What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation Book Summary - What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation Book explained in key points
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What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation summary

Mark Donnolo

Connecting the Corner Office to the Front Line

3.7 (23 ratings)
17 mins

Brief summary

What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation by Mark Donnolo is a guide to creating an effective sales compensation plan that drives sales and motivates salespeople. The book offers practical tools and strategies for designing and implementing a successful sales compensation program.

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    What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation
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    The sales compensation plan connects the sales representatives to the company’s larger strategy.

    Sales compensation seems simple, right? If a sales representative makes a sale, they get compensated. But it’s actually a lot more complex, and if a company implements a successful sales compensation strategy, it can be extremely profitable.

    It’s important to recognize that sales compensation is one part of the company’s strategy. It needs to align with the rest of it.

    Every company needs a solid plan for becoming profitable. These plans are always very complicated, however. They require CEOs and management teams to make difficult decisions in several areas, like sales strategy, customer coverage and enablement.

    The sales compensation strategy comes at the enablement level, so the CEO has to make a number of strategic decisions before they can focus on it.

    It’s very important that these decisions all fit perfectly with each other. If they don’t, the plan will contradict itself and be ineffective.

    Imagine a company that produces copying machines, for instance. The upper management knows their customers are primarily large corporations, so they develop a sales strategy based around sophisticated technology that’s suited to them.

    However, the company will suffer if the team doesn’t allow for the fact that they’ll need a lot of time to correspond with customer companies. If their products are expensive, their customers need more time to decide if they’re a worthy investment.

    Sales reps don’t aim to implement any specific company strategy; they’re motivated by their compensation rates. So your sales compensation plan has to skillfully connect their work to the company’s strategy at large.

    Imagine a sales rep working for a copying company that just released a new product. Even if the new product’s digital technology requires a longer, more sophisticated sales process, they’ll probably use the same tactics they used to sell the analogue one. The key to solve this problem is to craft a sales compensation plan that motivates them to do what’s best for the company, not for them.

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    What is What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation about?

    These blinks explain how compensation can be optimized to motivate sales representatives and ensure the growth of the company. It offers advice on finding the right people, crafting a strong sales compensation plan that drives your team to hit their targets, and implementing that plan effectively.

    What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation Review

    What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation (2013) provides valuable insights into how sales compensation can drive business growth and success. Here's why this book is worth reading:

    • It offers a comprehensive framework for designing effective sales compensation plans, ensuring alignment with company goals and objectives.
    • With its practical examples and case studies, the book provides actionable strategies to motivate sales teams and boost performance.
    • The author's deep knowledge and experience in sales compensation make this book a valuable resource, offering expert guidance and real-world solutions.

    Best quote from What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation

    Where the business evolves, sales evolves as well, and sales compensation must evolve to support that change.

    —Mark Donnolo
    example alt text

    Who should read What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation?

    • CEOs looking for the best way to energize their sales teams
    • Sales managers who want to maximize their strengths
    • Directors of sales compensation

    About the Author

    Mark Donnolo is a consultant and a managing partner at SalesGlobe, where he consults on executive professional services. He’s previously worked for Siegel & Gale/Saatchi & Saatchi and CoalTek, among others. He has an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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    What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation FAQs 

    What is the main message of What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation?

    The main message of What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation is understanding the importance of sales compensation and its impact on the overall success of a business.

    How long does it take to read What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation?

    The estimated reading time for What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation varies depending on the reader's speed. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just a few minutes.

    Is What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation a good book? Is it worth reading?

    What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation is a must-read for CEOs and leaders looking to optimize their sales compensation strategies. It provides valuable insights and practical advice in a concise format.

    Who is the author of What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation?

    The author of What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation is Mark Donnolo.

    What to read after What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation?

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