Tweet

When it Comes to Compensation Sales is NOT like Baseball

Guest post by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: So, the Red Sox have made some big moves in the past week, culminating with the monster signing of Carl Crawford for $142 million. The comparison between baseball and sales is the basis of my Baseline Selling method, but when it comes to compensation the two honestly don't have a lot of common ground.

When it Comes to Compensation Sales is NOT like Baseball

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.

Regular readers know that I follow - no - live and die by the Boston Red Sox. I awoke this morning to discover that they have reached an agreement to sign Carl Crawford for $142 million on the heels of trading for Adrian Gonzalez and reaching an agreement with him for a contract extension worth $157 million. If you like baseball as much as me and your team signed two of the best players in the world, you would have a little extra bounce at 5:30 AM!

Aside from the excitement of the signings though, the Red Sox committed to $299 million on 2 guys in 4 days! You won't find that in sales...

Not only that, but Gonzalez is getting quite a bump. He'll be going from $6 million to $21 million annually. How would you like to earn just one year's worth - $21 million - in the remaining years of your career? Forget about the staggering totals for a minute. Forget that they work part-time. Forget that they get 4 months off. Forget that they get endorsement deals, speaking opportunities (good to know that there's one area where I'm probably paid better than they are) and tremendous amounts of media exposure. Simply consider the bump. $6M - $21M. More than triple!

The other day a client asked whether salespeople can make the jump from earning $85K to a position that could pay them $150K. Sure they can. But they have to be incredibly motivated to earn the $150K. What happens with a lot of salespeople is that once they get past the "25% more" mark, or in this case, $106,250, they become complacent - until next year - when they might make another 25% jump to $132,812, become somewhat complacent again, and in year 3, make it to $166,015.

You might be thinking, "I'll take that - a salesperson that improves by 25% year over year" but this client's questions was, "Can salespeople make the direct jump from $85K to $150K in one year?"

They CAN but most of them don't. Once most of them have earned significantly more than they have ever earned before (25%), they take that deep breath and relax. The moment they relax, their pipeline isn't getting filled at the same rate, the opportunities they do have don't move along as quickly as before, and the more difficult opportunities don't get closed.

Relaxing Kills Sales.

Complacency Kills Salespeople.

Sales Managers Who Leave Their Salespeople Alone Kill Sales Organizations.

A Dead Sales Organization Kills the Company.

Anything else you need to know?

Related Articles
  Pick the Right Keyword Type for Cost-Effective PPC Campaigns
  Understand Intention to Build a Profitable Keyword List
  Sales Strategy and Tactics - Thoughts from the Super Bowl
  Two Important Qualities
  Small Business Advertising - How Baseball Theme Direct Mail Campaign Hits Home Run
  Sales Coaching is Like Baseball - How Do You Rate?
  Maximize Your Sales Force
  Sales and Sales Management Simplified
  Developing a Sales Compensation Plan in Tough Times
  Baseball's General Managers versus Business' Sales Managers
  Improve Sales Effectiveness at the Salesperson's Hall of Fame
  Sales Force Compensation - X Marks the Spot
  Cultural Differences with Sales Force Evaluation
  The Importance of Practice
  Sales Compensation Guidelines
  Selling is Baseball Backwards
  Making the Big Leagues: How Steinbrenner Hit a Grand Slam
  Hiring Salespeople is Like Baseball Expansion
  The ABC Method of Memory Jogging
  The Canadian Comic Creator: Todd McFarlane Is Born

Article Tags: baseball, commission, sales, sales compensation



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
When to run advertising? - Depending on your business, when you run an advertising campaign can be crucial. For example, during the month of the NCAA championships or the Baseball World Series, there's no good advertising anything except sports related stuff, because that's all guys are interested in during those months. Don't advertise during Thanksgiving and Christmas, unless it's for toys...
Re: Franchising 'where to advertise?' - I love Baseball, but "If you build it, he will come" doesn't neccessarily work at times with website concepts. Simply, find the advertising solution that is right for you. So many times I hear or read "find the franchise that is right for you" but the same can be said of franchisor advertising as well. There are many advertising avenues for franchisors, but just a few are true leaders in the industry.
Compensating your Advisory Board - Hey! Happy Monday. With regard to stock options, I am of the belief that 1-2% is appropriate historically. Personally, I would be open to considering any amount based on the level of expertise and time they are willing to give me. Although I did have one gentleman ask for 20%. I told him no. I have 7 members on my advisory board currently and I am starting to build one for my women's leadership business. I have thought about adding it to the existing 'agenda' but I need different skills and resources. Compensation varies and is kept very confidential at our board. Everyone knows they have 'skin' in the game per say, and I am very careful not to abuse that trust. For one thing, sometimes I find myself thinking that a more formally 'paid' member should be doing more legwork....that kind of stuff. Its a bit challenging but so far the dynamics work.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Why SEO is important for your online success

Using Social Media Marketing

How to choose your executive coach -1

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.