“Many leaders do a great job. But far too often, the best people quit,” said AJ Bruno at QuotaPath. “While it’s partially due to a sink-or-swim landscape, many sales managers are actively driving away their best reps with unfair rules, nontransparent policies, ever-changing comp plans and mindless busywork.”

Getting rewards aligned with what motivates performance and satisfaction is more important than focusing only on numbers. To hit that sweet spot, here are five tried-and-true guidelines that should dramatically increase your team’s productivity, loyalty and motivation.

Align with the company’s business goals

Is this a new product? Are you exploring a new corner of the market? Are you promoting a rebranded product? Your company’s focus impacts where sales reps should place their efforts. Being clear about expectations and aligning those standards with compensation plans ensures that everyone associated with the sales team is moving in the same direction.

Your sales team is an essential part of business growth, so it’s a win-win when they understand how their efforts directly impact the company’s performance and benefits. When people understand goals, they feel they are part of the bigger picture and are more committed to working together to achieve company objectives.

Keep it simple and clear

While automated territorial platforms excel at processing large amounts of data and arranging it into useful insights, simplicity is essential when it comes to compensation. Sales teams perform better when they can clearly see how their efforts are rewarded.

When approached, almost half (45.8%) of companies with a formal, well-organized compensation plan rated their employee engagement rates as “above average” or “excellent.” Companies with more informal plans only reported 33.8% employee engagement.

A formal yet simple, easy-to-understand approach increases trust because everyone on your team is aware of how their efforts affect their profits, which in turn raises morale. The result? A more enthusiastic and driven sales team that is prepared to propel success. Also, by keeping the pay plan simple, you free up your team members to concentrate on what they do best: selling.

Reward behaviors that boost the bottom line

It’s up to you to design incentives that encourage the behaviors you want to see, whether that’s closing deals, upselling or improving customer satisfaction.

“It’s important to reward the actions that get results,” said Amy Cook, CMO and co-founder at Fullcast. “Rewarding behavior in line with results-oriented plans and methods helps your team concentrate on the things that actually make a difference.”

If you have a well-designed compensation plan, your sales representatives will be encouraged to persist with what works, regardless of whether they are closing large deals, building long-term client relationships or upselling current clients. This improves performance and fosters a winning culture where everyone works toward the same objectives.

Crush the competition where it counts

“Show me the money!” isn’t just a catchy line — it’s a mantra for keeping your top sales reps fired up and engaged. You risk losing your best players to the competition if your pay isn’t comparable to other companies in your sector.

“Nobody comes to work because it’s fun. They come to work to make money,” Bruno pointed out. “If sales compensation is insufficient, don’t expect reps to go the extra mile to close deals. Do some research with Glassdoor or PayScale and make sure you’re aligned with your area.”

High-achieving sales reps are driven by incentives that accurately represent their worth. Doing your research on the industry and then offering competitive pay will help you retain top employees while also enhancing team spirit. After all, your sales reps are more likely to stay involved, hit their goals and continue advancing your company when they feel appreciated and adequately compensated.

Regularly review and make adjustments

If the last time you adjusted your company’s compensation plan was when Jimmer Fredette wore a BYU Cougar jersey, it’s time. It’s long overdue, in fact.

Your pay plan should adapt as the market and company environment do. For instance, almost 90% of company sales teams have adopted partner sales arrangements in addition to customer outreach. How does that impact your compensation plan?

Fortunately, automated, artificial intelligence-supported RevOps platforms make evaluating your compensation plan’s efficacy simple and make the required modifications to maintain it inspiring, current and in line with your changing objectives.

By adhering to these five guidelines, you’re laying the groundwork for a compensation plan that fosters performance, grows trust and maintains the engagement and loyalty of your sales staff in addition to just covering costs. To establish an environment where your team can thrive, keep things simple and transparent, reward the proper behaviors, maintain competition and periodically adjust your plan. A well-executed compensation plan is the foundation for a winning culture that drives achievement and keeps everyone moving in the same direction: forward!

J’Nel Wright is a content writer at Fullcast, a Silicon Slopes-based, end-to-end RevOps platform that allows companies to design, manage and track the performance of their revenue-generating teams.