With such a direct impact on revenue, it’s easy to understand why attracting and retaining key sales talent is critical for any business with aspirational growth goals. Sales team members occupy a unique position within these organizations—operating on the front lines as one of the primary drivers of top-line growth and increased market share. 

In times of volatility, with business leaders reviewing compensation plans and talent strategies with a fine-toothed comb, maintaining a healthy sales force is as important as ever. There are two key aspects of a sales compensation plan that can be tailored during volatile time periods to help reduce impacts on talent retention:

Measures and Special Performance Incentive Funds (SPIFs)

1. Measures

Measures are at the core of a sales compensation plan. In its simplest form, a measure is what an incentive plan is based on; think revenue generated, units sold, deals closed, etc. Best-in-class sales plans focus on a small number of measures (typically one to three) that are the highest "needle-movers" and are typically developed working hand-in-hand with finance and accounting teams to determine measure goals or quotas. This partnership is key because finance and accounting professionals can help identify which measures will help drive meaningful top-line growth, while also maintaining required margins.

During times of turbulence and instability, measures must be examined and alternate strategies developed in order to retain key sales talent. With retention in mind, there are multiple strategies that can be employed in the face of sales measures and goals that suddenly become unachievable due to conditions outside of the sales professionals' control. Anticipated impact should drive the level of plan alteration—there is not a one-size-fits-all fix. For example, if the impact is minimal, then it might be in the best interest of the company to keep the plan as-is, as the top performers will likely still achieve close to target performance. If however, impact is expected to be severe, then more drastic changes can be considered, such as bonus floors or adjusting to new, achievable measures. Rather than new growth, a company might determine that customer retention should be the primary focus for an upcoming time period. The key is early and constant communication because a high performing sales professional will identify industry trends and make changes if they expect a big impact to their bonus potential. 

Bottom line: Best-in-class sales organizations will examine their sales measures during instability and make changes if necessary to retain top talent.

2. Special Performance Incentive Funds (SPIFs)

SPIFs are common in sales compensation plans and are designed to incentivize for certain special events not in the normal course of business. They are an additional, time bound opportunity to earn commission beyond the standard sales plan. Common examples of when SPIFs are useful include: new product launches, targeted customer acquisition, or a specific product or service focus in the face of a competitive threat, among others. Ideally, these incentives are not a huge diversion from a standard variable payout but offer just enough to incentivize sales staff to focus on a unique sales opportunity or goal during an atypical or unanticipated event. 

SPIFs are a great tool to employ during volatile times because by their very nature they're designed to be a way to address a priority that was not anticipated in the normal course of a sales compensation plan. For example, if a company is expecting an impactful tariff to take effect in 90 days, procurement and strategic planning departments might make the decision to proactively purchase a larger than normal amount of materials or product to lock in an advantageous price before a tariff sets in. To avoid increasing inventory costs, a company might try to clear out as much existing product as possible in short order to make room for the larger shipments. In this situation, a company might implement a SPIF for its sales team to incentivize the fast movement of existing product due to the unforeseen inventory planning issues. As a best practice, SPIFs should strive to remain:
 

1. Specific to a business goal 
2. Administered to generate a clear ROI 
3. Limited in duration (typically one month to one quarter) 
4. Rarely used 
5. Clear to understand, communicate, and track
    

Bottom line: SPIFs are useful in many unpredictable times and can be a helpful tool to address market volatility. 
 

There are many levers to pull in turbulent times for a sales compensation plan. Having a flexible approach to measures and SPIFs can enable your sales organization to retain key talent in a market that is constantly changing.