Sales management · Compensation
Test the pay plan against what you want from it and what your reps want.
A comp plan health check scores your current sales pay plan against what the owner wants it to do and what the reps want from it, then names where the two disagree. It ends in a one-page verdict that says keep, fix or rebuild, with the three biggest gaps listed.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
A comp plan health check scores your current sales pay plan against what the owner wants it to do and what the reps want from it, then names where the two disagree. It ends in a one-page verdict that says keep, fix or rebuild, with the three biggest gaps listed.
The owner of an electrical-switchgear distributor in Rajkot thinks the sales pay is too high. The reps think the targets are unfair. The accountant thinks the discounts at month-end are the real cost. All three are describing the same plan and none has ever put a score on it.
The health check is a two-sheet exercise. The owner and sales manager score the plan on nine points, from motivating the reps to cost. The reps score the same plan on their own sheet, anonymously. The differences between the two sets of scores are the finding. The owner signs the verdict.
It replaces the argument at appraisal time and the habit of changing the commission rate when a good rep threatens to leave. It is the first of the pay pages here, and every other one, from objectives to pay mix to rollout, starts from the gaps it names.
Where this sits
Topic 7 of 14 in sales management: compensation. Designing and checking the sales pay plan.
- The topic before
- Motivation and coaching
- The topic after
- Sales expenses
If you want this done for you
Your incentive plan rewards activity that has nothing to do with what needs selling.
The work
What this is actually like.
“Reps will not criticise the owner to the owner”
In a small firm a rep who says the plan is unfair is risking the job. Collect the rep scores on a Google Form or a WhatsApp poll with no names, and show only averages. If everyone scores simplicity a two, believe it.
“Run the check on money you can see”
Pull payouts for the last four quarters from accounts before the meeting. A plan that feels expensive sometimes pays out less than the owner thinks, and one that feels cheap sometimes pays the same three reps every quarter.
“Include the invisible costs”
Fixed pay, allowances, fuel, phone, PF and ESI on the fixed portion. A plan that looks like thirty thousand a month may cost the firm well above that. Ask your CA for the full cost per rep before you start scoring.
“A good plan can still be misunderstood”
Ask three reps to explain how this month's pay is worked out. If they cannot, the plan fails on simplicity whatever its design, and no incentive motivates a person who cannot calculate it.
What we do
What you end up with.
The documents this topic produces, what each one is for, and how you know it is finished.
The owner and manager scorecard
Nine rows with a 1 to 5 score and one line of evidence each. Rows cover motivation, alignment with company goals, control of effort, hiring and keeping good reps, cost, flexibility, simplicity, fairness and the rep's wish for security with upside.
Result: Finished when each score has evidence that someone else could check.
The anonymous rep sheet
The same nine rows in simple words, in the reps' own language, returned without names. Two or three reps is enough in a small team.
Result: Finished when you hold at least two completed sheets and no name appears on them.
The gap table
For each row, owner score, rep score and the difference. Circle the three largest gaps.
Result: Finished when the owner can state the three biggest disagreements in a sentence each.
The one-page verdict
Keep, fix or rebuild, the three gaps, which pay page deals with each and the date of the next check. Signed by the owner and shared with the team.
Result: Finished when every gap points to a next step with a date.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How often should we check the plan?
What if the reps' scores are all high?
Do commission-only agents belong in this?
Can we do this ourselves?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
Where to go next
The work that carries this topic further.
The rest of compensation
Or read all of sales management.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.