5 Tips on Negotiating a Comp Plan

A few weeks ago we discussed five things that make a great comp plan. It’s still early in the year and comp plans are a hot topic. Many sales reps don’t believe they can negotiate their comp plans, but that’s not always true.

We sat down with Brian Burns, host of The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling, to discuss five things to consider when negotiating your comp plan:

1. AWARENESS: Reps need to understand where their sweet spot lies. It also helps to understand when decisions start to get made. Getting involved with the sales executives early on will help to clue you in. Negotiation is a two way street, so instead of thinking about how to structure things to get more, think about what you are willing to give up.
2. UNCOVER VALUE: Find out what deals matter the most for your sales executives. Let’s say deals over 100k bring in the most value to your company – ask for a multiplier for any deals that exceed that magic number.
3. KNOW YOUR LIMITS: If you start trying to negotiate in a place where you don’t bring credibility to the negotiation, you’ve instantly lost the potential to come up with something that’s going to be mutually beneficial. Play to your strengths and don’t overlook your weaknesses.
4. STOP WHINING: When the dust settles, don’t try to change things. Hit the ground running and start filling your pipeline and lining your wallet. If you didn’t get involved in the negotiation soon enough, you’ve learned your lesson and now know when to prepare for next year. Look at your own performance and activity levels and assess your starting points for future negotiations.
5. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST FOR THE 5TH ELEMENT!

Listen to the entire podcast episode to get more insight into each key element, the things you, as a revenue executive, must be aware of to remain relevant and successful in the new sales landscape.

This post is based on a podcast discussion with Brian Burns, host of The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the B2B Revenue Executive Experience.

If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen to every episode here.