First and foremost, a sales compensation plan should motivate salespeople to perform and align their efforts with the goals of the firm. By that I mean, a sales compensation plan should reward salespeople to do the activities that are deemed important to the overall goals of the firm. There's a section from the novel, "Alice in Wonderland" where Alice is walking along and comes across the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter asks Alice, "Where are you going?", and Alice says, "I don't know". The Mad Hatter replies, "Then any paths will take you there." That quote underscores the need to have a plan. Your compensation system should be fully aligned with that plan. In that sense, a good compensation system controls sales professionals activities. A proper compensation plan helps to recruit and keep good salespeople. Compensation is a big expense and a good compensation plan has to find the right balance between minimizing compensation expense but at the same time being competitive, so as to attract the competent salespeople. A compensation plan should be flexible, simple, and fair.