Sales Comp Plans, Revisited –Farquharson

I remember my brother pulling me aside to show me the wad of cash he was carrying. He had just gotten his first commission check as a salesman and he had never seen that much money in his life. Neither had I. It was at that moment that I decided to follow his footsteps and go into sales.

One of the things you touched on in your column was coming up with a compensation plan for salespeople that struck a balance between the profitability of the job and maintaining sales ethics. The point you made was that a salesperson could possibly be swayed into suggesting a print solution on the basis of his or her commission, instead of what’s right for the customer. I agree and have experienced that issue myself.