"This month we're aiming for 400,000 dirhams." The number is clear to the owner. To each of the four salespeople hearing it, it means almost nothing: nobody knows which part is theirs, and each can assume the others will carry most of it.
A target is only useful if it changes what someone does tomorrow morning. That is why it is set per person.
Why one target per salesperson rather than one overall
The overall target is still useful — to you: it tells you whether the business is holding up. But it should be split. A salesperson with their own number knows at any moment whether they are ahead or behind, without being told.
Splitting it also reveals what the total hides: one salesperson carrying the team and another falling away can add up to an "acceptable" month. You only see the problem when the first one leaves.
Setting a realistic target
The right starting point is not what you would like, it is what the salesperson already does. Look at their last few months, set aside an exceptional month in either direction, and start from there.
- Account for the territory. Two salespeople do not have the same route or the same customers. Giving them the same number rewards the territory, not the work.
- Account for the calendar. A month of holidays, back-to-school or Ramadan is not like the others. The target should know it.
- Aim a little higher, not a lot. As an illustration: a salesperson who usually does 120,000 DH a month can be given a 130,000 target. At 180,000 they know from day one they will not reach it, and they stop trying.
Track it during the month, not at the end
A target discovered on the 31st is a verdict, not a tool. The moment that matters is mid-month, when there are still enough days left to catch up.
Back to the example: a 130,000 DH target, and on the 15th the salesperson is at 50,000. Half the target would be 65,000, so they are 15,000 DH behind. Said on the 15th, that is a conversation about which customers to call back. Said on the 31st, it is a reproach.
That is what Gestio lets you do: each salesperson has a monthly target and you see where they stand during the month, from your phone or computer. See the features.
Revenue, cash collected or margin: what to measure
The measure you choose decides the behaviour you get. Each one has its blind spot.
- Revenue rewards volume. On its own it encourages selling on credit to anyone: the sale counts the day it is made, whether the customer pays or not.
- Cash collected rewards the money that actually came in. It is the most honest measure for a team that sells on credit, because it makes collection part of the salesperson's job.
- Number of sales rewards regularity and the number of customers served — useful for a new salesperson or a route being rebuilt.
In Gestio a salesperson can have a target on each of these three measures. Margin is not one of them; it is watched separately, product by product, because a salesperson who reaches their number through discounts can cost more than they bring in. The arithmetic is in margin or markup.
Talking results through with the team
A number does not explain itself. A salesperson who is behind may have lost a big customer, had a week with the van off the road, or simply worked less — and those are three different conversations.
- One to one for the gaps. A salesperson's shortfall is discussed with them, not in front of the others.
- On facts. Customers who did not order, overdue balances, days without a sale: more useful than a percentage.
- When it goes well, too. A salesperson who beats their target should hear it said, not only see it on a screen.
Targets and pay: some precautions
Tying part of someone's pay to results motivates, but it is also where disputes start. A few general precautions:
- Write the rule down before the month, not after. A scale announced in advance and known to everyone avoids most disagreements.
- Avoid cliff edges. If reaching 50,000 DH moves ALL of the revenue to a better rate, a salesperson at 49,000 on the 30th has every reason to push or shift a sale. A tiered scale — each rate applying only to the part above its threshold — does not have that flaw.
- Make the calculation checkable. A salesperson should be able to redo their commission sum themselves.
- Get professional advice on anything touching the employment contract or declarations: those are questions for an adviser, not for software.
Gestio calculates commission on revenue actually collected, with a tiered scale shared by the company or specific to one salesperson, and each salesperson sees their own with the breakdown per tier. As an illustration, with 2% up to 50,000 DH and 3% above, 60,000 DH collected gives 1,000 + 300 = 1,300 DH.