Many business-to-business firms use sales engagement or marketing automation platforms. These solutions track buyers' online behavior, and guide and automate many selling activities. Firms marketing these solutions claim they improve sales effectiveness and productivity, but their true benefits to sales organizations remain unclear. In new research, a team of academic...Read more
In high-performing sales organizations, effective sales compensation plans share a common decision logic and design framework. These rules are generally well known among incentive design specialists, but are missing from many business-to-business firms’ sales compensation programs. Ignoring these time-tested design guidelines and rules often results in ineffective sales compensation plans....Read more
Webcast
Improving ROI on Sales Compensation Investments 
27 February 2025
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Sales compensation is the sales organization's biggest expense by far, and an important growth investment for most business-to-business firms. But sales compensation programs routinely fall short of expectations. Sales Management Association’s research shows only about one-third of sales organizations consider their sales compensation programs effective. Firms with effective sales compensation...Read more
Research First Look
Research First Look: Prioritizing Sales Learning and Development Investments
20 February 2025
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Sales organizations face persistent pressure to adapt — to changing market conditions, shifting customer preferences, new competitive influences, and many other factors. Adapting often requires salespeople to develop new knowledge, capabilities and skills. This research examines the range of sales learning and development investments management makes in an effort to...Read more
A conference for sales effectiveness leaders Sales Management Association’s Sales Force Productivity Conference offers learning, best-practice sharing, and networking for leaders focused on commercial excellence, go-to-market strategy, and sales force effectiveness. 18-19 September 2025 Visit the Sales Force Productivity Conference website for full information.
Sales leaders often talk about sales culture, but how many work proactively to shape positive cultures in their organizations? Many assume culture is a construct too vague to define, let alone manage. In doing so, they miss an opportunity to harness one of the most impactful drivers of sales productivity....Read more
Webcast
Organizing Sales Territories and Salesperson Assignments to Maximize Productivity
23 January 2025
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A quick way to increase productivity in business-to-business sales forces is through efficient sales territory design. Sales territories – salespeople's assigned set of customers and prospects –are often created out of expedience or outdated assumptions. A more considered approach yields significant and immediate improvements in sales effectiveness. In this webcast...Read more
Akeron
6 January 2025
Akeron offers a comprehensive end-to-end SPM solution for the entire incentive compensation management process. It allows teams to plan objectives and manage sales force bonuses, quotas, and territories, enabling firms to achieve sales goals and optimize financial operations. Akeron’s SPM solution address a broad range of commercial performance management processes...Read more
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