When organizations pay commission, it often motivates the workforce. However, many commission structures reach a level of complexity that confuses the average employee. As a result, a wide variety of questions come up.
Over the 15 years that we’ve worked with commission plans, we’ve encountered a number of questions from employees. These queries range from requests for basic information to concerns about complicated calculations. Whatever the case, every one of them deserves an answer.
It’s important to answer sales reps’ questions about sales compensation quickly and thoroughly.
Depending on how organizations manage these questions, concerns, and disputes, the process to get an answer could take time. If it takes too long, it can result in frustration and low morale among employees. At Core Commissions, we offer a dispute management system that ensures questions get answered quickly and thoroughly.
If you’re curious what kinds of questions come up around the topic of commissions, here are seven of the most common we’ve seen.
1. Do I get paid for company holidays?
When a new salesperson starts, they want to know what they’ll be paid for. Depending on whether an employee makes a salary, they may not get paid for holidays. If that’s the case, it needs to be clearly outlined in employment agreements and other resources.
2. How much commission do I make for a sale?
If salespeople don’t have a full understanding of their commission rates and earnings, they’ll come asking for more information. Providing a resource, like the Core web sales portal, will help cut down on the amount of confusion around this. Additionally, administrators should be equipped with a hierarchy chart and rate breakdowns for every employee. That way, whoever is in charge of your commissions can easily answer that question.
3. Where can I see how much commission I’m earning?
As mentioned above, the Core web sales portal is an important resource for salespeople. It allows them to check in on their earnings in real-time. It can also break down rates and quotas for them and allow them to see how they’re performing themselves.
If a portal like this is not available, salespeople should still be able to get an update on their progress. This may require an administrator to pull information or a report early to allow them that compensation transparency they deserve.
4. When will I get paid for this sale?
The timetable for when a commission is paid out may not be immediately clear to everyone. In some cases, salespeople might be paid upon a sale closing or it may take until the payment arrives. Still, others may not come until a certain number of monthly payments have been processed. Whatever the case, employers need to clearly communicate this timetable.
5. Do we only earn commission on sales?
Some organizations incentivize more than just sales behavior. Tasks like prospecting and customer service could also be subject to commission payments. It depends on how valuable those projects are to an employer. Any organization’s commission plan needs to clearly lay out all the ways an employee can earn a commission, even those not directly associated with sales.
6. Why did my commission rate change for the last week of the month?
When a company implements a sales accelerator, it will trigger a change in commission rate for salespeople. If employees are not familiar with the program, the change may spark questions. Giving a full rundown of how these programs work helps clear the air for employees. On the other side of that coin, employers need to clearly communicate sales decelerators to ensure salespeople don’t face a rude awakening when they’ve failed to reach a certain sales threshold.
7. Am I getting a fair commission rate?
Salespeople paid on commission want to know they’re earning the most they can. It’s important to show employees that the pay they make is fair and competitive. Be ready to provide transparent data and information when asked. Not offering this could result in talent seeking better commission elsewhere.
We’d be happy to show you how Core Commissions helps organizations answer questions quickly, clearly, and efficiently. Contact us to set up a demo and we’ll walk you through how the application works for you.