Stock options are a fabulous compensation tool for early-stage companies that can’t typically afford to pay market rate salaries. They also serve as a good retention tool for employees that…

For companies that don’t have a self-service customer acquisition model, no other function ties more directly to financial results than Sales.  Because of this, it is critical to have strong…

In the earliest days of a startup venture, there are no published compensation rates or even good studies to use as guidance.  That’s because each company and founder situation is…

I can’t tell you how many startups go through the effort to think through the best method to compensate their sales team but don’t take the next step to document…

In the spirit of keeping a sales commission plan simple, many sales executives choose to use a simple straight-line methodology.  In other words, 88% achievement of the sales goal equates…

Compensating a sales team is a tricky and sensitive endeavor that requires a lot of advanced planning.  I previously wrote about my 5 Golden Rules of Sales Compensation.  But even if…

Certain roles in the company call for a bonus as part of the total compensation plan.  But what criteria should be used for determining the bonus payout?  Common choices include…

How much equity should you give to compensate an advisor?  Should the shares carry any special provisions like anti-dilution or change-of-control acceleration?  What about giving the advisor cash compensation?  Tough…

Sales incentive plans are really delicate things.  This stems from the fact that the best sales reps/managers intuitively do whatever puts the most money in their pocket, within legal and…

We sometimes refer to quota-carrying sales reps as “coin-operated”, but it’s not actually an insult.  Charlie Munger, longtime vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is quoted as saying “Show me the…