Compensation & Quota
Paying for the behavior that produces revenue.
Workflow
Step 1Revenue Target
ObjectiveStart from the number.
InputBusiness plan
OutputTarget
Key activities
Define the revenue target
Decision points
What must we hit?
Tools: PlanRoles: Leadership
Success: Target set
Quality gate: Go: clear. Loop back: vague.
Why it matters
- Comp drives behavior. Misaligned comp quietly creates sandbagging, gaming, and the wrong focus — the most expensive leak in sales.
Best practices
- Set quota from capacity and opportunity, not top-down hope.
- Design comp to reward the targets you actually want.
- Communicate the plan transparently.
- Review and adjust annually.
Common mistakes
- Quotas that reward gaming.
- Comp changes mid-year without warning.
- Transparency so low the plan breeds distrust.
Key questions
- What behavior does this comp actually reward?
- Is the quota fair and attainable?
Agents that drive this
Comp & Quota
Tools we use · alternates in [ ]
Metabase[ Looker Studio, Power BI, Grafana ]Notion[ Confluence, Obsidian ]HubSpot[ Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio ]