April 15, 2008 9:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Implementing Sales Compensation Plan Transitions & Changes: Real World Examples
Jennifer Frei, Senior Consultant-Sales Effectiveness & Compensation, Watson Wyatt Worldwide Clinton Gott, Senior Consultant-Sales Effectiveness & Compensation, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
You’ve finally completed the design of a new sales compensation plan. Now comes the tough part; how do you roll it out without creating a major disruption in your sales force? Whether the new sales compensation plan is a modest “tweak” to your current plan or a major overhaul, designing and implementing a well thought out transition plan is critical. This workshop, using real world examples, will provide you with the tools, frameworks and analytics to:
assess the magnitude of change, the effectiveness of the plan and plan implementation
determine whether a transition plan is needed to bridge the gap from the current plan to new plan
develop the appropriate transition plan and strategy, as well as a Best in Class implementation and communications strategy
April 15, 2008 9:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Laying a Foundation: Sales Compensation Plan Design
Beth Carroll, Principal, The Cygnal Group Donya Rose, Managing Partner, The Cygnal Group
Cleanse your sales compensation plan by sitting in on this session focusing on sales compensation plan design fundamentals. During this hands-on workshop, participants will examine the principles and concepts behind sales compensation plans. While reinforcing design best practices, attendees will uncover the unbreakable rules of sales compensation. Join Ms. Carroll and Ms. Rose as they review: the purpose of sales compensation; the link to business strategy; establishing a sales compensation design team; guiding principles for compensation design; fact finding in preparation for plan design; analyzing pay and performance history; role profiles and eligibility; performance standards; pay structure; selecting incentive measures and weights; and team vs. individual incentives.
April 15, 2008 9:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Strategic Account Management Metrics and Account Planning
In a business world characterized by fierce global competition and account demands, an organization needs strong and well-founded signals that indicate when key objectives are being met or when trouble is on the horizon. Unfortunately, most Strategic Account Management (SAM) Programs are evaluated by the sales numbers they post.
This interactive session will outline seven critical metrics that, when measured at the organizational level, will enable any sales organization with a focus on strategic accounts to evaluate the success of their SAM Program: account loyalty index; team effectiveness rating; team financial operating ratios; opportunity pipeline improvement index; overall account situational index; relationship penetration and alignment ratings; top account revenue improvement ratio; and hi-value activity performance index. During this session, attendees will learn how to integrate these seven metrics into a simple “metric-based” account plan that can provide the ultimate value to the SAM team, as well as management. In this workshop, participants will learn:
how to establish an on-demand read of how effective their SAM organization is through the use and evaluation of these metrics that assess critical performance data
what metric-based performance dashboards are and how to develop, communicate, and measure any metric
challenges associated with any metric-based program
April 16, 2008 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Setting and Managing Quotas: A Feared Discipline Made Simple
Joe Clarkson, Central Division Practice Leader-Sales Effectiveness & Compensation, Watson Wyatt Worldwide Craig Ulrich Eastern Division Practice Leader-Sales Effectiveness & Compensation, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Setting goals and allocating them in an equitable manner among sales people is a challenging discipline. Many companies abdicate the responsibility altogether and employ sales incentive plans disonnected from goal achievement, even if such an approach would be more effective. Goals set in a top-down manner are often met with skepticism. And even if field input is provided into a top-down / bottom-up process, there is almost always a gap to be closed. It is not uncommon to find that defined processes for managing this are non-existant.
This workshop will review a number of approaches that can be applied to ensure that the goal setting and allocation process follows a disciplined approach to increase the fairness of the allocation, to enhance field acceptance and to ensure full roll up to the company's overall number. We will also discuss some change management activities that clients have deployed late in their fiscal year when new goals and quotas must be assigned before the new compensation plan is implemented. Successful deployments of the change management process in both manufacturing and service companies will be described.
Attendees will learn:
the basic types of quota-setting processes and how they differ
the conditions under which various approaches will and will not work
techniques for gaining the acceptance of process equity
the methods that are used when no quantitative estimates of territory market potential are available
April 16, 2008 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Building On: Sales Compensation Plan Mechanics and Implementation
Beth Carroll, Principal, The Cygnal Group Donya Rose, Managing Principal, The Cygnal Group
A solid sales compensation plan design does not necessarily lead to a successful sales compensation plan. The details of your
plan mechanics, your plan documentation, your reporting, your plan governance processes and your plan administration make
all the difference in whether your sales people experience your plans as fair and motivating or as arbitrary, frustrating, and
distracting. During this session, attendees will examine crucial mechanics behind successful implementation: incentive forms
(bonus, commission and others), incentive formulae; incentive frequency; measurement periods and payout frequency; testing
plan designs; plan communication and rollout; plan governance; plan administration; plan assessment; and the evolution of
plans over time.
April 16, 2008 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Making Incentives Fun: Engaging the Right Brain Through Creative Rewards, Communications, and Games
Spreadsheets, formulas and analysis are critical parts of operating effective sales incentive compensation plans but they aren’t the things that capture your people’s hearts and minds and may not be enough to inspire enthusiastic effort right when you need it. In this informative and interactive workshop, learn from experts in the field of non-cash reward programs how to engage the right brain of your sales force to focus their efforts just where you need it. Learn about new trends in rewards along with ways to make programs more interesting through games and captivating through creative communications. During this hands-on workshop, attendees will:
hear how to engage the whole brain in incentive activities for best results—people’s actions are based on emotions as well as logic
see the latest trends in tangible rewards and how they address the diverse workforce of today—with five generations in the workforce, one size does not fit all
understand how creative communications and rules can keep programs fresh and exciting
