What Do Reps Actually Want in Their Comp Plans

Aligning sales compensation plans with the needs and motivations of the sales team is crucial.

If incentive plans fail to inspire desirable selling behaviors, quotas, and organizational objectives become more difficult to achieve.

Yet leaders identified failure to motivate reps as their most challenging issue with comp plans in our 2024 sales compensation report. The same study revealed that another 30% admitted their plans don’t motivate reps when asked directly.

Part of the challenge is that not all reps are motivated by the same incentives.

Some prefer higher commissions, while others are inspired by personal interest or recognition of accomplishments. So, how can a leader align sales compensation plans with sales rep preferences?

We’re here to help.

Read below for insights into the components sales reps genuinely desire in their compensation plans, and take the guesswork out of motivating your sales reps.

The Disconnect Between Sales Reps and Leadership

The disconnect between sales reps and leadership regarding compensation plans is common. We found that 44% of sales reps aren’t motivated by their comp plans.

This happens for various reasons.

First, they may not understand them because they are too complex. Overly complicated plans occur frequently, especially in scaling organizations. Additionally, reps may feel that plans aren’t realistic or that the incentives aren’t what they really want.

But motivation is a balancing act.

Most salespeople are motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including cash and non-cash rewards. So, it’s little wonder that a plan that only includes monetary rewards may not motivate the entire sales team.

Our study also revealed that 75% of sales reps don’t trust that they are paid fairly. This also can result from an overly complex plan but can be resolved by clear and transparent communication.

Understanding the sales team’s perspective is crucial to creating effective incentive structures that motivate your reps, inspire desired selling behaviors, and drive quota and goal achievement. The best way to do this is by having conversations about what motivates them.

You can start by asking yourself if this plan would motivate you personally. Then, gather rep feedback through anonymous surveys, one-on-ones, team meetings, and focus groups.

Essential Components of a Sales Rep-Centric Comp Plan

Then, after you’ve collected feedback from your team, you can consider including these elements in your compensation plans to make them more sales rep-centric.

Accelerators

An accelerator is a sales incentive that rewards reps for exceeding their sales goals. This compensation element motivates salespeople to sell more by awarding bonuses or other incentives for meeting or exceeding a specific goal.

This type of compensation is also attractive to candidates during the hiring process. “I look for Individual accelerators for exceeding quota rather than only team-based goals,” said Account Director Alana Dispena.

Quota Relief

Quota relief is also something worth considering.

Defined, quota relief is a limited-duration quota reduction designed to give a rep or leader a fair chance at achieving their on-target earnings.

Historically, leaders have enabled quota relief on a case-by-case basis when a salesperson or leader experiences circumstances that make achieving quota exceedingly tricky, such as illness, vacation, or family emergency.

However, we’ve noticed teams offering this more frequently across sales teams as quota relief can reduce sales pressure, boost rep retention, and improve morale.

“Scott Leese and the Qualia team introduced me to quota relief which was one of the most refreshing additions to a comp plan I’ve seen,” said Account Executive Caleb Cote. “Being able to guilt-free unplug on a trip makes a world of difference.”

Account Executive Libby Clary added, “I like the ability to adjust quota to accommodate using the unlimited PTO policy. I worked one place where we could apply for ‘quota relief’ once/year to go on vacation and not worry about not meeting goal.”

Uncapped Commissions

Uncapped commissions are also a good tactic, as long as you clearly define on-target earnings for your reps, too. Especially when you are hiring new team members, it’s crucial to provide an accurate base salary plus on-target commissions earned by the average rep, otherwise, you aren’t being fully transparent.

Overstating potential earnings or simply advertising “uncapped commissions” in sales role job postings doesn’t necessarily help you attract top talent, and it only shows that you don’t understand how to pay salespeople. Those you hire this way will likely become disappointed and demotivated if their earnings fall short of their expectations. This ultimately reduces sales performance and increases rep turnover.

Recognition and Rewards

Remember that although sales reps are motivated by money, most salespeople prefer a mix of monetary and non-monetary incentives. Average and lower-performing sales reps may be more motivated by rewards and recognition. So, including cash and non-cash rewards in your compensation plans increases its effectiveness.

Examples of non-monetary incentives include public recognition, physical items like tech gadgets or coffee brewers, professional development courses, gift cards, or activities and events like President’s Club. These incentives also inject a bit of fun into receiving rewards.

Competitive or Comfortable Base

Base pay is a set amount of money that a rep is paid consistently, that is not influenced by performance, and typically represents 50% of a rep’s pay. Base pay is a key consideration for most sales rep candidates to ensure sustainability and stability on an ongoing basis regardless of economic and market conditions.

As Elizabeth explains, “In my industry, advertising sales, the ramp-up time is lengthy,” said Elizabeth Striegel. “A healthy base salary level is important to me. Having a base that I can live comfortably without the freakout has been helpful over the years for the quarters that aren’t so great.  I’m wired to be motivated to make more, but without the lost sleep at night about how to pay bills, etc.”

Transparency and Communication

Lastly, clear and transparent communication regarding compensation plan details and performance metrics is essential to ensure sales rep understanding, buy-in, and motivation.

This drives the desired sales behaviors and quota and organizational objective achievement.

It is beneficial to distribute easy-to-understand plan documentation in various formats that include commission calculation examples, payout rules, and performance metrics.

Then, offer multiple opportunities for reps to present questions and provide feedback on the plan. Finally, documenting and gaining rep sign-off on a compensation agreement provides them with an easy reference and prevents future misunderstandings.

Help Reps Visualize Comp Plans Progress

Historically, leadership has struggled to create compensation plans that motivate sales reps.

Aligning compensation plans with the needs and motivations of your salespeople is essential to resolving this challenge.

The best way to find out what they want is to gather feedback from your sales teams to create more effective incentive structures. Then, include essential components to develop rep-centric comp plans that will motivate your team members and drive goal achievement.

QuotaPath is a compensation tool that encourages and motivates reps to better understand how they are paid and how to make the most in commissions. Start a free trial or schedule time with a team member to see for yourself.