SPM reality from The Toddfather. No vendor spin, no consultant theater.
Your exception queue isn't a backlog — it's a diagnostic. Every exception tells you where the plan doesn't fit reality. Here's how to take it from chaos to governed in 30 days.
Your calculations are accurate. Your governance is missing. Here's what auditors look for, why most teams fail, and how to fix it in 30 days.
Auditors don't ask hard questions. They ask simple questions that expose hard truths. Here are the three that destroy unprepared comp teams — and how to be ready.
Most SPM vendors just bolted "AI-powered" onto the same stale legacy platform. That's not Intelligent SPM. That's a rebrand. Here's what AI actually changes.
Do you have a complete governance package? Not a comp plan — a governance package. Most companies have zero written policies. Here are the 17 that matter.
Most companies pull 2-3 levers and ignore the rest. Here's the full operating system behind every sales compensation program — and why the levers you're ignoring are the ones that break.
Most companies 'do SPM' the way most people 'do taxes' — they know they have to, they don't fully understand it, and they pray the audit never comes.
'Attainment.' 'Crediting.' 'Draw.' 'True-up.' Your sales, finance, and ops teams all use these words. They don't all mean the same thing by them.
Ambiguous definitions, undefined crediting rules, missing edge cases, and more. The mistakes that turn comp plans into combat zones.
Every quarter, I talk to companies who think their ICM tool is their governance layer. You have a calculator. A very expensive, very capable calculator.
Month 1: One-time exception. Month 6: 200 exceptions. Month 12: Your exception queue IS the comp plan.
The real fundamentals of Sales Performance Management. What it is, why it breaks, and what actually works.
If your answer to 'how was my commission calculated?' requires opening five tabs and ends with 'trust me'—you have an evidence problem.
The annual ritual: Sales sets quotas based on 'the number we need.' Finance adjusts. Reps complain. Everyone compromises on something nobody believes.
Your best reps are also your best loophole hunters. They're paid to optimize outcomes—and they will optimize your comp plan whether you intended them to or not.
The governance layer everyone skips. Why your SPM program is one audit away from chaos.
Year 1: Simple plan. Year 6: Nobody understands it anymore. Every component you add increases errors, creates edge cases, and dilutes motivation.
Every vendor now claims 'AI-powered' something. Most of it is marketing. Some of it is real. Here's how to tell the difference.