For some this is exciting, as it means the opportunity to earn more money. But for most it's an event that is met with skepticism and even dread. In some cases this fear is well-founded. If the reps work or have worked for an organization that has changed compensation negatively in the past, they might have developed a conditioned response to the communication of a new comp plan. If the reps have been treated badly enough in the past, and have gone through several negative changes, then the fear likely has morphed into indifference, disregard, disrespect and disdain.

Communicating changing sales compensation plans is never easy. The salesforce will always start with the assumption that the new plan is going to take something away and will be skeptical of anything the company tries to push as a "positive change." It usually takes two payout cycles under a new plan for the reps to figure out what behaviors they need to change to maximize their pay under the plan, and this is the point at which your top performers will finally stop holding their breath about the new plan design (provided, of course, it is designed well and truly rewards top performance in a fair and equitable manner).