There is a lot of very specific terminology used in the world of sales performance management. Different vendors may use different terms, so it is important when starting a project to make sure everybody understands what is what to avoid any confusion. Plan: A collection of rules that specify how to compensate the participants assigned to that plan.
Position: Defines a specific, unique job.
Quota: A predetermined sales performance goal, expressed as a percentage, percentage change, in absolute numbers, or in units sold.
Rule: A way to filter and calculate in the form of an "if-then" statement. The "if" contains a Boolean expression that selects objects from the database (for example, which transactions to use). The "then" part contains formulas that calculate and save new values.
SPIF: Acronym that stands for "Sales Promotion Incentive Fund." SPIF is a loose term referring to an on-the-fly addition to the compensation plan used to motivate the sales force in a particular way by providing additional sales credit or payment for certain types of sales.
Territory: A way of defining which transactions a participant should be credited with. It is usually a geographic area, but could also be an industry or a specific set of customers.
Title: Occupational grouping, such as engineers, systems analysts, etc. Titles are used to group similar positions related by job function across the organization.
Transaction: The original sales data, wich includes sub-line data on an order.
Variable: A placeholder in a rule or formula for a fixed value, rate table, or territory.
