“Almost all fear is fear of the unknown. Therefore, what’s the remedy? To become acquainted with the things you fear.”
Peace Pilgrim
Ever get nervous just before opening your credit card statement?
Ever get nervous just before opening your credit card statement? Or how about waiting for the results of your annual physical? Or anticipating how your boss scored you on your annual review? We all have those moments where fear grips us in the realm of the unknown. It’s interesting how the fear builds the longer we go without knowing while on the other hand, the fear seems to vanish once we know, even if the news is not all that good. Fear of the unknown is primal and the anecdote is quite simple… get in the know.
During the recent pandemic fear skyrocketed and many sought counsel to unravel out-of-control emotions. Pandemics are rare however one of the more common everyday perpetrators of fear is money. How will I ever get out of debt? Should I ask for a raise? Can I save enough for a down payment on a house? Will I ever be able to retire? We are bombarded by these intrusive questions and can’t seem to shake them until we start unraveling the unknown. Whether it’s a financial advisor, budgeting tool, or career counselor at some point you’ll find yourself needing guidance.
One profession that experiences a considerable amount of financial unknowns is “Sales”. Executives are putting more and more in the “Risk” portion of variable pay which means Sales employees are faced with greater financial unknowns from month to month. In addition, the very structure of a Sales rep’s pay can change at the drop of a hat by way of a quota adjustment, territory reassignment, etc. The more levers that Execs have to pull the greater the opportunity for fear of the unknown. So what to do? Instead of white-knuckling every payout, you need to get in the know, and to get in the know, you need to know the results of your numbers in real-time, and to do that you’ll need a tool.
Most of us reach for a spreadsheet when it comes to anything involving numbers but generic solutions produce generic results. However, if you’re a sales rep you need a tool that’s “Sales” specific and doesn’t just crunch numbers but can intuitively help you set up your comp plan and produce results with just a few clicks. In comes SalesComp, a free robust application built specifically for Sales Reps and Sales Compensation administrators. When you use a tool that is made specifically for your application you increase your efficiency and accuracy. Try using a hammer in place of a screwdriver and vice versa, the difference is obvious. The same applies to software, going from a spreadsheet to an application built to do Sales Comp administration is significant and a great step forward in alleviating the fear of the unknown in the world of sales compensation.
