The Most Expensive Word in Sales Compensation

There is no word in sales compensation more dangerous than “temporary.”

Temporary SPIFF. Temporary multiplier. Temporary exception. Temporary carve-out.

It always sounds reasonable in the moment. “We’ll just put this in for now.” “We’ll clean it up next quarter.” “This is just until things stabilize.” The problem is that temporary almost never gets cleaned up.

A new product launches, so you add a kicker. A segment struggles, so you tweak payout mechanics. A strategic account needs special treatment, so you create an exception. Individually, none of these decisions are reckless. Collectively, they’re how clean plans become layered ones.

And layered plans do something subtle. They slow everything down. More questions about statements. More manual adjustments. More finance review. More time spent explaining mechanics instead of talking about performance. Before long, you’re not managing a compensation plan — you’re managing its history.

Temporary incentives aren’t inherently bad. They can be useful. But if you’re going to introduce one, two things should exist from the start: a written expiration date and a clear owner responsible for removing or formalizing it. If neither exists, assume it’s permanent.

Sales compensation rarely gets messy because of one big mistake. It gets messy because of five small “temporary” decisions that no one revisited.

If you’re looking at your current plan thinking, “We have a few temporary things in there,” you probably do. The real question is whether you’re still controlling them — or they’re now controlling the plan.