Done-Deal Paper Inc. operates throughout central Pennsylvania with offices in Scranton, Harrisburg, and Altoona. Providi
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:04 am
Done-Deal Paper Inc. operates throughout central Pennsylvaniawith offices in Scranton, Harrisburg, and Altoona. Providing paperand paper needs to most of Central Pennsylvania, Done-Deal is oneof the top two competitors in the area.
In January 2022, Conner Carell, office manager of one of thebranch offices for Done-Deal, somehow convinced company presidentand CEO Bailey Zucker that they needed to change the way theirsales representatives were incentivized. He argued, “putting oursales reps into teams will not only increase cooperation, but itwill increase sales . . . right now there are too many sales beinglost that could have been won through a team effort.” Most of thetime, sales made to clients required multiple interactions bymultiple reps anyway. Bailey agreed with Conner and pointed outthat teamwork can also improve morale and synergy. Based on theseassessments, Conner organized his 20 sales reps into four teams of5 reps. Sales teams would pool their commissions regardless of whoinitiated and worked on the sale. After the first year of thisteam-based incentive program, sales commissions across the fourgroups varied dramatically. For instance, the highest paidemployees in a team made, on average, $50,000 more than the lowestpaid team members.
During August 2022, Conner sent to all 20 sales reps a surveyrequesting feedback on the satisfaction with teams and,specifically, the team-based incentive rewards program. Whilesurvey results were generally positive, not everyone was happy inthe office. Problems could be grouped into the followingcategories:
Based on your reading, management at Done-Deal Paper would havebenefited from:
paying all its sales representatives the same base salary.
creating five teams of four representatives.
involving sales employees in the initial design of thecompensation program.
calling only on existing accounts.
In January 2022, Conner Carell, office manager of one of thebranch offices for Done-Deal, somehow convinced company presidentand CEO Bailey Zucker that they needed to change the way theirsales representatives were incentivized. He argued, “putting oursales reps into teams will not only increase cooperation, but itwill increase sales . . . right now there are too many sales beinglost that could have been won through a team effort.” Most of thetime, sales made to clients required multiple interactions bymultiple reps anyway. Bailey agreed with Conner and pointed outthat teamwork can also improve morale and synergy. Based on theseassessments, Conner organized his 20 sales reps into four teams of5 reps. Sales teams would pool their commissions regardless of whoinitiated and worked on the sale. After the first year of thisteam-based incentive program, sales commissions across the fourgroups varied dramatically. For instance, the highest paidemployees in a team made, on average, $50,000 more than the lowestpaid team members.
During August 2022, Conner sent to all 20 sales reps a surveyrequesting feedback on the satisfaction with teams and,specifically, the team-based incentive rewards program. Whilesurvey results were generally positive, not everyone was happy inthe office. Problems could be grouped into the followingcategories:
Based on your reading, management at Done-Deal Paper would havebenefited from:
paying all its sales representatives the same base salary.
creating five teams of four representatives.
involving sales employees in the initial design of thecompensation program.
calling only on existing accounts.