Realities We Often Encounter in B2B Companies

💼 Scenario 1: A company has set an ambitious 2026 plan: to increase market share by 15% through the inclusion of new segments. However, the sales team is motivated only to achieve sales results directed at existing, long-standing clients—because their incentive system does not include components related to acquiring new segments and developing sales.

🧩 Scenario 2: Management talks about teamwork and collaboration, but each salesperson earns their bonus separately, based on individual sales results. Product development and support teams have no connection to the incentive plan, even though their contribution is crucial.

📉 Scenario 3: Gross profit margins are declining, but salespeople still receive a good bonus—they are selling revenue, not profit. The requirement to achieve sales profit has been vaguely defined and has remained in the background of the incentive agreements.

📊 Scenario 4: Market conditions have been favorable. The team has worked hard to achieve sales targets. Some time before the end of the incentive-related period, it turns out that the set sales goals have already been met. Since the incentive agreements lack a scenario for earning bonuses related to overachievement, motivation drops to achieve the maximum possible.

🌐 Scenario 5: Although the company has multiple departments domestically or abroad, the incentive system is tied only to the company's overall sales plan metrics. The metrics for local sales units remain poorly detailed, and the portion of bonuses based on local results is either missing or the corresponding agreements remain too vague to be motivating.

Do you recognize your company's practices here? If yes, you are not alone. These are common gaps between a company's strategic development plans and its motivation systems, which I frequently encounter in my consulting practice.

Why the 2026 Plan Requires a Review of Incentives
🚩 Now 5 Warning Signs That Your System Needs an Update:

1. Plan and compensation live in different worlds. The plan talks about growth through new market opportunities, but bonuses are still paid for the recurring revenue of existing clients. The team is not motivated to actively explore new opportunities.
   
   
2. Sales-supporting departments are left empty-handed. Complex B2B sales is a team effort, but financially, only those who "bring in the deal" are rewarded. This destroys cooperation and divisively splits the team into "front line" and "back office."
   
   
3. Revenue is the priority, sales profit is secondary. In a time of rising costs, we cannot allow a system that encourages selling a lot, but cheaply. Gross profit must be the primary metric.
   
   
4. Motivation dies before the quarter ends. If targets are met early and no additional reward is available for overachievement, the interest in pushing until the end disappears. The system punishes success.
   
   
5. Treating everything as completely uniform globally kills local motivation. The company's overall performance is important, but if the local team does not see the direct impact of their contribution on their bonuses, a feeling arises that "nothing depends on me."

📈 What Do Studies Say?
Management experts (like Gallagher, Deloitte) have found that effective, strategy-aligned compensation systems:

• Increase the probability of achieving goals by 30–50%.
• Improve client retention and satisfaction.
  
• Reduce unwanted turnover in key roles.

What Are the Proven Principles of Modern B2B Incentive Systems?
The good news is that you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Over decades, clear best practices have emerged globally, which are worth adapting to your context.
🎯 1. Alignment with the Company's Strategic Goals
Incentive compensation is not a separate tool. It must be directly connected to the key objectives for 2026. Is the plan about expanding into new markets? Then the incentive system should specifically support this, not penalize the time spent overcoming challenges related to expansion.
🤝 2. Support for Teamwork – Including Support Departments
Selling complex B2B solutions requires collaboration across different departments. Successful incentive systems balance team and individual metrics and also include technical, marketing, and product support.
💰 3. Focus on Profitability, Not Just Volume
Gross profit (the direct income from sales) is a much more important metric than revenue. It guides the team to sell smarter, not just more.
🔍 4. Measure the Drivers, Not Just the Outcome
Focusing on gross profit is correct, but a single number doesn't tell you how to achieve that result. A truly smart incentive system encourages the specific behaviors that create the desired profitability.

Why? If a team is rewarded solely for the end profit, it may lead to short-term, strategy-damaging decisions – such as pushing high volumes of warehouse stock at heavily discounted prices. A wise system guides the team toward making the right sales.

How? Link the bonus to those strategic choices that build gross profit:

📊 Product Portfolio Balance: Incentivize the sales share of more profitable product groups or the aggregate profit of your TOP10 most profitable products.

⚖️ Balancing Stock Sales vs. Project Sales: Set separate targets for growth in stock sales volume (to boost this strategic and often more profitable channel) and for project sales revenue (often with significantly lower margins, to maintain market share).

🎯 Steering Toward the Right Clients and Deals: Consider metrics like the average profitability per order or gross profit per salesperson.

The Principle: Choose 3-4 of your most critical strategic activity areas you wish to encourage and link their growth to a portion of the bonus. This turns your incentive plan into your primary strategy execution tool.
📈 5. Incorporating "Overachievement" Scenarios
Good systems encourage exceeding targets, not punish it. This keeps motivation high throughout the entire period.
🌍 6. Balance Between Global and Local Results
For companies with territorial sales units or global operations, the system must account for both the company's overall results and the achievements of the local unit. The local team must see the direct feedback of their contribution.
⚖️ 7. Simplicity and Transparency
If an employee does not understand how their bonus is calculated, the system has failed. Transparency and regular feedback are crucial.

How to Start Making Changes? (A Practical Approach)
Change does not mean you have to overhaul everything tomorrow. Start with a strategic self-assessment:

1. Analyze your 2026 sales plan and current compensation policy. Ask yourself: Do these two documents speak the same language? Does our bonus system precisely reward the behaviors the plan requires?
   
   
2. Ask your team for feedback. Questions can be simple: "Do our incentives encourage us to do what the company needs in 2026? Do you feel your contribution is fairly reflected and measured correctly?"
   
   
3. Analyze whether your incentive financial metrics are correct. Do you pay bonuses based on revenue or gross profit? How are the achievements of local units reflected? Is there an opportunity to earn an additional bonus by exceeding the sales targets?

If the answers create discomfort or you discover the scenarios above, it's time to take action.

❓ ADD TO: "How to Start Making Changes? (A Practical Approach)" Section
A Revealing Follow-up Question:
After comparing your sales plan and incentive system, ask yourself and your team leader one more thing:

"If our salespeople today acted fully and diligently according to our bonus system – would it steer sales precisely toward those products, clients, and channels that are the target drivers of benefit for our business in the 2026 plan?"

If the answer is "no" or "I'm not sure," then you have a strategic opportunity in hand. It means your current incentives are not directing activity toward your priority goals. Correct this by linking bonuses directly to those activities (like focus on product groups) that help create the desired outcome (gross profit)
Next Steps: The Need for Professional Consulting
Overhauling an incentive system is not a simple HR task. It is a strategic business management project that requires a deep understanding of:

• Your business, competition, and 2026 objectives
  
  
• Finance (cost accounting, the concept of gross profit)
  
  
• The psychology of human motivation
  
  
• Best practices in the B2B sector, including within global structures

This is precisely why successful Baltic companies turn to an external specialist for this—to avoid costly mistakes, directly link the system to business goals, and create a motivating incentive structure that also works in the long term.

"The incentive compensation system is a powerful tool through which management communicates with the team. What is your system expressing right now—does it say 'let's work together for the set goals' or 'win alone, no matter how'?"

📞 Did you find any of these scenarios in your company?
My clients have recently initiated strategic projects on this topic, combining:

1. Detailed development of the 2026 sales plan.
   
   
2. Design of a harmonious, motivating, and practical incentive compensation system.

📞 Get in touch to discuss how to prepare your company for 2026 and create a system that serves your business goals, not hinders them: +372 5094 786

Author: Tarmo Riit, Strategy and Change Consultant. I help companies implement strategic plans and turn them into operational reality.