The talent you employ in your organisation is what drives your sales team’s success. Talent and underperformance are integrally linked. Without hiring the right people, you can expect to have a higher level of staff turnover and lower retention.

According to statistics, the average UK turnover rate (across all industries) is about 15%. However, sales teams can expect to have a turnover rate of 31%, more than double the average. There are a few reasons why employees might leave their sales position:

– Better sales commission at other organisations.
– Poor performance at their current job.
– Conflicts with management.

The problem is that recruitment can be costly financially and also to the efficacy of the team. It can cost near the equivalent of a year-and-half of the employee’s wages to replace an employee and get the new team member to full productivity.

So, for a £20,000 employee, the cost to replace them could be £30,000. If you have 10 people in your sales team, then replacing them at a rate of 31% could be a bill of, at least, £90,000 a year.

Employ the right people

Importantly, you need to look at employing the right people. Higher staff turnover is often because there is a mismatch between the business’ and the employee’s goals or values. A mismatch leads to a disillusioned staff member who won’t perform at their best.

Improve staff retention

It’s not all doom-and-gloom though. There are ways to improve staff retention. One such way is setting sales performance goals that are simultaneously realistic and challenging. This gives salespeople, who are traditionally very competitive, a reason to keep on pushing to meet sales targets.

You should also look at offering a sales commission that is fair to the salesperson for the work it takes to close a deal. If an employee thinks that the work isn’t worth the pay, they will likely look to move to another company, which will make them less enthusiastic about pushing sales for you.

All of these mean that staff retention is an important metric that needs to be monitored. Too many staff leaving your business will cost you significantly, which will severely impact your profits. And without the right sales commission software helping you to set sales goals and monitor performance, then your task will be harder.

While sales teams are often the major focus for compensation software, they aren’t the only ones who could use this technology to increase motivation. There are many industries and jobs where compensation could be awarded for high performance.

Here are three industries that can implement compensation software for ‘front-line staff’.

1. Retail

Retail staff, or any staff in the customer service industry, can be rewarded for their actions and this can motivate them to be more productive on the shop floor and sell more at the tills. There are many ways you can set sales goals for your retail staff. For instance, you can reward them for the most revenue generated (daily or weekly), the number of impulse buys they convert or the number of items sold in the store.

Compensation can be entered manually into the software, or there can be predefined goals that can be given to staff. This could apply to staff on the shop floor or those working at the check-out counters.

2. Leisure

Staff that work in spas, hotels or other leisure outlets can also be rewarded. An example could be in a gym; the staff can have set sales targets for signing up new members or renewals, etc.

3. Trades

Tradespeople are highly-skilled service providers (plumbers, electricians, etc.). Unfortunately, service-based businesses often have once-off jobs and this means the income is very unpredictable. In such a business you need to develop a stronger, passive income.

This is where all-inclusive deals can come in handy, where customers can pay a monthly fee for a set amount of work per year (like unlimited labour or free safety tests). These deals are great because they allow you to have a long-term, passive income that allows you to better predict revenues and plan more accurately.
And for customers, it’s a convenience. You could reward those providing your service when they sign up a new customer to your business. You can also set sale goals and reward them according to those.

Long-term sales don’t even need to be the key focus. You could reward staff on the number of event or day tickets they sell during a specific period.

A traditional sales team, that works in an office or even those that go door-to-door aren’t the only people who can benefit from compensation software. There are numerous other industries that can benefit too.

Your business can benefit too. Just ask Commissionly. We make it simple for you to set up and use and you won’t regret it.

People go to work for one primary reason. To earn money. For most, the wage or salary they receive is known in advance. It can be a regular, standard weekly or monthly payment. But sometimes it can be based on the number of jobs or tasks completed. Alternatively, some people get paid an hourly rate rather.

It’s different for sales personnel, however. Some are paid on a commission-only basis. Others receive a modest, regular wage that is supplemented by commission or compensation. This is when a certain amount of greyness can creep into the situation.

It’s not something that employers or employees like to entertain. So, a transparent sales compensation management system is the answer.

Sales compensation management software that reports in real-time

If all sales compensation is at one flat rate, it makes it easier to calculate how much is due. However, even in this instance, there is room for some ambiguity. For example, what date is a sale recorded on the system? Does it fall into one pay period or another? There is room for confusion, and this should be avoided wherever possible.

The solution is to install a cutting-edge sales compensation management program. To begin with, such software provides one place where are all sales and commissions are recorded. No more scraps of paper or sales reports that can get permanently lost or temporarily misplaced.

The best sales compensation software reports in real-time. Furthermore, it should be able to integrate seamlessly with relevant systems such as CRM and accounting software.

Increase loyalty through transparency

Imagine having a sales compensation management program that allows instant access to both sales management and staff. Besides dashboards for managers, you can have private dashboards for sales reps. Everyone can see exactly what the current position is in an instant. This sort of transparency is important. It gives sales personnel confidence in their employers thereby increasing employee loyalty.

Empower sales personnel with access to their compensation progress

Above all, calculations are automatic. You can introduce different levels of compensation for various products and product ranges. Accordingly, you will be able to use this to promote sales where you need them. Sales personnel will also be able to check-in and see where the best incentives lie. This puts them more in control of achieving their compensation targets.

Talk to Commissionly for more information

This type of sales compensation management software is available right now. It is easy to install and can be up and running in no time. It will bring complete transparency to the compensation playing field. For more information, call us today or visit our website.

Sales commission software is a great way to motivate and incentivise your sales team. But can it benefit your business?

Let’s take a look at the top 4 industries that utilise this means of employee performance tracking:

1. Financial services

Whether your team sells merchant payment services or helps others to better invest their money, sales commission software can reward those reps who go the extra mile in discovering the best opportunities for their clients. It can also integrate with existing cloud bookkeeping services such as QuickBooks and Xero. And if you work with referral bodies and agents on varying sales splits, sales commission software helps reduce error.

2. Tech industry

Offer solutions and services in the tech industry? Log conversions and manage targets for multi-tiered package and software scenarios easily with commission software. From ‘Software as a Service’ to cloud storage and cybersecurity products, a gamified sales team is the perfect means to convert leads.

3. Digital services

Track the performance of account managers or departments selling PPC, online advertising or SEO services. Integrate reps’ performance with your CRM, set targets in line with the latest data analytics and adjust them based on experience. It can even be adjusted whether your commission structure is recurring or varied.

4. Medical sales

Medical practices are keener than ever to use their budget wisely, and sales reps are having to work harder to make those (all-important) conversions. Sales commission software enables reps to see their targets and track their own performance. Sales commission software can also be based on multiple currency conversions for those that sell at home or globally.

Sales commission tracking software is a great option for any business looking to improve their sales conversions. Whatever you sell, maximise your team’s potential with Commissionly today.

Whether you’ve been part of a business for twenty years or are just getting started in setting up your own, it’s critical that you have software to help make your day-to-day tasks easier. However, it can be difficult to find such a solution if you aren’t sure what tools the ideal solution should have.

Luckily for you, the team here at Commissionly have rounded up a list of tools that every good sales commission dashboard should have.

Multi-currency support

Every business wants to reach as wide an audience as possible. This includes appealing to potential customers from all around the world, which in turn means having the ability to support a variety of currencies besides the local one.

Recurring commissions tool

If you’re a sales commission-based company, it’s key that you build a rapport and reputation with every client. This way, you’re likely to entice them to remain loyal to you, earning recurring commissions. When this is the case, it’s key that you have a tool that allows you to track such recurrences; doing so means you can pinpoint who to offer promotions and loyalty rewards to.

Sales rep tracker

If you employ a number of people to help fulfil commissions – whether it be securing them, or carrying them out – then you need a tracker to ensure that everything is running smoothly. You should look for a tool that easily and effectively lists each team member, the commission jobs they have assigned, and whether or not these commissions have been fulfilled.

Choose Commissionly

No matter what size or stage your company is at, Commissionly is a platform with a sales commission dashboard that’s intuitive and broad enough to suit a wide variety of needs. Our dashboard boasts all of the features listed in this blog post and more, so you can be certain that you’re the boss of every aspect of your business. Get in touch with a member of the team today.

What is incentive compensation?

Incentive compensation is a form of flexible compensation, in which how much an employee earns varies depending on how many sales they make and how this benefits the company as a whole. Through incentive compensation, the goals of individual salespeople and the goals of the company are aligned, resulting in improved business outcomes.

Incentives can vary from business to business and can include bonuses, commissions, SPIFs (Sales Performance Incentive Funds), prizes and recognition of employees’ achievements. A successful incentive compensation plan is structured in such a way that employees’ rewards will increase as they make more sales and raise revenue for the business.

The benefits of incentive compensation

• Increase in sales

The goal of incentive compensation is to motivate employees to work harder to meet and, hopefully, surpass their sales goals, therefore boosting company profits. Salespeople are financially motivated, so the prospect of compensation based on improved performance is guaranteed to result in more sales.

• Positive working relationships

The success of incentive compensation is based on employees and employers working as a team to drive the business towards success. Some businesses also organise their salespeople into teams to work towards a common goal, fostering positive working relationships between colleagues and encouraging them to help each other.

• Reduction in turnover

If an employee feels dissatisfied with their work and feels as though they aren’t being recognised or rewarded for their achievements, they are likely to move on to another job that more befits their personal goals. Employee satisfaction depends largely on whether their hard work is adequately rewarded, and incentive compensation is the perfect way to achieve this.

How can sales compensation software help?

Sales compensation software simplifies the compensation process, improving automation and providing transparency for you and your employees so you can work together to boost your business’s profits. Get in touch with Commissionly today and find out how we can streamline your sales compensation plan.

The norm in business is for companies to pay their employees a basic wage. This is then built on with performance-related bonuses depending on how the employee has been performing. However, with the emergence of the gig economy, this is changing. Employees are taking jobs that pay by the task rather than hourly, which can be a great way to make sure your workforce is effective.

Workers are starting to prefer these jobs for a few reasons.

Wanting to earn as much money as possible

Firstly, employees are more likely to give their all if they know they’ll be rewarded for it. Why would a worker put in as much effort as possible if they’d be earning the same at the end of the week?

Hourly or salaried workers have less reason to push themselves. On the other hand, commission workers need to work with more focus, for the extra income. Essentially, they can earn themselves a bonus by pushing themselves as hard as they can.

As earnings are in their own hands, employees find themselves striving to do more since they directly see the benefit.

Using commission alongside salary

Whilst a workforce based on commission can be effective, combining it with a salary can bring added benefits.

When employees who receive a commission only, often feel under pressure and stressed about hitting targets. A salaried worker, on the other hand, can feel financially secure and not need to worry about completing a set amount of tasks.

Employees can instead be offered a salary with commissions as a bonus. This not only makes sure the worker feels happy and secure. Additionally, workers can have the incentive provided by a commission. In this case, they’re not only working hard for a living, but they can see the benefit they gain by getting that extra sale.

If you’re interested in a system of sales-based rewards, Commissionly can help to fulfil your business potential. Commissionly provides real-time sales data to encourage and challenge your team to achieve. The commission management software can help you to forecast and plan your finances, organising your business for the foreseeable future.

Get in touch at Commissionly for a quote, and our friendly expert team will assist you in setting up the right tracking system for you.

Sales commission software is an invaluable tool for both businesses and individuals. It helps business owners to calculate, with ease, how much they owe their sales personnel. But the right commission tracking software can do so much more. It can also be used to incentivise a sales team.

There are many opportunities for salespeople who rely on earning a commission. However, they must know where they stand at all times. After all, for many, it determines what food they will be putting on their plates. It also means being able to pay bills on time. In short, their commission is their lifeblood.

Sales commission software sets and measures markers

For some salespeople, sales commission software allows them to concentrate their efforts on earning a liveable income. For others, it represents a marker. However, to the ambitious salesperson, that marker is not a goal. It is something to be bettered each time around. It is an incentive to raise the bar – to sell more.

Real-time reporting

To work well as an incentive tool, sales commission software must report in real-time. It means that salesmen and women can see where they are at earnings-wise, at any point in time. It gives them the spur they need to achieve their target income.

Comprehensive flexibility

But there is something else too that good sales commission software needs. It needs to be comprehensibly flexible. Most people like challenges. Provided of course they are achievable. This in itself makes them a great incentive as non-achievable challenges actually disincentivize employees.

Target setting

The best commission calculation software must have a user-friendly interface and be easily programmable. From the company point of view, it makes target setting a cinch. It enables attractive commissions to be set on certain categories of products.

This has two advantages:

1. The first is that it concentrates sales efforts on product categories that need it. Therefore, businesses remain in close control of their targets.
2. The second is for the sales staff. Moving targets around through commission biasing creates new challenges. Challenges motivate the sales team, giving them the determination and will to achieve.

Satisfying both ends of the spectrum

If you’re looking for the best sales commission platform to increase sales and motivate your salesforce, try Commissionly. It achieves the best results at both ends of the spectrum.

Commissions can be a major part of small to medium enterprises (SMEs). They are a highly effective way of making sure that employees are always doing their best for the company since their pay is directly linked to sales. However, to manage commission payments effectively, specific software is required. To run your company most efficiently you need to make sure this software is a perfect fit for your business.

Here are the features for the perfect commission software for small to medium enterprises:

Sales splits

For any company where more than one person is involved in any sale, sales splits are important. Without this feature, commissions would inevitably go to the person who finalised the sale. However, a sale can be more complicated than that and requires more specifics to properly manage commissions. Multiple team members will probably have engaged with potential clients in order to get to the point of them making a purchase. So only rewarding one person can often be unfair and will have a negative on the motivation of the team. With sales splits, different employees can earn different shares of the commission, so everyone gets paid what they are due.

Manager overrides

If your SME has multiple branches, manager overrides can be necessary. Since each manager is responsible for their own team, they should be rewarded when that team does well. The best commission software will account for this and allow managers to receive a share of their teams’ sales. The best managers will earn more, and everyone will be encouraged to get the team to do better since it’s in everyone’s best interest.

Dashboard & reporting

The best commission software for SMEs will need to account for a company’s need for in-depth financial information. Smaller companies are always looking for room to grow.

In-depth reporting means that SMEs can look for areas of strength or weakness in their company and adjust accordingly, rewarding those that are doing well whilst spotting any issues. Tools to analyse business performance are always important, and good commission software should provide this.

Ultimately, one commissioning software guarantees all of this and more. With Commissionly, your small to medium business can ensure that everyone is fairly paid whilst providing the resources to grow. If you believe your company needs commissioning software like this, contact us, book a demo or start the free trial. Our reliable team of experts can advise on the right package for you, and make sure that your small to medium business can thrive.

Motivation is important within any role, but it is vital within a sales environment. From large call volumes to rejection handling, even the best salespeople have to learn to be resilient and often have to rely on their own motivations to get through particularly difficult days.

Within an organisation, there are a few things that can be done to motivate a sales team and create a positive working environment.

Talk openly about sales commission

One of the biggest motivations of a sales role is money, and this is not something which should be downplayed. Many professionals within sales rely heavily, if not solely, on their bonus and commission. They are strongly aware that this will only be made if they put in the necessary work. And encouraging your team to talk about how much commission they have made in a month, can be motivating for those who may be earning less than their colleagues.

Encourage competition

Competition is a great way of increasing motivation within a sales team. By having weekly and monthly targets made visible to the whole team, it can motivate the bottom performers to reach the same level of expertise as their colleagues. It can also encourage competition among the top performers and boost their sales figures in the process. By having a friendly yet competitive atmosphere, you are encouraging your team to revel in their achievements and to work together to reach the most effective sales techniques for your business.

Visualise sales goals

Another way in which businesses motivate their sales team is by keeping everything visual. It is not a secret that those within sales are in it for the money, so by getting them to set goals and visualise them, can boost performance and ultimately, sales figures. The goals could be a new car, a relaxing holiday, or buying a home. Everyone has goals. Reminding your sales team of these goals whilst at work, is perfect motivation because only they have the power to reach their dreams and make them a reality.