Compensating New Sales Roles: How to Design Rewards That Work in Today's Selling Environment

Office Supplies Retailer

A large office supplies retailer, which had thrived selling primarily to consumers, decided to pursue growth in the business market. To gain entry into that market, the company acquired a number of regional companies that already had sales forces. For the most part, these sales representatives sold to existing business customers. The service demands of these current customers and the increasing competition for their business required sales representatives to spend the majority of their time with them. Top management believed the company was missing a significant opportunity to grow the business by not opening up new accounts; so, to accomplish that, it introduced a new role— business developer—into the geographic sales ...