Sales management · Compensation
Decide how much is fixed, how much is incentive, and what pay looks like at 60, 100 and 150 per cent.
A pay mix is the split between fixed salary and variable incentive for a sales role, and a payout curve shows how pay changes as sales approach and pass target. This page ends in a signed table of rupee payouts at several attainment levels, checked against what the firm can afford.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
A pay mix is the split between fixed salary and variable incentive for a sales role, and a payout curve shows how pay changes as sales approach and pass target. This page ends in a signed table of rupee payouts at several attainment levels, checked against what the firm can afford.
A water-treatment dealer in Vijayawada pays an all-or-nothing bonus at 100 per cent of target. By the second week of the last month, two reps who are at 70 per cent stop trying and one who is at 105 per cent stops selling and holds orders for April. The curve told them exactly what to do.
The design starts with the selling situation: a one-off sale or a repeat, a hunter or a farmer. Next, lift the total pay figure from the benchmark and divide it between fixed salary and incentive, then tabulate what the rep earns when attainment reaches 150, 120, 100, 80 and 60 per cent of target. The owner chooses, accounts checks the total cost at expected attainment, and the reps get the table.
It replaces the rate someone remembers from the last job. It follows the benchmarking and objectives pages and comes before the pretest, which runs the new plan against last year's figures.
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.
“The more the rep controls, the more can be variable”
A rep who finds and closes their own accounts can carry a high incentive share. A rep who serves a retail counter where walk-ins arrive anyway needs a higher fixed share. Match the mix to how much effort changes the result.
“All-or-nothing makes people quit early”
Below a hard threshold the incentive is zero, so a rep who is far behind has no reason to push. A proportional rate or a lower threshold keeps effort alive all quarter.
“A cap is a cost control and a signal”
Without a cap, a lucky territory pays out wildly. With a flat cap, the best rep stops at the line. If you cap, add a second tier above it at a lower rate rather than a wall.
“Variable pay can reshape fixed obligations”
How much of pay sits in basic and how much in allowances or variable can change PF, gratuity and tax. Ask your CA before finalising the split. Rules differ by state and change.
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 selling-situation note
Two lines per role: what is sold, to whom, how long the sale takes and how much of the result the rep controls.
Result: Finished when the note explains why the role gets the mix it does.
The mix options table
Three options, such as salary plus commission, salary plus quarterly bonus, and salary plus commission plus bonus, each with the monthly fixed figure, the rate and the pay at target.
Result: Finished when each option sums to the target total pay.
The payout table
Rows for 60, 80, 100, 120 and 150 per cent of target. Columns for sales, fixed pay, incentive, total pay and cost as a share of sales.
Result: Finished when a rep can find their own month in the table.
The cost check
Total incentive cost if every rep lands at the expected attainment, and at a good year. Signed by accounts.
Result: Finished when the owner has seen the cost of an excellent year and accepted it.
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.
What fixed-to-variable split should we use?
Is commission-only a good idea?
Should the incentive be paid monthly or quarterly?
How do we handle sales that are returned or unpaid?
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.