SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The results are in from the Alexander Group’s inaugural “2019 Sales Compensation Trends Survey—UK Edition.” Participants reported on what happened in 2018 and what they project for 2019. Topics included incentive compensation budgets, headcount changes, base pay budgets, incentive plan designs and 2019 program changes. A special section also focused on new product selling, long-term incentives, impact of tariffs and millennials.
“The UK version of the annual US Sales Compensation Trends Survey found many similarities between US and UK trends and practices,” said David Cichelli, editor of the survey at the Alexander Group. “The expected compensation budget increase of 3% in the UK in 2019 matches the expected growth in pay for the US. Although turnover is the same at 10%, the staffing increase for the UK is more conservative than the US. The impact of Brexit on sales departments and sales compensation still remains uncertain.” Jamie Riley, director in the Alexander Group’s London office, finds similar observations from his clients.
Survey Highlights
- Sales Compensation Program Effectiveness: Overall, the pay plans for 2018 receive good marks for ensuring that payouts matched seller sales results. 92.9% of companies assessed their 2018 sales compensation program to be acceptable or better. 64.3% made no changes to the sales compensation plans mid-year. Most companies assessed their sales compensation plans as aligned with company objectives and reported plan understanding as high among the sales personnel.
- Headcount Changes: These changes indicate financial health. Staffing increases were 42.9% in 2018 and a modest 35.6% expect to increase headcount in 2019. Turnover in 2018 was 10%.
- Sales Compensation Program Changes: To maintain alignment with company objectives, sales management normally updates the plans on an annual basis. 100% will change their incentive plans for 2019. The reasons that companies are changing the 2019 plan include the following: improve sales alignment with business strategy, better align pay with market practices and improve sales productivity.
Download a free Executive Summary of the UK edition at https://www.alexandergroup.com/resources/survey-findings/comp-2019-trends-survey-uk-edition-summary/.
About the Alexander Group, Inc.
The Alexander Group (www.alexandergroup.com) provides revenue growth consulting services to the world’s leading sales and marketing organizations, serving Global 2000 companies across all industries. Founded in 1985, Alexander Group combines deep experience, a proven methodology and data-driven insights to help revenue leaders anticipate change, align their go-to-market resources with company goals and make better informed decisions with one goal in mind—to grow revenue. The Alexander Group has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, San Francisco, Scottsdale and Stamford.
