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Companies are constantly looking for ways to optimize the performance of their sales reps. According to a study by The Bridge Group, 65% of B2B companies say that the productivity of their sales reps is their number 1 challenge.
Among the many levers available, commissions stand out as one of the most effective tools for stimulating motivation and improving sales reps' performance. However, simply offering commission is not enough to guarantee success. Today, it is essential to move on from Excel or Google Sheet to a commissioning tool in order to exploit their full potential!
To understand this, the Qobra teams went to meet many Sales and Ops leaders, experts involved in the design and management of commissions within prestigious companies, such as Spendesk, Hosman, Pennylane, Welcome to the Jungle, Partoo, Glady, and many others. Their experience and feedback gives us valuable insight into the positive impact of moving from Excel or Google Sheet to a commission tool on sales rep performance.
1. Better understanding of the commission plan
📊 Figures to remember
According to a survey by Quotapath and Global Surveyz, 77% of commission managers say that their sales reps find it difficult to understand their remuneration plans.
The complexity of commission plans can sometimes be an obstacle to motivating sales reps. By providing a detailed analysis of commission calculation formulas and performance criteria at a glance, commission tools give sales reps a better understanding of remuneration mechanisms and encourage them to adopt behaviors that are aligned with the company's objectives.
"Over time, as we've grown, our commission plan has become more complex and Qobra makes it easy to translate this back to sales reps."
Thibault Daval, Team Lead RevOps at CoacHub
"Qobra allows us to make the variable topic more transparent and intelligible for the teams."
Pierre-Gaël Pasquiou, Chief Sales Officer at Welcome to the Jungle
"Sitting down with the sales rep to explain how his commissions work on Excel, today, I don't need to do that anymore."
Barthélémy Morin, Head of Sales at Pretto
This helps to boost sales reps' confidence in the remuneration system and motivates them to make an extra effort to achieve their targets.
2. Real-time visibility: A catalyst for motivation
📊 Figures to remember
According to Palette’s study the state of sales compensation, 32% of sales reps have real-time visibility of their commissions and know exactly how much they will earn after a deal.
One of the main advantages of commission tools is the real-time visibility they offer sales reps. Unlike traditional commission calculation systems (Excel, Google Sheet), which are often opaque and subject to processing delays, these tools enable sales reps to track their progress on a daily basis. This increased transparency is a powerful motivator, as it enables sales reps to see directly the impact of their actions on their remuneration!
"Qobra has really helped us to gain the confidence of our teams, because they can really see their results on a daily basis. They have very clear visibility of the details of the calculations based on the Dashboards, but also of where they are with their accelerators, for example."
Aude Cadiot, Revenue Operations Lead at Spendesk
"It's crazy, a Salesperson can literally log on to Qobra every day, see if they've unlocked their commission accelerator, the impact it's having on their variable and so it goes a long way to having teams that are super motivated on a daily basis."
Thibault Lemaître, Sales Manager at Pennylane
This permanent clarity enables sales reps to set themselves concrete and measurable objectives, thereby fostering their commitment and determination to achieve their targets.
"Over 2022, we're averaging 123% individual performance, and Qobra is part of one of the links that provides this motivation and makes us perform on a daily basis."
Clémentine Platel-Paris, Head of Sales Southern Europe at Spendesk
3. Building effective commission plans
📊 Figures to remember
According to a study by Qobra & Modjo on variable remuneration in France, 61.9% of employees using commission calculation and management software exceeded their targets, compared with only 30.1% of those using Excel or Google Sheets.
Some commissioning tools, such as Qobra, go beyond automating commission calculations. In fact, because of their capacity, they enable companies to build high-performance commission plans thanks to in-depth analysis and efficient processing of data.
By analyzing past performance, market trends and the company's strategic objectives, Qobra helps to define optimal remuneration structures that motivate sales reps to meet and exceed their targets.
Using detailed data analysis, Qobra identifies the most effective motivational levers for each team, enabling commission plans to be customized as required. This tailor-made approach, impossible with traditional spreadsheets, helps to maximize sales reps' commitment and optimize the sales performance of the company as a whole.
"It's not just a tool for sales reps, it's also for managers, as it's an incredible performance monitoring tool. It allows managers, on a daily basis, to challenge their Sales people and push them to perform."
Clément Paul, Sales Director at Payfit
4. Dynamic management of the commissioning plan
In addition to calculating and managing commission plans, a tool such as Qobra offers companies the possibility of dynamically animating their plans through interactive and personalized communication. Sales reps are regularly informed of changes in their commissions, their ranking in relation to their colleagues and current SPIFFs.
"The gamification aspect, with integration on Slack or by e-mail, is quite interesting because it boosts motivation in real time, and our Sales people are quite keen on that."
Clémentine Platel-Paris, Head of Sales Southern Europe at Spendesk
"Each sales rep can see their performance, where they rank in relation to their colleagues or even the sales they've made that count towards the challenge."
Théo Manachem, Sales Ops at SeLoger
This regular transparency and recognition boosts sales reps' motivation and encourages them to maintain their commitment over the long term.
5. Attractive UX/UI: A key factor in adoption
Unlike traditional solutions such as Excel or Google Sheet, commission tools such as Qobra offer an intuitive and attractive user interface that plays a key role in their adoption by sales reps. With a smooth and enjoyable user experience, these tools generate interest and engagement from users, which translates into a high adoption rate.
For example, Qobra is one of the commission tools with the highest adoption rate on the market, with an average of 3 out of 4 sales reps logging on to the platform several times a month. For some companies, the connection rate is even 100%!
A gamified interface motivates sales reps to log in regularly, encouraging interaction with the tool and strengthening their commitment to the company's objectives.
"The main reason we chose Qobra was the clarity and design of the platform. It's very easy to use and has a very clean design, which means that commission plans are easy for sales reps to understand."
Corentin Vivensang, Senior Sales Ops at Pretto
6. Integrated sales reps challenge: an additional driver of commitment
SPIFF sales reps are tried and tested tools for boosting the motivation and performance of sales teams. Integrated with commissioning tools, these SPIFF challenges become even more effective by enabling sales reps to monitor in real time where they stand in relation to the targets set and the performance of their colleagues.
This feature, praised by many Qobra customers, helps to create a dynamic and competitive working environment, conducive to achieving sales targets.
Promoting the commission plan with SPIFF sales reps is an effective way of creating commitment and strengthening cohesion within sales teams. These stimulating challenges offer opportunities to work together and challenge oneself, reinforcing the sales reps' sense of belonging to the company.
"Qobra's challenge function allows sales reps to challenge each other, which creates emulation. It's a real motivator!"
Quentin Bourdeix, Sales Ops Manager at SeLoger
"Each sales rep can see their performance, where they rank in relation to their colleagues or even the sales they've made that count towards the challenge."
Théo Manachem, Sales Ops at SeLoger
