Les 3 principaux plans de rémunération des chargés de clientèle : Stratégies de fidélisation et de croissance du chiffre d'affaires

Account manager compensation plans are designed to align with their unique role in driving customer retention and growth. Unlike sales roles that focus on acquiring new customers, account managers (AMs) and customer success managers (CSMs) concentrate on nurturing existing relationships, ensuring client satisfaction, and uncovering opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. 

This focus on retention is critical, especially considering that retaining customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Research shows that it costs five times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one. Moreover, improving customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% or more. 

Given the strategic importance of retaining customers for sustained growth, account manager compensation plans must reflect their pivotal contributions. This includes incentives tied to customer success metrics, upselling efforts, and overall satisfaction to ensure long-term client loyalty and profitability. 

An effective account manager compensation plan is a cornerstone for motivating account managers, retaining existing customers, and driving revenue growth. 

Pourquoi les salaires fixes ne fonctionnent-ils pas pour les chargés de clientèle ? 

Account management roles, such as account managers and account executives, often bridge customer retention and new business acquisition. While the average base salary for account managers in the U.S. is $70,000 annually, on-target earnings (OTE) can exceed $100,000.  

To strike the right balance, a comprehensive compensation plan blends fixed salaries with variable pay, incorporating growth bonuses, a commission structure, and incentives tied to net revenue retention or sales quotas. 

A well-structured compensation plan not only reduces customer churn but also empowers the entire sales team to focus on existing accounts, shorter sales cycles, and additional client services, ultimately boosting overall revenue growth and ensuring agency profitability. 

Quels sont les meilleurs plans de rémunération des chargés de clientèle pour les fidéliser ? 

Si un salaire de base compétitif est important, les meilleurs plans de rémunération des chargés de clientèle pour les fidéliser se concentrent sur les primes qui incitent à adopter les bons comportements : 

Plan 1: Retention-based commission 

This compensation plan is ideal for account managers whose primary responsibility is to retain existing customers. Account managers are rewarded based on their ability to renew contracts and retain revenue from existing accounts. 

An Account Manager has a monthly retention quota of $35,000 ARR and earns a 12% commission on every deal they close. 

Such a compensation structure motivates account managers to focus on retaining existing customers, contributing to net revenue retention and reducing customer churn. 

Plan 2: Retention & upsell bonus 

This plan incorporates both retention and account growth by rewarding account managers for renewals and upsells. It aligns with strategic objectives like increasing customer lifetime value and achieving business growth. 

An Account Manager has a quarterly retention quota of $250,000 ARR and earns a 9% commission on every renewal they manage. Additionally, they have a quarterly upsell quota of $80,000 ARR and earn a 12% commission for every upsell deal. 

This well-structured compensation plan ensures account managers are incentivized to retain existing clients while identifying additional client service opportunities to drive overall revenue growth. 

Plan 3: Retention-based bonus 

This approach rewards account managers for achieving specific revenue retention targets through fixed bonuses. Such a plan offers financial security while encouraging focus on retaining customer relationships and reducing customer churn. 

An Account Manager has a monthly retention quota of $40,000 ARR and earns a $40 bonus for every percentage of their quota they meet. 

A comprehensive compensation plan like this drives account manager motivation, aligns with company goals, and boosts net revenue retention. Regularly reviewing sales compensation plans ensures they effectively achieve business objectives and drive revenue growth. Take this commercial company as an example. 

À quelle mesure lier vos plans de compensation AM ?  

The best metric for your AM compensation plan depends on your company's goals.  

If you want to prioritize customer retention, then you should:  

Try to implement the GRR or Gross Revenue Retention plan. The metric for this plan will solely focus on retaining the existing revenue stream from your existing customer pool.

By tying this type of metric into the account manager compensation plan, you can reward the AMs based on how well they keep the customer churn in check. Such a method would ensure that the AMs get the push to get the existing contracts renewed.  

Si vous souhaitez donner la priorité à la croissance de la clientèle, vous devez le faire :  

Utilisez le NRR ou Net Revenue Retention. Cette mesure récompense les gestionnaires de comptes qui conservent leurs clients existants et augmentent leurs revenus grâce à des ventes incitatives et à des expansions. Le fait de lier le NRR au plan de rémunération des gestionnaires de comptes inciterait ces derniers à s'ouvrir aux possibilités de vente incitative.   

Cet indicateur prend en compte les possibilités de fidélisation de la clientèle et de vente incitative. Vous pouvez ainsi fidéliser les clients existants et les encourager à étendre leurs abonnements aux services ou à acheter des produits supplémentaires. Ce type d'indicateur est susceptible de favoriser la croissance globale du chiffre d'affaires. 

If you want to balance both growth and retention, then use a combined Gross & Net Revenue Retention plan: 

This blended approach motivates AMs to achieve success in both areas. There are a few elements that could also be used to uphold the AM's performance. They are:  

• Achievement of quota: This measures the AM's ability to secure a specific amount of revenue or sales within a set timeframe.  
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC): A lower CAC indicates the AM is efficiently bringing in new customers.  
• Customer lifetime value (CLTV): This metric rewards AMs for acquiring customers who bring long-term value to the company.  
• Customer retention rate: A high retention rate signifies AM’s success in keeping existing customers happy.  

Envisagez une approche équilibrée qui combine les mesures. Voyons comment cette marque automobile de luxe mondialement connue a mis en place un plan de rémunération bien structuré pour l'ensemble de l'équipe, ce qui a conduit à son succès global, avec une augmentation de 96,2 % de l'adoption des paiements. 

Now we have identified the key metrics for evaluating account manager performance.  Let's now discuss how to create a comprehensive compensation plan for account managers.  

Comment créer les meilleurs plans de rémunération pour les gestionnaires de comptes ?  

Designing a successful account manager compensation plan is critical for achieving your company goals while keeping account managers motivated. Here’s how you can create a well-structured compensation plan: 

1. Align with company goals 

Your compensation strategy should directly support your sales organization’s goals. Whether your focus is on client retention, revenue growth, or acquiring new customers, your account manager compensation plan must incentivize actions that align with these objectives. 

2. Account size and complexity 

Larger or more complex accounts require more time and effort to manage. Ensure account managers handling high annual contract value or intricate client needs are compensated better than those managing smaller accounts. 

3. Tailor for experience 

Experienced account executives or senior account managers often bring more value through shorter sales cycles, client retention, and additional client services. Reflect this in their base salary, variable pay, or growth bonuses. 

Compass can significantly enhance the AM compensation plan by allowing you to test draft incentive compensation plans before they go live. With its powerful what-if scenario modeling, you can analyze how different roles will be impacted. 

Additionally, Compass enables you to analyze and clone successful compensation plans that have previously led to increased quota attainment and maximum profitability. This means you can replicate effective strategies easily.  

 You can adjust your incentive or commission plans at any time to align with changing market trends and revenue objectives, ensuring your compensation strategy remains relevant and effective. 

4. Competitive compensation plans 

Benchmark your compensation programs against industry standards. Offering competitive fixed salaries, on-target earnings, and commissions can help attract and retain top talent within your sales team. 

5. Clear communication 

Clearly explain the commission structure, renewal quota, and growth bonuses. A comprehensive compensation plan that is easy to understand will empower account managers to exceed expectations. 

6. Seasonality and sales cycles 

Account for variations in sales cycles and renewals. During slower periods, offer incentives to maintain motivation and sales efficiency. Consider bonuses tied to shorter sales cycles or additional client services during off-peak times. 

7. Regular reviews and adjustments 

Regularly assess your compensation plans. Factors such as sales cycle length, customer churn, and revenue generated should guide necessary updates to keep the plan effective and aligned with company goals. 

By considering these elements, you can create motivating compensation plans that incentivize account managers, drive overall revenue growth, and ensure alignment with the organization’s revenue targets. 

Meilleures pratiques en matière de plan de rémunération des gestionnaires de comptes  

Nous développerons les meilleures pratiques en analysant des études de cas, en nous concentrant sur les constructeurs allemands de voitures de luxe et en tenant compte des besoins des organisations de produits commerciaux. 

From the global commercial product company, we learned to:  

• Aligner la rémunération des chargés de clientèle sur l'objectif de l'entreprise. L'entreprise a conçu le plan de rémunération des chargés de clientèle en fonction de ses principaux objectifs, à savoir la fidélisation des clients actuels, le développement des ventes de nouveaux produits aux clients existants et l'amélioration du délai de recouvrement des créances. Cela a grandement aidé l'organisation à fournir aux gestionnaires de comptes la rémunération dont ils avaient besoin pour aller de l'avant.   
• Mettre en œuvre des plans de comptes clés de manière agressive. En liant les primes des gestionnaires de comptes à ces mesures, le plan a encouragé les comportements qui soutenaient la stratégie globale de l'entreprise.  
• Create a thorough bonus structure. The commercial product company placed a structured bonus plan, which included participation requirements to maintain transparency, metrics based on unit performance and types of performance, and specific bonuses tied to monthly revenue renewal and new product sales. Not only that, but they incorporated methods for crediting sales and sharing goals among team members. Structuring the bonuses with set rules provided clear financial incentives for account managers to meet and exceed their goals.  

En maintenant les meilleures pratiques pour le plan de rémunération des gestionnaires de comptes, vous le remarquerez :  

• Amélioration de la collaboration entre les responsables des ventes et les chargés de clientèle  
• La satisfaction des clients et le renouvellement des contrats, comme l'ont montré l'entreprise de produits commerciaux et la marque allemande de voitures de luxe qui a enregistré un taux d'adoption de 96 % sur le site Compass .   
• La structure des primes a efficacement motivé les gestionnaires de comptes à se concentrer sur les renouvellements, les ventes à la hausse et les relations avec les clients, ce qui a permis à l'entreprise d'obtenir de meilleurs résultats commerciaux.  

Conclusion  

Les plans de rémunération des ventes doivent motiver les chargés de clientèle à développer les comptes. Pour ce faire, il convient de créer une structure de rémunération qui récompense la croissance des comptes et de veiller à ce que les plans soient clairs et détaillés.   

The path to growth starts with sales leaders understanding where and how sales efforts fall short of identifying and implementing appropriate account manager compensation plan changes. This can be done by evaluating current sales performance on renewals, cross-sells/upsells, and new revenue against projections and growth targets. Therefore, implement an accelerator like Compass to:  

• Automate the incentive program. This automation helps to eliminate errors and delays associated with manual processes.  
• Obtenez des informations sur les performances en temps réel. Obtenez une visibilité sur les mesures de performance et les informations sur les commissions.   
• Créez un plan de rémunération flexible pour vos gestionnaires de comptes. Compass peut gérer des structures de rémunération simples ou complexes, ce qui lui permet de s'adapter aux différents besoins de l'entreprise.   

Lastly, Compass offers predictive analytics and powerful insights so that organizations can plan better across teams and make informed decisions regarding compensation strategies. So, schedule a demo call with our specialists to find out how you can draft a perfect account manager compensation plan for your AMs.  

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