Your approach to sales incentives for consultancy teams will look a little different to that of traditional sales roles. While product-focused sales teams often chase quick wins and high volumes, consultancy is built on relationship development and long-term value.  

Understanding these differences will allow you to develop effective incentive plans that drive the right behaviours.
 

The Consultancy Cycle 

Consultancy sales cycles typically span months—sometimes even years—before securing a deal. This extended timeline involves several complex elements that need to be considered in any incentive scheme. 

Building relationships with multiple stakeholders is one of the most important factors. Unlike product sales, where you might deal with a single decision-maker, consulting deals often require buy-in from various departments and levels of seniority within an organisation. 

Also, the negotiation phase for consultancy contracts tends to be more extensive, involving detailed discussions about scope, deliverables, and terms. These negotiations can stretch over several months as different stakeholders provide input and requirements are refined. 

Post-sale delivery is another element that sets consultancy and sales apart. The same individuals involved in securing the deal often play a key role in delivery, making it essential that sales incentives don’t compromise service quality. 

Ongoing client relationship management then becomes vital for future opportunities. Consultants must maintain strong relationships well beyond the initial sale, as today’s small project could lead to tomorrow’s major contract or repeat business. 

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Key Elements of Consultancy Sales Incentives


1. Contract Value Considerations

One of the first challenges in structuring consultancy sales incentives is determining how to handle contract values. Many consultancy contracts span multiple years, raising questions about value attribution. Organisations typically have several options:

  • Dividing the value equally across the contract duration

This ensures steady recognition of the consultant’s contribution but may not reflect the front-loaded effort of securing the deal.

  • Weighting incentives towards the initial sale

This can better reward the effort of winning new business but might reduce focus on successful delivery and relationship building.

  • Linking payments to specific delivery milestones

This approach helps maintain quality throughout the project lifecycle while ensuring consultants remain engaged with long-term contracts. However, this can create more complexity and lack of consistency with different milestones for each project or service.

2. Team-Based Approach

While individual performance matters, consulting often relies on some level of team collaboration. A significant deal might require support from multiple colleagues, whether in building relationships or managing documentation. This collaborative nature means incentive structures should also promote collective success.

Recognising both individual and team contributions is essential. Cross-selling should also be actively encouraged through the incentive scheme. This means rewarding consultants who identify opportunities for colleagues in other areas, even if they’re not directly involved in delivery.


3. Payment Frequency

The longer sales cycle in consultancy work typically leads to less frequent incentive payments compared to traditional sales roles. While product sales teams might receive monthly or quarterly payments, consultancy incentives often align with longer-term measures of success:

  • Annual payment cycles help maintain focus on building sustainable client relationships rather than rushing to close deals.
  • Client retention periods can be built into the incentive structure to encourage ongoing relationship management.

4. Measuring Success & Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction often plays a vital role in determining sales incentives. Rather than focusing solely on revenue figures, organisations may incorporate multiple measures of client satisfaction into their incentive structures.

This might include formal client feedback surveys, project milestone achievements, and renewal rates. Some organisations use independent feedback collection to ensure objectivity, gathering detailed insights about service quality, project outcomes, and relationship management. These metrics can then be weighted alongside financial measures when calculating incentives.

For instance, a consultant might receive their full incentive only if both revenue targets and satisfaction thresholds are met, ensuring that the drive for sales doesn’t compromise service quality.

Building Sales Incentive Plans for Consultancy Teams


Keep It Simple

While consultancy involves multiple elements, resist the temptation to overcomplicate incentive plans. Focus on key metrics that truly drive business success rather than trying to incentivise every desired behaviour.

Complex plans with numerous metrics can become difficult to track and understand, potentially reducing their motivational impact. When consultants struggle to calculate their potential earnings, the incentive loses its effectiveness.

Some behaviours, such as maintaining accurate client records or attending team meetings, should be expected as part of the role rather than specifically incentivised. Not everything needs to be tied to an incentive plan.

The Manager’s Role

While incentive plans are important, they shouldn’t be the only driver of desired behaviours. Managers play a crucial role in developing successful consultancy teams through:

  • Setting clear expectations about both sales targets and quality standards helps consultants understand what success looks like in their role.

  • Regular feedback ensures consultants can adjust their approach before issues impact their performance or client relationships.

  • Supporting professional development helps consultants build the skills needed to win and deliver more complex work.

  • Enable a balance between significant responsibilities:
    • Developing and maintaining client relationships
    • Managing complex project deliverables
    • Contributing to team knowledge and capabilities
    • Supporting colleagues’ projects and proposals

Conclusion

Well-designed sales incentives for consultancy teams must be approached differently from traditional sales environments. The most effective schemes recognise that sustainable revenue growth comes from balancing individual achievement with team collaboration, while maintaining unwavering focus on client satisfaction.

By implementing clear, considered incentive frameworks that align with the organisation’s values, we can drive growth while fostering the long-term client relationships essential to success. The result is a motivated consultant base delivering measurable value for both the business and its clients.