The Origin of Sales Quotas & Variable Compensation
Audio Podcast
Todd Caponi
Podcast Episode Description
Sales compensation – commission-only until the 1900’s. And, for good reason. You wouldn’t pay a rep you rarely see a salary, right? Sales are face-to-face. Travel is slow, there’s no real-time distance communication, and no CRM system, so it’s what you did. Sell something, get paid – a lot. Don’t sell something, don’t get paid.
The birth of salary+commission changed that, and inspired the need for quotas. In this episode, we track that progression, the original purpose of a quota, and how we’ve convoluted that purpose over time.
Maybe we should consider going back?
Know Someone That Might Like This? Why Not Share!
Know Someone That Might Like This? Why Not Share!
Other Podcasts You Might Enjoy
The Nine Traits of a Successful 1913 (and current) Salesperson
Sales tips from 100 years ago If sales has changed so much, why haven't the #salestips? Reading a collection of the top sales tips in 1913 - and I swear I was reading a collection of the top sales tips today. There's no conflict...at all. What's presented as...
The Origins of “Modern” Sales Management
The history of sales management: There's a direct correlation between the difficulty of the selling environment and the need for optimized sales management. There was a lag between the modernization of sales and the modernization of sales management. In this episode,...
What History Got Right: Setting Sales Quotas
“It is far better that the quota be right than that it be simple.” – 1926 Something odd struck me as I was investigating the origins of quotas and variable compensation. 75-100 years ago, organizations did MUCH MORE with MUCH LESS data. Today, not sure anyone could...
0 Comments