The CSO Insights 2012 Sales Compensation & Performance Management survey shows positive trends, but results still have their ups and downs:

• Sales Quotas are Up, Quota Achievement is Down...individual rep quotas were up again to $1.9M, a return to pre-recession levels. The percentage of reps meeting or exceeding quota was 63.1% in 2011 and is tracking at 57.6% so far for 2012.
• Targeted Compensation at Quota is Up, but...not as much as quotas. While quotas jumped 11% year-over-year, targeted compensation at quota was up just 6%. Still, a parallel increase is a good thing. The real questions are what are companies doing to support their reps in meeting these higher goals and is this support in strategic areas targeted for growth?
• Hunting, Farming, or Ranching...sales behaviors this year have realigned as firms move away from the hunkered-down posture of the past. New account acquisition tops the list, but share of customer wallet and cross-selling/up-selling still rank high.
• Pay for Performance versus Pay for Behavior... these are two different things, and a stunning 20% of firms feel their compensation plan has little or no effect on rep behavior. Worth remembering: An organization elicits the behavior it rewards.
• Coaching, Retaining, Improving Reps...Sales Performance Management is about optimizing sales performance. It's about coaching based on information from real metrics, retaining reps with a deliberate retention strategy, and not being among those firms whose managers aren't sure how to improve the effectiveness of their sales teams.

With survey results from over 700 companies, the Key Trends Analysis from this survey will provide you with important information to consider for organizations designing 2012 Compensation Plans.

The table of contents from the 2012 Sales Compensation & Performance Management Key Trends Analysis includes:

• Introduction
• Average Annual Quota for Individual Salespeople
• Selling Behaviors That Compensation Plans Directly Motivate
• Impact That Compensation Plans Have on Sales Reps' Selling
• Degree That Compensation Plans are Communicated and Understood
• Sales Compensation Spend as a Percentage of Total Revenues
• Impact That Compensation Plans Have on Sales Force Retention
• Firm's Ability to Help Managers Surface and Address Performance Issues
• Differentiation Between Individual and Team Goals
• Frequency of Contests and/or Special Performance Incentive Funds (SPIFs)
• Company's Approach and Attitude Toward Coaching Sales Reps
• Recommendations Going Forward