Sales commission management and tracking software has been on the market for a while, but Commissionly is the only cloud-based service that is 100% focused on small to medium business. This valuable web app offers all the benefits of typical commission tracking software… and more. You can access our simple and intuitive service from any place, at any time. That’s the beauty of cloud-based services.

Why choose commission and sales compensation software from Commissionly?

Managing and manually tracking sales and commissions for a team of sales professionals can be difficult and time-consuming. What’s more, it’s very easy to make mistakes and these can impact detrimentally on commissions paid out and cause unnecessary clashes with sales teams. 

Switching to commission software helps take the stress out of this activity and can also eliminate careless errors. Even if you already use commission software to track your business sales, you’ll still benefit from the cloud-based web app offered by Commissionly.

Our commission and sales compensation app is ideal for SMEs and provides simple data import tools and easy access to the web dashboard. It’s really quick and easy to set up Commissionly and it will only take a couple of minutes to tailor the service to meet the needs of your business in full. 

Additional benefits of our sales commission management app include:

– Offers transparency and it’s an easy matter for sales personnel to access the service and check all details
– Allows complete automation of the commission tracking process, saving valuable time for admin teams
– Gives real-time information, so you can create sales goals that are more relevant and reach objectives more easily and quickly

Managing sales compensation and commissions is essential for any sales-oriented business organisation, and using the cloud-based software supplied by Commissionly ensures you can produce all reports and generate commissions quickly. This way you will retain your best sales representatives, because poorly managed sales compensation plans can cause a lot of bad feeling and even result in the loss of valuable team members.

Get in touch with Commissionly today for more information on ways your business will benefit from our useful cloud-based commission management web app.

“Creativity is often the key to devising meaningful recognition programs that have an impact on individual performance and the bottom line.”

While Commissionly is one of the few CRM systems that offer native commission software, we pay careful attention to alternative modes of motivating and compensating sales staff that personify the competitive environment in the UK, Europe and the United States, especially with some sectors reporting talent shortages.

As Accenture summarily puts it “When it comes to motivating people toward great performance, it’s not just about the paycheck.”   Many sales managers have known or suspected this for years, especially in downturned economies when the selling cycle gets longer. Some companies may uncomfortably acknowledge that the number of calls necessary to close a deal has also jumped.   For instance, it is not uncommon to require six or more calls to close a deal in some sectors.

And conversion rates—moving from the initial call to the presentation stage, and then converting proposals to sales—are trending down for some industries, while in others the uptick in the U.S. economy may be moving them in the opposite direction.   Regardless, there will come a point in every small business lifecycle where they will experience some of the pain points above, which has a dramatic effect upon sales force motivation and performance.

“That leads to a situation where you have to know more and sell harder, but where you may be less effective in your overall success rates,” said Accenture. Traditionally higher commission and compensation rates may sound like the most sensible way to keep your sales force stimulated, focused and closing deals.

However, recent research indicates that this may not be the case with your sales force quenching for support in basic areas including sales enablement and tools, reducing quote cycle times, getting better documentation, and developing a product that is differentiated and easier to sell.

Modern authors like Daniel Pink, have also found compelling case studies in the software development industry which support the arguments above noting that one CEO decided to completely eliminate sales commissions after experiencing a protracted increase in commission complexity resulting from salespeople gaming the system and management constantly attempting to plug the holes.

For instance, salespeople would take advantage of early commission schemes by pushing sales into the time period most advantageous for them, by underselling one month to show a bigger gain the following month.   Soon the compensation software consumed large amounts of internal resources as management attempted to fight back, ultimately removing their focus from product and service development.

Frustrated by the process and results, the CEO decided to investigate eliminating sales commissions altogether, receiving at first, mixed and conflicting feedback from his sales force regarding this dramatic proposal:

“When I explained it to Tom [not his real name] he said, ‘It sounds like a really good idea. But James would never like it; he’s solely motivated by money. Remove the commission and he’ll leave.’ James said, ‘Sounds great. But it will never work with Tom. Money is all that drives him.”

Thus, according to Pink, not only were commissioned sales not leading to better performance, it wasn’t even the arrangement salespeople themselves preferred

The CEO decided to remove commissions and instead pay his sales force a healthy salary, which gradually resulted in increasing sales. Of course, this new scheme did have some casualties, with two salespeople promptly leaving. However most stayed and are thriving – including Tom and James, referenced above.

“Rather than relying on carrots [sell more and you can buy the new car] and sticks [don’t sell enough and you won’t be able to feed your kids], we are compelled to make our salespeople’s work more interesting, to set better goals and encourage teamwork,” said the CEO.

The result was collaboration and commitment increased and they became agents for the customer rather than a salesperson. While this strategy may not work in all industries it is worth acknowledging the drawbacks with the age-old use of commission structures.

According to Accenture, financial compensation—though not, strictly speaking, a physiological need—is analogous to the lowest tier of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. It is basic and important, but it touches upon only one dimension of motivation and a comparatively low-level one at that.

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Goal by PlusLexia.com licensed under Creative Commons 4.0

Creating sales goals can be difficult. Ensuring your targets are realistic enough that they are achievable, while also being high enough to boost efficiency, is a tricky balance to find. 

One of the best ways to encourage employees is to ensure that any and all sales targets are relatable. If employees feel invested in their personal targets, they are far more likely to reach them. Here are a few tips on setting relatable sales goals, which are useful for all sectors and teams of any size.

1. Different people should have different targets

Setting suitable targets for each individual is an important aspect. You can base these on years of experience, previous form and other circumstances. Of course, an experienced salesperson is likely to be able to sell more than a new employee so their targets should reflect this. Personalised targets also allow for greater self-reflection if they fail to meet them. This allows them to see where they can improve in the future. 

2. Give your employees context

Targets are always more relatable if your employees know on what basis they are set. Whether targets are set in line with projected company growth or last year’s figures plus 3%, explain to your staff that they aren’t arbitrary. It also shows how their efforts contribute to the wider company goals too

3. Alter targets upon results

Target setting should be dynamic. If an employee consistently achieves their target, then it’s worth considering setting them a higher target to keep them motivated. If an employee falls behind, then discuss reducing their target; it may make it more realistic and help them stay engaged. It’s important to note targets should still be a slight stretch for employees so they don’t become complacent. 

At Commissionly, we pride ourselves on being the first cloud-based sales commission and sales compensation management web app. We are 100% focused on SMEs. For more information about how we can help your business, contact us today [https://www.commissionly.io/contact-us/].