One of the interesting things about running a company that advocates absolute honesty in sales is people who have been wronged reach out to me and let me know.
I always take things with a grain of salt -- there are two sides to every story, after all -- but when patterns emerge I take notice.
There is a bad-behavior pattern emerging in sales management these days, and I'd like to give the honest salespeople of the world a heads-up.
More and more I'm hearing about managers who are:
- Changing their salespeople's compensation plans immediately before lucrative deals close. If your sales manager suddenly takes an intrusive interest in the status of your biggest deals -- meaning he or she never paid that close attention in the past -- consider it a possible red flag. Especially if he or she starts talking about commission changes after learning that good deals are about to finalize.
- Making changes to compensation plans retroactive -- all the business you previously closed now pays less in commission -- but avoiding that fact during conversation and hiding it in the fine print of employee agreements.
- Attempting to have their cake and eat it too by using one set of compensation rules for deals that closed and have already been collected, one set for deals that closed but have yet to be collected and one set for deals that will close in the future.
- Stealing prospects from salespeople without their knowledge and closing those deals themselves.
- Cutting base pay -- as much as in half -- without a requisite increase in commission or decrease in administration-type task requirements.
What astounds me is how otherwise honest and ethical people can rationalize their way out of this behavior. I've actually heard some of these stories from managers themselves -- and the "rational lies" they use to justify it.
And, by the way, this behavior extends to business owners who pay 1099 (non-employee) salespeople as well. Although in this case the power often lies with the salespeople rather than the owners -- of course the owners usually learn this the hard way. (Trust me, the last thing you want is your 1099 salesperson who knows all your failings taking your prospects to your competition, because pissed-off salespeople are some of the most passionate sellers alive, and passion combined with knowledge of your weakness is an unstoppable force.)
So my advice to you is this. If your manager starts talking change, turn on your radar for nuances that may indicate less-than-honorable intentions. He or she may be totally above board, or you could be getting set up for a shafting.
And never agree to any changes without a detailed description of how all deals -- past, closed-but-not-collected and future -- will be affected. Plus, have a good attorney look over anything before you sign it.
The income you save could be your own.
Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association
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