80% of Sales & Finance Executives View Sales Compensation as a Strategic Function

Centive, the leader in on-demand sales performance management, recently completed a "blind" survey with 144 senior sales and finance executives based in the US. The survey reveals that while 80% of executives view sales compensation management as a sales performance function, fewer than 25% claim their current sales compensation system provides measurable strategic value. The survey results validate previous analyses by industry analysts and thought leaders which indicate that for many companies, a significant gap exists between expectation and reality with respect to sales compensation programs and their affect on sales performance.

Centive attributes this gap to a longstanding industry-wide reliance upon home-grown spreadsheet-based commission calculation systems. In fact, 92% of the survey respondents indicated they currently use in-house spreadsheet-based sales compensation systems, and within that group, 68% indicated their level of satisfaction at a "1" or "2" on a 5-point scale (5 being very satisfied).

Additional data points from the survey include the following:

• 77% claim their current system provides no access to performance data until after the close of a period
• 62% claim their current system does not easily support plan modeling or commission expense forecasting
• 54% claim that commission disputes result in lost sales focus
• 42% claim their current system does not support Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

“The results of this survey validate what we see time and time again, particularly in small and mid-market companies. Ultimately, sales compensation is one of the best means of communicating to the sales force what is important to accomplish... We’ve found that automated systems like Compel enable companies to better manage this day in and day out communication with the sales force, consistently motivate the right behavior, and thus enable a company to realize the strategic value of a soundly designed program.”
David J. Fritz, President, Growth Solutions

As the leading on-demand sales performance management solution, Compel offers real-time performance visibility and performance analytics. Compel provides strategic value by enabling customers to run in-depth analysis, model and forecast sales compensation expense, optimize plan effectiveness, and drive sales performance and top-line revenue growth. To learn how Compel can help you achieve best-in-class sales performance, follow the links below.