James Alexander Consulting LLC
Compensation Advisory Services
That's right, they exist - compensation, recognition, sales incentives, its all out there. Here are six of my favorites: Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Directed by James Foley and written by David Mamet (the same guy that wrote the stage play of the same name), this is arguably the best film ever made about how to... Continue Reading →
The challenges with financial incentives that relate to problem-solving roles, and how we can truly drive innovation
2023 is likely to be a year of challenges for many companies with economic headwinds forcing leaders to regularly adjust their expectations. Most would agree, it's probably not the best time to be a salesperson, but this is also precisely the time that companies need their best sellers to stick around. Generally speaking, adjusting plans... Continue Reading →
"Yeah, fugazi, fogazi. It’s a wazi, it’s a woozi. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist, it’s never landed, it is no matter, it’s not on the elemental charge" It may seem like fugazi but Compensation Cost of Sales (CCOS) could be the difference between sales plan success and failure. In simple terms, CCOS is the... Continue Reading →
Actually, no, let's not call the whole thing off, let's clear this up once and for all. Many people capitalize spiffs claiming it to be an acronym for "Special Purpose Incentive for Field Force" or any one of several possible acronyms. Let's be clear - it does not stand for ANYTHING. At best it is... Continue Reading →
The debate around the use of thresholds is perennial and it's fair to say that it's one of the areas of sales comp where common practice varies a fair amount. The argument in favor of a threshold goes something like this - "why would I pay a salesperson to underachieve? We'll create a minimum level... Continue Reading →
This week I received an interesting query, asking if I had any market sales quota data that could be used to assess if quotas were reasonable or not. I found this a particularly interesting query. Firstly because I was curious to understand why they felt that market data would help them assess the effectiveness of... Continue Reading →
In theory, SIP design is fairly straightforward, pick the measures, design the mechanics, implement. Easy, right? Wrong. All too often the process can leave even the most resilient of problem-solvers a broken, battered, husk of the consultant they once were, clawing at the walls of the sales incentive prison they have created for themselves.¹ Now, some... Continue Reading →