Sales Compensation (Part II)--Bread and Circuses

But it doesn't have to be this way. According to Terry Nagi, of Terry A. Nagi Associates, in Washington, DC, a printer can normally retain 40 percent to 60 percent or more of its business by an immediate visit from the CEO and sales manager.

Spear uses this approach to earn customer loyalty. "That's not to say that a departing salesperson can't take an account to a new employer, but I don't lie awake worrying about that," he notes.