Increase sales through better compensation? How do I know I’m getting paid the right amount?
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 @ 10:02 AM
Even though we're best known for our telesales training courses, I have dozens of conversations every week regarding compensation issues and hiring new reps. Inside sales managers love talking to us, because we don't charge for referring great reps that have been through our training courses to them. Often, those managers will ask what the going pay rate is for inside sales people, because if the comp plan is too low, reps will leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along. And if they pay too much, they'll have to hire fewer reps. Here in the Bay Area, in the past six months, I've seen base pay for quota-bearing inside sales reps vary between $35,000 and $90,000 per year, quite a spread. The dilemma is compounded because base pay can also depend on the area of the world where your corporate HQ is located (I can't envision an inside rep making $90K base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan).
So how do you figure out what inside salespeople are making in your geographical area, so you can make a case for getting paid more money (or if you're a manager, getting better pay for your reps so you can hang onto them longer)? Trish Bertuzzi of The Bridge Group has been putting out inside sales compensation surveys for a few years now, and they're always great reading. She has very good data on KPIs (metrics) as well. Trish gets her data through a survey she takes every year, and she's invited my blog subscribers to participate in the survey in compiling this year's data. This is a terrific project, and when it's completed, all you have to do is download it from her website to read it. It's free, and I think it's one of the most valuable compensation and metrics tools and rep or manager can use. To participate, just contact her. Here's how she suggests you do it:
"We'd like to invite you to participate in our 2010 Inside Sales Metrics & Compensation survey. Participation should take no more than 6 minutes. We will be using this data to produce our 2010 research reports, which you will receive pre-release and at no charge. You can access last year's report (no registration required) here: Inside Sales & Lead Generation
To begin, respond to me by email at insidesalesreport@bridgegroupinc.com with your appropriate Inside Sales implementation, based on the definitions below:
Lead Generation- Reps tasked with pipeline generation, appointment setting, pre-qualifying inquiries, etc. (Reps carry no revenue quota)
Inside Sales- Reps tasked with revenue generation, closing business, etc. (For on-premise software/hardware solutions)
SaaS / Inside Sales- Reps tasked with revenue generation, closing business, etc. (For SaaS, Software-as-a-Service, models)
Note: If you have multiple implementations, please feel free to request more than one survey."
Geoff here again. Just a reminder to email Trish, not me, at tbertuzzi@bridgegroupinc.com , and tell her which of those three categories you fall into. She'll email the appropriate survey right back to you. Have fun with the survey, and I think you'll enjoy reading the eventual compiled data that derives from it.