Provide Realistic Sales Rewards What It Is Compensation reaffirms your company's objectives and your operat- ing style, aligns direction and corporate values, and builds trust. Specific forms of compensation drive specific behaviors. Compensation is more than pay; it can be about recognition, development, and inclusion. And sales compensation should always reward influence. For all the focus and energy that effective compensation can create, there is a flip side: Some companies refuse to acknowledge the limita- tions of compensation, feeling that pay will solve all problems and recon- cile all challenges. Compensation cannot select the needed strategic information, align it to the company's priorities, nor set powerful business goals. Compen- sation cannot coach the staff and remedy performance situations. Com- pensation can encourage recruitment and retention, but it cannot make the selection decisions nor develop the rapport that makes a sales person want to stay with the company. Compensation will identify exceptional pay or performance circumstances, but cannot apply judgment in admin- istering the plan. Compensation may provide motivation, but it cannot counsel. It can reinforce expectations, but it is a poor stimulate of change. Compensation will never ever take the place of management. 113