Partner compensation and incentive design · Channel and partners
Pay partners for the behaviour you want, not the order they would have placed anyway.
Many trade schemes reward the same top few partners every quarter, because the scheme is structured around volume alone and volume follows whoever was already largest. The incentive spend goes out, but it rarely changes anyone's behaviour.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Partner compensation and incentive design is the work of structuring margins, scheme payouts and contests. It rewards partners for growth, coverage and compliance rather than for orders they would have placed regardless. GullySales reviews current payouts and rebuilds the incentive structure around what genuinely moves the business.
This service looks at what a scheme is actually meant to achieve, whether that is new territory coverage, faster payment or pushing a slow-moving product. It then designs the payout to reward that specifically. It also checks that the maths works: that the incentive costs less than the growth it produces.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“The same three partners win every contest”
A volume-based scheme naturally rewards whoever was already the largest, so the incentive spend changes nothing about anyone's behaviour.
“Nobody has checked if the scheme pays for itself”
A festival scheme goes out every year on habit, and nobody has compared its cost against the extra sales it actually produced.
“Partners game the scheme instead of growing with it”
Orders get pushed to the last week of a slab period to hit a bonus tier, then drop off, creating a spike that looks like growth but is not.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Incentive objective review
A clear statement of what the scheme is meant to change, coverage, new products, payment terms or total volume, before any structure is designed.
Scheme structure design
Slabs, bonuses or contests built around the specific behaviour you want, tested against past order data before launch.
Payout cost and return check
A comparison of what a scheme is likely to cost against the incremental sales it should produce, so it earns its budget.
Anti-gaming rules
Simple checks, such as return caps or spread requirements, that stop a scheme being gamed through order timing alone.
Scheme communication material
Clear terms explained to partners so there is no dispute at payout time about what was promised.
How the result is measured
- Scheme cost against incremental sales
- Number of partners earning above the base tier
- New behaviour targeted versus achieved
- Disputes raised at payout
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Businesses running trade schemes that pay out to the same partners regardless of effort
- Companies wanting to launch a new product and needing an incentive to get partners to push it
- Networks where credit period and payment discipline have slipped and need a compliance incentive
- Businesses unsure whether their current scheme spend is producing any incremental growth
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- You have never run a partner scheme before and want the basic tier structure first. Start with partner programme design
- Your issue is which partners to reward, not how much. That is partner segmentation and tiering
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
How the work runs
- 1
Review current schemes
A review of the last year's schemes, their cost and what they actually changed in partner behaviour.
- 2
Set the objective
Agreement on what this round of incentive design is meant to achieve, specifically.
- 3
Design and test
Structure built and checked against historic order data before it goes live.
- 4
Launch and measure
The scheme run with clear terms, and its cost against results reported at close.
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.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
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.
Can you tell us the right payout percentage for our trade?
How do you stop a scheme being gamed?
Should incentives be cash or something else?
How often should schemes change?
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?
By industry
Partner compensation and incentive design, written for your industry.
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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.