruntled. Or ticked off. Good salespeople tend to look outside for new opportunities when their commission plan gets over-adjusted following a strong year. Let me speak clearly here – I am all for raising the bar, but you do have to take all factors into account before setting the new targets. ManageSmarter.com offers up this article – Fast Track Your 2008 Sales Compensation Plans – with 10 tips… Read More
Continue ReadingCandidates Are Negotiating Offers
No surprise here but the Career News is reporting that candidates are negotiating for higher starting salaries in this current market (emphasis mine): Job candidates are more apt to ask for higher starting salaries this coming year, and companies may have to up the ante to attract them. That’s according to an annual study on employment and compensation trends by Robert Half International (RHI) and CareerBuilder.com titled The (EDGE) Report. Fifty-seven percent of hiring managers polled for the project said it was difficult to find qualified candidates 12 months ago; 91 percent said recruiting is equally or more challenging today. More than half (52 percent) of hiring managers who are… Read More
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