Commission plans that don't quietly break trust
The fastest way to lose your best rep isn't a bad comp plan — it's a comp plan that changes mid-year without warning.
Reps tolerate a lot. Bad territories. Bad leads. Ride-alongs from a VP who hasn't sold in ten years. The one thing they don't tolerate is feeling like the ground is shifting under their paycheck.
The real cause of rep turnover
It's rarely the dollars. It's the sudden accelerator change, the surprise cap, the new "split" rule that just happens to apply to the deal they were about to close. A rep who feels their comp plan was moved underneath them will update their LinkedIn that afternoon.
Three rules that keep trust
One: commit to the plan for the year. No mid-cycle changes. If the plan is broken, fix it January 1st.
Two: if you must change something, grandfather every deal already in flight. A deal that was quoted under old terms stays under old terms. No exceptions.
Three: show the math. Every commission statement should be legible in thirty seconds. If reps have to reverse-engineer their own pay, you've already lost.
What to pay on
Pay on what you want more of. If you want new logos, pay more on new logos. If you want expansion, pay more on expansion. If you pay the same rate on both, don't be surprised when reps chase the easier one.
The test
Ask your reps, right now, to walk you through how their commission is calculated. If any of them hesitate, your plan is too complicated. Simplify it before the next hire.