Sales Performance Management Best Practices Blog

Jerry Hegarty

Recent Posts

Should your sales operations team be on a sales compensation plan?

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Wed, Mar 19, 2014 @ 12:03 PM

The debate about whether Sales Ops should be on a sales comp plan can be quite lively. On one hand, sales operations can mean different things to different organizations and be the root of some deeply rooted opinions. Some Sales Ops roles may greatly influence sales results and outputs (i.e. setting quota’s or deal level opportunity identification) while others may have more of a focus on activities such as training or sales compensation administration. In short, it can get a bit confusing about what is the best way to approach this question. Simplifying this complex issue and adding some context and definition to the issue is the first step in making the right decision.

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, Human Resources, Sales Operations

Sales Compensation & recent Harvard Business Review conclusions

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Tue, Feb 18, 2014 @ 06:02 AM

An interesting article was published recently by Adamson, Dickson & Tomas of CEB in the Harvard Business Review 'Why Individuals No Longer Rule on Sales Teams' which certainly got my attention.

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, Sales Performance Metrics & KPI's, Human Resources

Territory Management - an important link in the Sales Performance Management chain

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Wed, Feb 12, 2014 @ 08:02 AM

Sales Performance Management is a term that has evolved over the past few years to describe the process of measuring and rewarding sales performance. In the past, similar industry terminology such as Sales Incentive Compensation Management (ICM), Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM), and many other acronyms were popularized by consultants and practitioners to describe the same fundamental process of measuring and rewarding sales achievement. Practitioners using the term Sales Performance Management typically refer to three keystone elements to the process;

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional, Territory Management

Ensure a successful roll out of your 2014 sales compensation plans

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Mon, Feb 3, 2014 @ 11:02 AM
Change is the one constant that Sales Executives and their Sales Operations teams struggle with constantly. Updating your sales compensation plans to reflect new market realities is something a large percentage of sales teams have to do 
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Topics: EVP/Sales Leader, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional

Keep it Simple; Sales Compensation Administration must have's

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Mon, Jan 27, 2014 @ 15:01 PM

Simplicity is a phrase that comes up often when discussing sales compensation. Phrases like "Plans need to be simple so they can be understood clearly", "keep the measures to less than three or four so it does not get too complicated" etc. are common for a reason. It is hard to focus on and do many things well. This philosophy transcends just talk of plan design and should impact your view your whole sales comp process. Execution of the entire process has to be as important as the elegance of a well designed sales compensation plan. To execute, it helps to narrow your focus to just a few items and do them well.

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Topics: EVP/Sales Leader, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional

Communication tips for global Sales Performance Management teams

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Wed, Jan 22, 2014 @ 09:01 AM

Improved Sales Performance Reporting (New Years Resolution #1) is a vital element of your Sales Performance communication strategy, but it is just one element of a broader effort. When you are dealing with a sales force that is spread out geographically, the quality of forethought that you put into your communication strategy can be the difference between success and failure.

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, Sales Performance Reporting, Communication/Reporting, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations

New Years Resolution #3; Collapse the Cycle Time of Your Sales Compensation Process

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Tue, Jan 14, 2014 @ 13:01 PM
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Topics: EVP/Sales Leader, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional, ROI

New Years Resolution #2; Improve Accuracy of Sales Comp Calculations

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Thu, Jan 9, 2014 @ 09:01 AM

With New years Resolution #1 aimed at improving the clarity with which you report and communicate sales performance to your sales and executive teams, it makes sense to be sure that the results and data which we are communicating are as accurate as possible.

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional, Accuracy

New Years Resolution #1; Improve Sales Performance Reporting

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Mon, Jan 6, 2014 @ 11:01 AM

It's that time of the year again and I have no doubt the list of things you would like to improve and accomplish in the new year is long. As a manager, one of the improvements that can have a massive payback on your companies health is to improve the way you report performance to your sales team. Feedback from surveys on Sales Performance Management by WorldatWork & OpenSymetry tells us that for at least 75% of us, there is a tremendous opportunity to improve reporting Sales Performance to your organization. Here are some quick 'take aways' from the survey. 

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Topics: Sales Comp Plan Fundamentals, EVP/Sales Leader, Sales Performance Reporting, Communication/Reporting, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, Human Resources, Sales Operations

Are manual adjustments undermining your sales compensation process?

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Wed, Nov 13, 2013 @ 09:11 AM

One of the worst kept ‘dirty little secrets’ in the Sales Performance administration world is the difficulty in managing the Sales Compensation process in a timely, accurate and yet efficient manner without being derailed by some of the myriad challenges that abound. One of the biggest challenges that rear’s its ugly head is the need to wade through the morass of a large number of adjustments every payroll period while simultaneously trying to maintain error free levels of quality and hit payroll 100% of the time. Lets face it, adjustments take many forms and never seem to occur at a convenient time.

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Topics: EVP/Sales Leader, CTO, CFO/Finance Leader, Sales Compensation Professional, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations, Sales Professional, Data Quality