re: Sales Managers: Comp Plan Design for Repeat Order Business

As you mentioned, it is not uncommon to offer a higher commission on new business brought in by the sales person or new product lines sold into existing customers for the first time. The amount and timeframe of the additional commission depends on your margin and how much it would take to get the attention of your sales people. Also, could be different amounts for different products.

Another technique I've seen is simply add a new salesperson and take some accounts from the existing sales people. Tell the old sales person you are giving the account to the new salesperson because you feel that the account wasn't being handled properly. The sales staff will get the message.