Custom Benchmarking Surveys
“Are we aligned with the industry?”
This simple question can be hard to answer definitively. Information is often anecdotal and skewed to support the position of the person offering it. Market pay surveys may not exist or offer a good match. And syndicated sales organization and compensation practices surveys exist in only a few industries.
A good way to get targeted industry data is to sponsor a custom benchmarking survey. Having a third party manage the survey allows participants to provide information that may be confidential with the assurance that no direct competitors will be privy to it, except as part of an overall sample. In the reports, no data is associated with any individual company.
The custom benchmarking surveys we have done over the years tend to cover three areas: pay levels, sales organization and job design, and sales compensation practices. Most surveys combine parts of all three because, for example, it helps to understand the sales roles and organization to interpret the sales compensation practices.
Examples of some of the data gathered in these surveys are:
“Are we aligned with the industry?”
This simple question can be hard to answer definitively. Information is often anecdotal and skewed to support the position of the person offering it. Market pay surveys may not exist or offer a good match. And syndicated sales organization and compensation practices surveys exist in only a few industries.
A good way to get targeted industry data is to sponsor a custom benchmarking survey. Having a third party manage the survey allows participants to provide information that may be confidential with the assurance that no direct competitors will be privy to it, except as part of an overall sample. In the reports, no data is associated with any individual company.
The custom benchmarking surveys we have done over the years tend to cover three areas: pay levels, sales organization and job design, and sales compensation practices. Most surveys combine parts of all three because, for example, it helps to understand the sales roles and organization to interpret the sales compensation practices.
Examples of some of the data gathered in these surveys are:
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Pay Levels (for each role, either in aggregate or at the incumbent level)
§ Total Target Cash § Total Actual Cash § Salary § Target incentive § Actual incentive earnings § Value of long-term incentives Sales Organization and Job Design § Types of sales roles utilized § Primary responsibility of each role § Cross selling § Headcount § Sales support positions § Sales support ratio § Span of control § Reporting structures (e.g., regional, centralized, by BU, vertical, matrix, virtual teams) § Account segments § Territory configuration (account based or geographic) § Number of accounts covered § Products and services sold § Sales events per year § Average deal size § Types of revenue streams (e.g., contractual/recurring vs. one-time) § Quota range (and what is included in the quota) § Voluntary and involuntary turnover § Use of alternate channels (e.g., agents, manufacturer’s reps, contract sales, affiliates, web) § Rules of engagement between channels Sales Compensation Practices § Eligibility criteria and which roles are on sales incentives vs. corporate bonus § Use of salary vs. draw § Pay mix § Upside potential and downside risk § Use of caps, deal caps, decelerators, and other limiters § Performance measures and weights § Crediting rules (event that triggers credit, credit for renewals, credit for pass-through revenue, split policy) § Clawback provisions § Management adjustment of payouts and quotas § Incentive forms (commission, ramped commission, quota bonus, bonus commission hybrid, bounty, step bonus, multiplier, etc.) § Annual vs. quarterly, vs. year-to-date performance measurement § Non-cash incentives (e.g., contests, spiffs, award trips, recognition, and points programs) § Automobile and expense reimbursement policies § New rep training period and bonus § Policies having to do with leaves of absence and termination |
The benchmarking surveys usually involve both a data form/questionnaire (Excel or web-based) and a follow up interview. Depending upon the industry, the area of focus of the survey, and the need for qualitative data and explanation, the interview may be more or less prominent. In our experience, however, these surveys must be as specific as possible and there is a limit to the amount of time that participants are willing to invest. The survey questionnaire should not take longer than 30 minutes to complete, assuming all the information is available at the time of completion. And the follow up interview should not take more than one hour.
The cost of the survey is borne by the sponsor and there is no cost for other participants (other than the time it takes to gather the information, complete the survey, and participate in the interview). Nevertheless, securing strong participation is the greatest challenge. In this, solicitation by and expert with deep and broad understanding of sales organizations and compensation practices is critical to establishing comfort that the effort to participate will be worth the time. Making the survey as simple, fast, and risk-free as possible is another key to strong participation.
The steps in the survey process are as follows:
The cost of the survey is borne by the sponsor and there is no cost for other participants (other than the time it takes to gather the information, complete the survey, and participate in the interview). Nevertheless, securing strong participation is the greatest challenge. In this, solicitation by and expert with deep and broad understanding of sales organizations and compensation practices is critical to establishing comfort that the effort to participate will be worth the time. Making the survey as simple, fast, and risk-free as possible is another key to strong participation.
The steps in the survey process are as follows:
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1. Develop a list of target companies (at least 20)
2. Develop, refine, and test survey instrument and interview questions 3. Prepare email invitation with all information about survey (purpose, sponsor, types of questions, value to participants, time to complete, how confidentiality will be protected, etc.) and the survey questionnaire itself. If it is web-based, a pdf of the questions is attached. 4. Solicit participation through email and telephone follow up, leveraging contacts from sponsor company, referrals from other participants, contacts from other consultants, and cold calling where necessary. 5. Gather data, answer questions, and conduct follow up interviews 6. Prepare sponsor report and participant report. Reports include all data (in aggregate form) as well as observations, insights, and clarifications from the data and follow up interviews 7. Present and discuss sponsor report and its implications with the sponsor 8. Email participant report to other participants |
