GM!
I worked with a VP of sales once who was furious about his team's behavior.
Deals stayed in early stage forever. Pipelines were inflated. Forecasts were missed. Then deals would suddenly “close” at the end of the quarter.
He said: “People are just lazy. We need to hire better.”
Then I asked one question:
What are you paying them to do?
He showed me the plan:
10% commission on closed deals. That’s it.
❌ No forecast accuracy.
❌ No pipeline health.
❌ No stakeholder requirements.
So the team optimized for exactly that:
Close deals now.
Not build pipeline.
Not forecast accurately.
Not develop deals properly.
That behavior wasn’t laziness.
It was rational.
The Behavior Alignment Framework
Your commission plan is a contract.
It tells your team what matters.
If you only pay for closing, you’ll get short-term closing behavior. Even when it damages the pipeline.
If you want different behavior, you have to pay for it.
1. The Base + Commission Split
This sets the tone.
60/40 (Base/Commission)
Higher stability. Better for complex, long-cycle sales.
50/50
Balanced. Predictable with upside.
40/60
Aggressive. Works for high-volume, short-cycle environments.
Rule of thumb:
Long cycles → higher base
Short cycles → higher variable
2. The Core Commission: Quota Attainment
Most plans look like this:
0–80% → no commission
80–100% → 10%
100–120% → 12%
120%+ → 15%
This works.
But it only rewards revenue.
It ignores the behaviors that create revenue.
3. The Pipeline Health Layer (+5–10%)
Add small incentives for the behaviors that actually drive outcomes.
Forecast Accuracy (3%)
85% accuracy → bonus applied to commission
Prevents inflated pipeline.
Stakeholder Depth (2%)
Deals >$50K with 3+ stakeholders → bonus
Prevents single-thread risk.
Velocity (2%)
Faster than team average → bonus
Prevents deals from sitting.
Now you’re rewarding how deals are built, not just how they end.
4. The Clawback Rule
This is where most plans fail.
If commission is paid when a deal is “expected” to close, reps will pull deals forward.
Fix:
Commission is paid when revenue is actually realized.
Not when it’s forecasted.
This removes timing manipulation.
5. Deal Size Incentives
Bigger deals require different behavior.
$0–50K → 10%
$50K–250K → 12%
$250K+ → 15%
But tie this to quality:
No stakeholder depth → no premium.
6. The Team Metric
Align the whole team.
If forecast accuracy >90%:
→ +5% bonus for everyone
If <80%:
→ no bonus
This forces shared accountability.
Implementation
Roll it out in phases:
Q1: Announce
Q2: Base + core commission
Q3: Add behavior bonuses
Q4: Add team metrics
Gradual change. No shock.
Reality Check
Your team is not broken.
Your incentives are.
If you reward short-term closing, you will get short-term thinking.
If you reward pipeline health, accuracy, and deal quality, you will get those behaviors.
Weekly Action
Pull your plan.
Answer:
What does this reward?
What behavior do I want?
Are those aligned?
If not, that gap is your problem.
Next week: we move up a level and connect this to full RevOps design.
See you Friday for the Pulse!
— Pipeline Playbook