Sales management · Compensation
Run the new plan on last year's figures, then launch it with the reps in the room.
A comp plan pretest applies the proposed pay plan to the last one to three years of actual sales, to show what each rep and the firm would have been paid. The rollout then covers the briefing, the written plan, and an annual review date, so no rep meets the change by surprise.
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 pretest applies the proposed pay plan to the last one to three years of actual sales, to show what each rep and the firm would have been paid. The rollout then covers the briefing, the written plan, and an annual review date, so no rep meets the change by surprise.
A cable dealer in Indore changes the commission slab in April and announces it in the sales meeting. By May, the top rep's payout is lower than last year's because a threshold moved. Nobody checked the old sales against the new rules.
The pretest is a sheet. Each rep's actual sales, target and pay for the past years go in, the new plan's rules are applied, and the old and new totals sit side by side. Accounts supplies the figures and the owner reads the result. Anyone who loses money gets a conversation before the plan is announced.
The rollout is a meeting, a document and a calendar entry. It replaces the announcement and the surprise. It closes the pay pages here: the health check, objectives, benchmark and mix pages feed it, and the annual review sends you back to the first.
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.
“Losers matter more than winners”
List who would have been paid less under the new plan. Each of them gets a private conversation. A plan that is cheaper because it cuts the best rep's pay is a resignation waiting to be signed.
“Keep the simulation as the calculator”
Build the pretest in the sheet you will use for monthly payouts. The same file then checks real months, and errors in the plan show up before they show up in a payslip.
“Phase in the drop”
If a rep's pay falls under the new plan, decide on a phase-in or a protected period and write it down. A variable-pay change made partway through the year without the rep's agreement leads to disputes, so get acceptance in writing and consult an adviser.
“Language matters”
Give each rep the plan in the language they work in, with three examples worked out in rupees. A plan written in the owner's English and signed by a rep who read half of it is not accepted in any real sense.
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 history table
Per rep and year: sales, target, fixed pay, incentive paid, total pay. Pulled from accounts for the past one to three years.
Result: Finished when the old-plan totals match payroll.
The simulation
The new rules applied to the same rows, with total cost, cost as a share of sales, and each rep's change in pay in rupees and per cent.
Result: Finished when you can name every rep who would have lost money and by how much.
The plan document
Plain-language rules, three worked examples, the payment date, the dispute route and the effective date. Signed by each rep as received.
Result: Finished when each rep has signed and holds a copy.
The review calendar
A date twelve months out and two measures to check: goal attainment and rep turnover or morale. Entered in the owner's diary.
Result: Finished when the date is in a calendar someone else can see.
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 much history do I need?
Should reps vote on the plan?
Can we change the plan mid-year?
What does a successful review look like?
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.