What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation

Introduction

THE OFFICE LIGHTS FLICKER ON at seven o’clock Monday morning. The early risers arrive and the staff trickles in. The CEO, vice president of sales, CMO, and vice president of human resources sip their first cups of coffee, bleary-eyed from Sunday evening’s conference calls. The office chatter starts. In an hour, the phones will begin to ring. A few miles away, manufacturing has been busy at the line for a couple of hours by now.

Despite the bustling activity, everything will come to a halt if the next sale isn’t made. “Sales” is the top line on nearly every income statement. Without sales, the funding runs out, the stock doesn’t trade, the lights no longer burn, and the office chatter falls silent.

At the root of sales is a team of ...