Sales compensation and incentive design · Sales
Your incentive plan rewards activity that has nothing to do with what needs selling.
An incentive plan is meant to point the sales team at what matters most: the right products, the right customers, the right kind of deal. Left unreviewed for years, it often ends up rewarding whatever was true when it was written, not what the business needs now.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Sales compensation and incentive design sets the commission structure, bonuses and targets that decide how a sales rep is paid. It is built so the plan actually rewards the behaviour the business needs. GullySales reviews your current plan against what it is producing and redesigns it where the two do not match.
We look at what the current plan actually rewards, compare that against what the business genuinely needs sold, and redesign the structure so the two line up. This includes the split between fixed pay and commission, the targets that trigger a bonus, and how new products or accounts are treated differently from existing ones.
Getting this wrong is expensive twice over: once in the payouts made for the wrong behaviour, and again in the revenue never pursued because the plan did not reward it.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“The plan rewards volume over value”
A rep is paid the same commission for a small, low-margin order as for a large, strategic one, so effort goes to whichever closes fastest.
“New products have no incentive attached”
A rep earns nothing extra for pushing a new or higher-margin product, so old habits and old products keep getting sold.
“Commission disputes take up management time”
Reps and managers argue over how a payout was calculated because the rules are not written down clearly enough to settle it quickly.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Current plan review
What the existing plan actually rewards, checked against real payout data.
Behaviour and revenue alignment check
Where the plan's incentives match, or do not match, what the business needs sold.
New plan design
A revised structure covering fixed pay, commission splits and bonus triggers.
Modelling against past performance
The new plan tested against last year's actual results, so surprises are caught before rollout.
Written plan document
Clear, unambiguous rules for how commission is calculated, to reduce disputes.
Rollout communication
A short briefing for the team explaining the new plan and why it changed.
Sales dashboard and review routine
One page per salesperson showing enquiries handled, quotes sent and orders closed, and a fixed review routine around it, so incentives are discussed from the same numbers.
How the result is measured
- Commission paid against margin generated
- New product sales after plan change
- Commission disputes raised
- Rep understanding of the plan
- Payout accuracy
- Orders per salesperson
- Conversion by salesperson
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 whose incentive plan has not been reviewed since the sales team was smaller or the product line was different
- Owners who suspect the plan rewards easy deals over the ones that matter most
- Companies launching a new product that the current plan does not account for
- Sales leaders managing disputes over how commission is calculated
- Businesses moving from a purely fixed salary to a performance-linked structure for the first time
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Very small teams paid entirely on fixed salary with no plans to introduce commission
- Businesses in the middle of a payroll or HR system change that should settle first
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 payouts
We study what the existing plan has actually paid out and what behaviour it rewarded.
- 2
Agree the target behaviour
We confirm with you what the business most needs the sales team focused on next.
- 3
Design the new structure
Fixed pay, commission and bonus triggers are built to reward that behaviour specifically.
- 4
Model against history
The new plan is tested against last year's numbers to check for unintended effects.
- 5
Roll out and document
A written plan is delivered and communicated clearly to the team before it takes effect.
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.
Will this reduce how much reps earn?
Can you help with HR or payroll systems too?
How do you avoid unintended side effects?
How often should the plan be reviewed?
Can you also help us hire and train the salespeople?
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?
By industry
Sales compensation and incentive design, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Read before you buy
- How to hire a salesperson: what to test before the offerBefore you make an offer to a salesperson, test them three ways: a short role-play on your own product, reference calls with the right questions, and a field day with a real customer.
- A sales incentive plan for a small team: fixed, variable and trapsHow to split a small sales team's pay between fixed and variable, what to pay on, which common plan designs backfire, and a one-page plan an owner can write before the next hire.
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.