I’ve heard it said a thousand different ways: “Sales is the lifeblood of an organization.‍

And while that’s absolutely true, let’s go one layer deeper, commission is the heart that pumps that blood.

Without it, the body doesn’t move.

The momentum dies.

Growth flatlines.

Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of companies across multiple industries. Some offer lucrative, aggressive commission structures. Others provide mediocre plans, just enough to say they have something in place. And unfortunately, some barely offer any commission at all. And you know what I’ve seen time and time again?

‍The higher the earning potential, the higher the performance, and the stronger the culture of accountability.

Commission isn’t just a line item on a P&L sheet. It’s the clearest signal you can send to your team that says, “What you kill, you eat. And we’ll make sure there’s a feast waiting for those who go hunt.” That’s how you attract killers. That’s how you retain them. And that’s how you drive revenue through the roof.

Why Do So Many Business Owners Fear Commission?

It blows my mind how many business owners still hesitate to pay commission. The fear usually comes from one of three places:

1. “What if I pay too much?”
2. “What if they stop working once they hit their number?”
3. “What if they game the system?”

Let me be blunt: if those are your fears, your problem isn’t commission, it’s leadership.

You can build guardrails.

You can implement accountability.

But you cannot expect top-line growth without top-tier incentive. The best sales professionals are driven by performance-based pay. If you don’t offer it, they’ll go somewhere that does.

You Want $20M? Build a $20M Sales Machine.

Let’s do some real math.

Let’s say your business is doing $10,000,000 in annual revenue, and you want to double that to $20,000,000 in three years. Your current margin is 40% before any sales salary or commission is paid. You’ve got room.

So what do you do?

You design a sales compensation plan that rewards over-performance.

You don’t cap it.

You don’t make it complicated.

You tie it to real, trackable metrics, and you make sure your salespeople know exactly what they need to do to get paid. When the roadmap is clear, and the reward is real, behavior changes fast.

Commission Gets Stale When You Get Lazy

The number one killer of a good commission plan? Stagnation.

Too many companies build a plan once and then forget it. Or worse, they tweak it so often that sales teams lose trust in the system. Either way, it fails. You’ve got to review your plans. Update them. Test them. Align them with your goals, your margins, and your strategy. And above all, you have to train your team on how to win.

Sales isn’t hard. But it does require discipline. And discipline thrives when people know there’s a reward on the other side of the work.

Commission Is Not a Cost, It’s an Investment

The commission check you’re cutting this month? That’s not money walking out the door. That’s your revenue multiplier.

The question isn’t “Can I afford to pay commission?”

The question is “Can I afford not to?”

If you want big results, you’ve got to create big opportunities for the people driving them. The best people want to bet on themselves. Let them. Build the structure. Teach the process. Then get the hell out of the way and let them sell.

SML