Implementing changes in the sales department. Part 12/12. Stage X – Implementation of the financial incentive system.

The last stage of changes should be the implementation of the employee motivation system in connection with the assumed sales goals. Sales goals should be set based on budget assumptions resulting from the extensive analysis contained in the sales strategy. In this context, a motivation system should be created in the sense of financial motivation.

The strategy defines the main goal which is the sale of a specific volume of goods. An additional task is to achieve a certain level of turnover with new customers within the main goal. Completing this second task should be linked to the expansion strategy of expanding the market and diversifying the customer portfolio. The diversification of the group of recipients is to allow for an increase in the level of margins achieved by making the negotiation process more flexible. It is primarily about moving away from the model of result conditioning by cooperating only with two or three large (turnover) clients who in this case use their hegemonic advantage when negotiating long-term contracts.

Considering the above, the following assumptions of the bonus system for sales department employees may be adopted (decision of the Management Board) as regards the implementation of the main strategic goal:

1. The bonus system will be consistent for the entire organization, i.e. all employees will receive a bonus on the same terms if the goal is met.
2. The settlement period for the payment of the bonus will be a calendar month – the implementation of the monthly goal means the payment of the bonus.
3. The basis for calculating the bonus amount is the appropriate percentage of the basic salary.
4. If the annual target is met, each employee will be paid an additional bonus in the amount of eg 100% of remuneration.

Commenting on the above assumptions, it should be emphasized that the main goal of the implemented bonus system is to develop team responsibility for the result, which is to improve cooperation between all departments in the company. The coherence of the bonus system for all employees means that the entire organization has focused on good-quality customer service, which should be understood in a generalized sales process, production process, quality control, accounting – that is, in fact, all manifestations of the company’s activity addressed to customers. The monthly settlement of bonuses gives the opportunity to implement tasks on the basis of “quick win” – the employee immediately received a reward for completed tasks. Rapid progress is immediately rewarded. On the other hand, an additional annual bonus, paid out if the budgetary target is met, gives the opportunity to “catch up” the unpaid premium for the month in which the target was not met.

Regardless of the financial incentive system, you can introduce additional incentives for sales employees to achieve an additional goal, i.e. expanding sales to a larger group of customers and diversifying the portfolio. The implementation of this system should be preceded by an analysis that should define the concept of “new customer” and determine the expected portfolio development in terms of “new busisness”. After presenting the status quo to employees and precisely defining the definition of a “new customer”, an annual target should be set for sales to this group of recipients. It can be established that all sales employees, regardless of their position and level of remuneration, as well as other bonuses, will receive an equal net amount as an additional annual remuneration for achieving the assumed goal. This amount should be set at an attractive level (decision of the Management Board). It is also worth determining the increase in this bonus when crossing the next higher result thresholds, and indicate its upper limit. To monitor your progress, it’s a good idea to enter a simple daily report showing the level of task completion and missing value to your annual goal. This report should be supplemented by employees so that any significant change in ratios bringing the bonus closer to you would be an additional motivation.