"I used to hate my job."
That's what Alex Wu, Sales Incentive Manager, told us during our latest episode of The Commission Corner.
But what changed?
He discovered that sales compensation isn't just about payroll - it's about driving strategy, rewarding performance, and unlocking the full potential of a company's most vital asset: its sales team.
Here’s what stood out from our conversation with Alex:
1) Sales comp is more than math
↳ It's strategy, psychology, retention, and revenue rolled into one
↳ A good plan doesn’t just calculate, it motivates
2) Europe is behind the US on sales comp maturity
↳ In the US, it's a core strategic role
↳ In Europe, it’s often still a side project owned by Finance or RevOps
3) Comp plans need a GTM strategy, not guesswork
↳ Data first, modeling second
↳ Align KPIs to behaviors, not just outcomes
4) Transparency beats complexity
↳ Communicate why the plan exists
↳ Explain the carrot and the stick...not just the spreadsheet
5) Retention is built into comp... or broken by it
↳ Ignore it, and you'll burn your best people
↳ Embrace it, and you build a comp plan that’s a talent magnet
And one final reminder from Alex:
“Sales comp isn’t just about how much people earn. It’s how you get your entire company to move in one direction.”
Shoutout to the people designing comp plans, running the models, aligning stakeholders, and still having to sell the vision internally.
You are the unsung heroes behind every high-performing sales team.
The episode with Alex is now online on Spotify and co!