Compensation is a critical component of business strategy, and sales incentives are especially important to get right. In his new book, Drive, Daniel Pink professes that most people are motivated by autonomy, mastery and purpose rather than carrots and sticks. When it comes to sales reps, though, I disagree: Most great salespeople I know are still motivated by money. To be credible consultants and to provide the most current advice to our clients, we at Phone Works conduct two compensation surveys each year — one for VPs of sales and one for inside sales professionals at all levels — and we’ve just released the latest results. This year, we are also offering customized versions of the reports, so contact us at Phone Works or leave a comment here to request a quote for specific data relating to your industry, geography, size or type of company, and other criteria.

Is your sales compensation tracking with industry standards?  Are you experimenting with new models such as Pink-style “Motivation 2.0” compensation in your sales organization? I’d love to hear more about your experiences.