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Top Insights from the Best: Top Insights for CEOs, Sales & Marketing Leaders and Investors from the best experts in the world.

The "Top Insights from the Best" is the latest & greatest from the world of SaaS Sales, Marketing and overall Go-to-Market executives.We interview the most prominent CROs, VPs, senior operators and investors to discover their best insights, strategies, tactics and unique tips to succeed in scaling SaaS revenue. The focus of our conversations is on helping C-Level executives hear how others accelerate sales from $20 Million to $200 Million ARR and beyond - faster and better. Our Guests include Richard Harris, Scott Leese, Jeff Hyman, Jamal Reimer, Joe Caprio, Chris Lytle.⠀

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Top Insights from the Best: Top Insights for CEOs, Sales & Marketing Leaders and Investors from the best experts in the world.

Top Insights From the Best: David Cichelli

December 02, 2020 • Zorian Rotenberg • Season 1 • Episode 11

David Cichelli helps companies achieve their sales objectives through a variety of solutions, including improved segmentation, channel design, sales ROI, sales metrics, quota allocation, selling models and sales compensation. David is widely recognized for his work in linking sales compensation to management's objectives. He is author of The Sales Growth Imperative: How World Class Sales Organizations Successfully Manage the Four Stages of Growth, Compensating the Sales Force: A Practical Guide to Designing Winning Sales Reward Programs.

In this episode:

- Are variable incentives in the Sales Compensation even necessary if there are claims out there that sales people are driven by meaning and autonomy?

- Discussion on how humans respond to a measurement system & alignment

- Shouldn’t all salespeople have unlimited pay, like real estate agents?

- Distinction between market makers ir income producers (100% variable & uncapped) & sales representatives

- On the definition difference between a Commission (at risk) and a Bonus (add-on), and all other fun talk on things ranging from Target Incentives, to Quotas, to ICRs (Individual Commission Rates)

- What is 3x Uncapped all about

- Don’t pay programs reflect industry practices? One industry pays one way; another differently.

- Discuss sales comp principles and how they apply uniformly; including globally.

- How often should the pay plan be revised and why do companies change their sales compensation plans annually

- Should a lot of pay be at risk- low base; high upside incentive? Concepts of pay mix and leverage- upside potential

- Who should own the sales compensation plan? CRO/EVP of Sales? HR? Finance? Is it a program with a “shared responsibility” among various stakeholders.

- What’s the purpose of quotas and how do they affect sales compensation. How quotas set expectations and equalize earnings for dissimilar size territories.

- Who should be eligible for sales compensation - for instance, should Sales Engineers be eligible and who are the roles that truly persuade the customer to purchase.

- How many "performance measures" should be in an incentive plan, including profit? Can you have more than 3? And what are the “output” measures that the seller can influence.

- Should things like taking good notes in the CRM be one of the key measures in the incentive plan for reps.

- How often should the incentive plan pay? Why it is tied to sales cycle, pay mix and cash flow considerations.

- Is double crediting bad for two different sales reps in various situations? We discuss the implications of multiple sellers (aka persuaders). What factors should serve quota retirement/relief.

- Should there be a clawback clause in Sales Comp Plans?

- Why the revision to the sales compensation is a time to discuss objectives for the next year and is an excellent communication/leadership opportunity?