Nothing Left to Take Away: A Practical Guide to Paying and Sustaining a High-Performing Sales Team Hardcover – February 11, 2025

Sales compensation is one of the most powerful levers a company has to drive success. Among all reward mechanisms, it creates the most direct link between individual performance and company results. Yet too often, plans become overengineered—layered with complexity that weakens their purpose. Stacked incentives, untested assumptions, and unnecessary details create confusion instead of clarity. The best plans succeed not because of what they include, but because of what they leave out.Nothing Left to Take Away provides a framework for designing sales compensation plans that drive results without unnecessary complexity. It covers every key component—from pay mechanics and role-specific considerations to plan documentation and governance—ensuring that each element serves a purpose. When a plan is misaligned, it creates confusion and mistrust, leading to unintended and unexpected outcomes.Sales compensation isn’t just about paying people—it’s about shaping behavior. An effective plan is built with clarity, alignment, and intent before it ever reaches the people whose livelihood depends on it. The goal is not to add more, but to refine and simplify until there is nothing left to take away.Included in this books is guidance on:The role of sales incentives within Sales Force Effectiveness.Research and guidance on how financial incentives can be used to shape behaviors, as well as how they can't.Frameworks to help define sales roles with clarity.Different philosophies around sales compensation and the impact on plan design.The plan design process, metrics, and mechanics.Effective quota-setting practices and methodologies.The role of sales culture, spiffs, and non-financial rewards.Specific considerations for Sales Leadership, Customer Success, Consumption-Based sales, Sales Development Reps, Indirect Sales, and Consultative Sales Roles.Effective use of draws.Writing thorough and effective plan documentation.Effective governance and administration.Considerations around sales crediting.Effective communication strategies and tools.Managing pay for sales roles.Considerations for global sales teams.Managing the sales plan design process including project team structure, phases, and stakeholder management.Approaches to financial modeling. Read more