Selling isn’t always about CLOSE, CLOSE, CLOSE—a big part of it is cultivating positive relationships with customers along the way.

That’s why it’s crucial for every sales team to have a core set of farmers.

A successful farmer deeply understands customers’ needs, problems, and concerns. Then, she’ll use this knowledge to lead customers in an assertive fashion, while still being careful not to step on anyone’s toes.

You want to reward farmers for helping you grow and maintain your existing customers—one of your most reliable sources of income.

But when you talk about compensating the farmer, too many measures is bad for business.

Keep your farmers happy by:

• Focusing on base pay (to keep rewards and goals in alignment)

• Increasing percentage of variable pay as deals become harder to secure

• Setting specific goals, SPIFs, or addt’l quotas with rewards

• Having annual or quarterly payouts

If you want to learn more about growing your business and rewarding the right sales behavior, head over to Xactly Express.

Erik Charles is Xactly’s principal incentives strategist