3 Benefits of Practicing Transparency With Your Sales Team

Even when it’s hard to swallow, the truth is always better than a lie. This goes for just about everything in life, but it’s especially true in business.

No one wants to be lied to or misled, particularly when matters of pay are at stake. As a result, it’s generally best to be transparent with your team about issues like commissions.

Although the basic moral decency of telling the truth is the biggest reason to not keep things from your sales force, below are three more benefits of practicing transparency with your sales staff:

1. Transparency Builds Teams

When it comes to team-building, transparency goes a long way in strengthening bonds. When you’re transparent with people, you build trust. When team members can trust you, the company, and each other, they are more likely to work together as a unit.

When there’s no transparency, your employees will likely adopt an every-man-for-himself mentality. This can be hugely detrimental to the success of your company and the satisfaction of its customers.

2. Setting Goals Becomes Easier

Transparency also tends to bring about more realistic goals. When you’re mired in half-truths, no one knows what’s going on. As a result, goals may be set that are totally unrealistic because they were based on lies.

3. There Are No Questions About Pay

If you aren’t transparent about pay, you’re bound to run into trouble. For example, the mortgage industry often relies on a commission structure to incentivize performance. If your sales team only has your word to buy instead of actual numbers using mortgage commission software, the potential exists for some degree of cloudiness in what is communicated about what a sales professional has earned or is expected to earn.

In this situation, tools like mortgage commission software would have made the situation easier for everyone as they would have added transparency to the process. Your sales team could view their commission totals, the numbers are clear for your sales staff to see and employees can view reports from previous quarters to compare numbers for accuracy.

Read a similar article about commission statement layout here at this page.

How to Pick the Right Compensation Plan for Your Team

Employee compensation is not a topic you should gloss over. Your team wants to get paid fairly and in a way that matches their performance and duties. While compensation plans might seem cut and dry, there's no one-size-fits-all option.

With this blog, we aim to clarify standard compensation plans and give you an idea of how to pick the right one for your team.

Hourly Compensation

When you pay your employees hourly, you're paying them for the time they spend working. It's as simple as that! You set an hourly rate, and your team gets paid for how long they're on the clock. Adjusting sales compensation plans for hourly workers is pretty easy as well.

Some view hourly workers as expendable, but it's a desirable compensation plan for many because it means employees are nonexempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It's an excellent option for money-motivated workers who want to take advantage of available overtime hours. Those who have fluctuating availability usually prefer it over other compensation plans.

Salary Compensation

With a straight salary compensation plan, your employees get paid a set amount. Usually, you establish an annual salary, and your team isn't eligible to receive overtime. So, what's the benefit of salaried plans?

Generally, salaries provide more flexibility in scheduling and where they work. With this plan, no one has to log hours, and there's more freedom in how people want to work. Most employees who aren't involved with direct sales will benefit from a straight salary compensation plan.

Salary Plus Commission

With salary and a commission, your team gets the best of both worlds. The salary provides some security and ensures that your employees get paid even during slow periods. Meanwhile, the commissions motivate them to contribute more to the bottom line.

Your sales team will usually prefer this plan. It rewards performance and provides plenty of room for growth. Adjusting sales compensation plans is a breeze with the right tools. As a result, you can continue to push your team further.

What Compensation Plan is Right for Your Team?

Those are just a few of the most commonly used plans. What's right for your company will depend on many factors. Have an open discussion and determine which option will reward your team the most.

Read a similar article about company culture in sales here at this page.