Most companies think they’ve nailed the winning formula for sales compensation. In reality, they’re winging it—and it shows. What’s the biggest culprit? Treating quota setting and commission planning as separate conversations between sales and finance. The truth is, they’re not separate, and when they’re disconnected, your sales performance suffers.
A recent study found that less than half (47%) ofsales reps consistently reach sales targets. “Consistency” is the troubling focus here.
“Missed quotas create a domino effect within your sales organization,” Chris Carlson, founder and president of Sales Talent, warned. “When reps consistently miss their targets, it creates a culture of failure where mediocrity becomes the norm. Imagine entering a sales meeting where most of the team missed their numbers. The energy is low, the excuses are high, and the team starts to believe that hitting quota is impossible.”
When quotas are set without considering how reps are incentivized to reach them, you risk building a strategy that looks good on paper but falls apart in execution. Reps may chase the wrong deals, lose motivation, or disengage entirely if they don’t see an attainable path between their goals and earnings.
Read more: From Rolodex to AI: The Evolution of Revenue Operations
Meanwhile, finance and leadership miss critical signals about what’s realistically achievable. Without a unified approach, you’re not just leaving revenue on the table—you’re actively creating friction that slows your entire go-to-market engine.
This article will discuss the strategic need for better alignment among quotas and compensation models and why AI-supported tools provide pivotal solutions.
Align Quota and Compensation Models
Quota and compensation misalignment is a major roadblock to sustainable revenue growth. When sales teams don’t understand how their efforts translate into earnings, motivation suffers, behaviors skew, and quota attainment becomes unpredictable.
According to the 2022 Salesforce State of Sales report, the top reasons sales reps start looking for a new job are unrealistic sales targets and uncompetitive pay and benefits.
Meanwhile, leadership is left wondering why aggressive revenue targets fall flat. This disconnect often stems from siloed planning, where quotas are set based on historical data or top-down mandates, and compensation models are developed in isolation. What they are left with is a sales strategy that’s reactive, inconsistent, and ultimately ineffective.
Your sales engine runs smoothly only when your targets and incentives are in sync. That means starting with the big picture and building a plan that connects every dollar you want to earn with every dollar you’re willing to pay. Here’s where to start.
1. Start with Your Revenue Goals
Before setting quotas or building comp plans, lock in your top-line targets. How much revenue do you need to drive this year? Break that down by region, segment, team, and rep. This ensures your quota setting and commission planning align with GTM strategies and business objectives.
2. Use Data, Not Gut Feelings
Leverage historical performance data, market trends, and territory potential to set realistic and stretch-worthy quotas. Then, use that same data to build compensation models that reward reps for hitting—and exceeding—those targets. AI and predictive analytics tools can help identify patterns and optimize quotas and payout structures.
3. Design for Behavior, Not Just Output
“We frequently find companies setting quotas without looking at the opportunities in each territory. Equally bad are companies that don’t connect their quotas to any sort of strategy,” Carrie Ward of The Brevet Group said. “We’ve seen some sophisticated organizations take an overly simplistic approach to quotas.”
Not surprisingly, Carrie says these companies end up overpaying underperformers and underpaying some of their best performers.
“They end up with a reverse bell curve. Again, reps talk. News of pay disparities like this will spread quickly across the team. Your best reps quickly become frustrated and mad.”
4. Loop in Cross-Functional Stakeholders
The best companies don’t just set quotas and hope for the best. They integrate quota setting and commission planning into one unified strategy—backed by data, optimized regularly, and aligned with market conditions.
Financial experts like Vangelis Sakellion believe quota achievability for the majority of the sales force should be the primary focus. “Salespeople perform at different levels, but you should aim for 70%—80% of sales reps reaching their targets at all times. Regarding the rest of the team, around 10% will be exceeding their targets, with the remaining 10%—20% falling short.”
5. Ensure Visibility and Transparency
Provide reps with real-time dashboards that track both quota attainment and commission progress. When reps see how their efforts impact their paycheck, they’re more likely to stay focused, driven, and accountable.
Read more: Build a Commission Plan That Motivates Top Performers
6. Audit, Analyze, and Adjust
The need for a single source of trusted data is where AI-supported tools like Fullcast Quota Planning and Management software don’t just automate tedious processes—they provide real-time insights that help businesses design smarter, more agile quota and comp plans. AI can identify historical performance trends, flag unrealistic targets, and recommend commission structures that incentivize the right behavior.
With predictive modeling and dynamic adjustments, Fullcast empowers RevOps leaders to proactively align revenue goals with team performance, ensuring that compensation isn’t just fair—it’s strategic. In today’s fast-moving market, businesses that embrace this kind of intelligent alignment are the ones that win.
When sales, finance, and operations teams are working from the same real-time data, everyone’s on the same page about what’s being sold, what’s being earned, and what’s driving results. Automated systems streamline commission tracking, instantly reflect quota progress, and ensure that incentives are calculated accurately and transparently. The result? Faster decisions, more trust, and a comp plan that motivates the behavior your business needs to grow.
If your sales commission plan doesn’t support your quota, you don’t have a plan—you have a problem. We have solutions! Book a free, no-obligation demo here.
