Growth Insights for CEOs

Outsider Insights | The Comp Plan Is Quietly Telling Your Sales Team Not to Hunt
Executive Takeaways
- Sales reps focus on what they're paid and measured on, even if that strays from business strategy and goals.
- Many compensation plans and account structures quietly reward protecting revenue, not creating it.
- Adding a quota target without changing the underlying structure just adds pressure, not pipeline.
- Fixing this starts with the comp plan and account map, not a pep talk about hustle.
Outsider Insights
Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
Recent Posts

A More Perfect Union: Four Keys to Credit Union Profitability
Thu, May 16, 2019 — U.S. credit unions are in crisis. For years, buoyed by a “hometown banking” distinction and bolstered by government regulations allowing for the expansion of their membership ranks, credit unions enjoyed unprecedented growth. In fact, just two years after President Clinton signed the 1998 Credit Union Membership Access Act, more than 10,000 credit unions dotted the landscape. But then, the technological age arrived in its full fury, delivering tools and benefits that traditional banks used to restore their edge. Though credit unions enjoyed a higher level of customer satisfaction, they were not as keen to what their customers and members were needing. This allowed the traditional banks to use enhanced technologies to raise the customer expectations bar—and close the gap.

A Practical Guide to Growth Using Contract Marketing and Finance Executive Resources
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 — Mark Coronna, Partner & CMO--Chief Outsiders with John Morris, Partner, and Ken Saddler, CFO, B2B CFO® The use of contract executives (also referred to as fractional, on-demand, or outsourced executives) is relatively new in leadership and organizational staffing models. The oldest and largest contract executive company, B2B CFO®, was founded in 1987. The largest contract executive company providing CMO-level talent, Chief Outsiders, is only 10 years old. There are three key takeaway points in this article: Contract execs are a relatively new option for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) Small- and mid-sized businesses are in a great position to secure significant value from this leadership staffing model While contract Marketing executives are a “newer” concept than using contract execs for functions like finance, contract Marketing and Finance execs both can provide critical strategic expertise and timely support to SMBs, with growth challenges or those interested in more rapidly accelerating growth. Let’s explore what a healthy interaction looks like.