Paying for the work before the close
An activity-based bonus pays a fixed amount per activity that builds pipeline: meetings held, demos or qualified opportunities accepted by an AE. It is mostly used for SDRs and for new reps in a ramp period, when there are no closed deals yet to pay commission on.
Worked example
An SDR earns DKK 300 per qualified meeting held and DKK 1,000 per opportunity the AE accepts. In a month she holds 18 meetings, and 6 of them become accepted opportunities. The bonus is 18 × DKK 300 + 6 × DKK 1,000 = DKK 5,400 + DKK 6,000 = DKK 11,400.
Combine with other models
Weight what is closest to revenue highest. An SDR plan can combine an activity bonus with a share of the closed deal through split commission. A short extra bonus on one specific activity is a SPIFF. Work out OTE for the role in the OTE calculator and read the guide to SDR and BDR compensation.
Pitfalls
Pay for volume and you get volume. Define quality: the meeting must be held, with a decision maker, and accepted by the AE within, say, 5 working days. Do not pay for booked meetings that are cancelled, and consider a monthly cap. Phase the activity bonus out once the rep has their own pipeline.
Danish rules
An activity bonus is pay and must be stated in writing (Danish Employment Contracts Act, section 3, in Danish). Put the definition of a qualified activity in the agreement, and how the bonus is calculated during holiday, sick leave and parental leave, where variable pay generally follows the right to pay; the commission during sick leave calculator shows the average method. Check with your lawyer or accountant if in doubt.
What is a qualified opportunity?
Whatever your agreement says. A workable definition is an opportunity in the CRM with budget, need and timeline that the AE has accepted. Without a written definition, every statement becomes a discussion.
How large should the activity bonus be?
Work backwards from OTE: the monthly variable pay divided by the expected number of activities gives the amount per activity. Adjust the rates so the most valuable activity also pays the most.
In Prowi
Create the plan, pick the measurement point and period, set the rule, assign it to roles. From there every closed deal in your CRM is priced live, the rep sees it in the app, the manager approves, and finance exports the file. When data changes, the correction follows automatically.