Revenue Operations

Navigating the Downturn: How ICM Drives High ROI for Businesses

Siva Subramanian
7
min read
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In today's unpredictable economic landscape, businesses face the pressing need to maximize their return on investment (ROI). As companies strive to achieve revenue goals, the role of incentives in driving revenue and empowering payees becomes even more critical. However, traditional methods of managing commissions through spreadsheets can prove to be an uphill battle, particularly as organizations scale. This is where commission software can be a game-changer. 

In this blog, we will explore how commission software can be the catalyst your business needs to navigate through a downturn successfully, enabling you to achieve a high ROI while empowering your sales force. 

Increases Sales Productivity

When it comes to calculating commissions manually, sales payees often find themselves stuck in a never-ending cycle of tracking their own numbers. Instead of focusing on vital tasks, they end up spending valuable time on shadow accounting. According to a report by Forrester, payees spend an average of two hours each month engaging in this time-consuming practice. 

With commission software, your payees get real-time visibility and transparency into their numbers. This eliminates the need to shadow account, and they no longer have to worry about their commission going awry. Moreover, payees can now gain a deeper understanding of their performance and the factors influencing it. 

And that's not all. Simulation of commissions, like Everstage’s Crystal gives your payees the ability to forecast commissions using the deals in their pipeline. Payees can now pinpoint the exact deals they should pursue to reach their targets. 

Provides Commission Accuracy 

Errors are impossible to avoid during manual commission calculation. Spotting them and fixing it all is going to be a horrendous task. A Gartner report reveals that calculating commissions manually is only 92-97% accurate. This leads to costly overpayments or demoralizing underpayments. 

Whereas, commission software provides you 100% accuracy of payments. You no longer have to worry about inaccuracy in calculations, helping you avoid revenue leaks. 

Minimizes Manual Busywork 

You need data from CRM, ERP, payroll system, and other tools to calculate commissions. Spreadsheets aren’t connected, and you’ve to enter data manually into it, wasting a large chunk of time in unproductive busywork. Furthermore, optimizing commission plans is time consuming as well. 

On the other hand, commission software can reduce manual busywork by up to 80%. As a result, you get ample time to focus towards strategic initiatives that can eventually drive your business forward. 

Commission tools also offer insights about your comp plans, quotas, and payees’ performance. You would know what is working and what isn’t and can make necessary adjustments to your commission plans immediately. You can also track individual performance of your payees, identify those in need of additional training, and make decisions accordingly. 

Reduces Disputes

Did you know that approximately 30% of commission payouts end up in disputes? These disputes not only consume valuable resources but also erode the trust that payees have in the commission process.

By implementing a commission tool, the scenario changes dramatically. Only 5% of payments are under dispute with such software. What's more, all the disputes raised can be resolved within the platform itself, removing the need for time-consuming back-and-forth interactions. By reducing disputes and offering seamless dispute resolution, the commission tool fosters increased trust among payees, strengthening the overall relationship. 

Improves Audit Efficiency 

Commission data will be scattered across multiple sheets when you calculate commissions manually. This makes it extremely difficult to keep track of every change made, making the auditing process a nightmare. 

Commission software can give you complete audit logs of all the changes done and approvals made. This reduces the audit-man hours by up to 60%. Moreover, this also minimizes the legal risks the organization may face. 

Final Thoughts:

Now it’s evident that commission software is indispensable for businesses aiming to thrive in challenging times. But how would you choose the right commission tool? The trick is to know the potential returns you get from the tool. 

That's why we've developed this easy to use ROI calculator for Everstage. With just a few clicks, you can determine the value and returns you can expect from Everstage. Don't wait any longer, explore the Everstage ROI calculator now and make an informed decision for your business's success. 

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