A lot of distributors are looking to adjust their compensation programs to try and improve their business results, but are missing some key factors regarding what's actually holding them back, according to Indian River Consulting Group's Mike Emerson. There are times "when you need to step back and go through a process to get that strategic clarity, and one of the things you find is that it’s not a sales compensation issue," Emerson says in the MDM Interview, Get Strategic Clarity Before a Sales Compensation Change.

Instead the problem may be organizational, caused by misalignment of responsibilities. "For example, you’re asking a salesperson to do more than any person could humanly do," Emerson says.

If this is the case, Emerson recommends creating more specialized selling roles or support functions to assist salespeople. "Sometimes that’s a big a-ha moment, that it’s not the sales compensation program," Emerson says. "It’s that what we expect them to do is so overwhelming it’s unachievable."