The Anatomy of a Great Sales Comp Plan
Mostly Growth
Why incentives and commission economics matter
CJ and Kyle discuss how incentives shape rep behavior and why comp design drives company economics.
In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast for product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what actually makes a sales comp plan effective—and why so many go wrong. They break down OTE, quotas, accelerators, spiffs, ramps, and usage-based models, plus how incentives shape behavior across sales and customer success. The conversation covers margin-based comp, AI’s impact on forecasting, common gaming pitfalls, and practical rules for building simple, aligned plans that drive growth without breaking trust.
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SPONSORS:
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.
HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com
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LINKS:
Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/
Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/
Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/
https://www.youtube.com/c/Vinwiki
https://www.lookingforleverage.com/p/the-characteristics-of-a-great-sales-comp-plan
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Preview and Intro
00:01:07 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack
00:05:11 Commission Economics and Why Incentives Matter
00:06:13 How Exotic Car Salespeople Get Paid
00:07:36 Comping Sales Teams on Margin vs Revenue
00:09:43 Rapid-Fire Breakdown of Sales Comp Terms
00:12:49 Presidents Club Stories and Sales Motivation
00:13:38 What Makes a Great (or Terrible) Sales Comp Plan
00:14:46 How Sales Reps Game Overcomplicated Plans
00:16:41 Accelerators, Timing Deals, and Quarter Misalignment
00:17:42 Ramp Periods and Realistic Expectations for New Reps
00:19:22 How AI Improves Forecasting More Than Sales Velocity
00:20:11 Quotas, Deal Volume, and the Physics of Sales Math
00:22:21 Cash Timing, Signed Comp Plans, and Avoiding Clawbacks
00:25:04 How AI Could Reshape Quotas and Sales Efficiency Assumptions
00:26:46 Improving Sales Performance by Moving the Middle of the Pack
00:28:16 Rethinking Compensation for Customer Success Teams
00:32:07 Usage-Based Pricing and Comping for Product Adoption
00:35:25 Business Blunders: Managing Slack, Boundaries, and Energy Vampires
00:38:06 Managing Slack Etiquette, Boundaries, and Closing Thoughts
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