Turn these bullets into a paragraph-based blogpost. Refine and make pithy where possible: Wealth Management Sales Compensation
Introduction
•	The wealth management industry is experiencing a shift in macroeconomic conditions, which influences companies to reevaluate strategy and operating models to support growth objectives.
•	Firms must create a strategy to drive organic growth as the opportunity to capitalize on non-organic growth from market conditions is limited.
•	Those companies that make strategic plans that include investments into the sales organization, position themselves to endure market disruptions and current macroeconomic conditions. 
•	Go-To-Market annual planning is a pivotal aspect of driving the right investments that will result in top-line revenue growth. During the planning process, sales compensation and enablement to support the GTM model must be at the forefront.
•	Designing and implementing an effective sales compensation and enablement program is crucial to achieving corporate goals, initiatives, and optimal commercial model based on desired outcomes within units of the business. The varying delivery models beget specific approaches to achieve sales excellence; RIA (registered investment advisors) and broker-dealer models will have unique objectives to meet strategic plans. 
•	To achieve best in class sales programs, wealth management organizations need a codified approach to compensation, including an interlock of process between stakeholder groups and functions to collectively execute on planning, evaluating, and designing all facets of the GTM model.
Evaluation / Annual Planning & Compensation Assessment 
•	Annual planning is a high priority in the second half of the fiscal year. This process of holistic planning captures the evaluation of the existing operating model, such as assessment of existing job roles, coverage model review, quota assignment revision, and sales compensation plan effectiveness evaluation. 
•	Comprehensive compensation plan evaluation is a multiple-phase process with both quantitative (e.g., key performance metrics compared to internal objectives and external benchmarks) and qualitative (e.g., seller and leadership feedback on sales plan effectiveness) inputs to determine the success and perception of existing compensation plan. 
•	The findings from the assessment process support the creation of a workplan for sales compensation plan design. 
•	The key piece to creating an effective roadmap for plan design is to converge the findings from the evaluation and outstanding goals for GTM model. The results of this process become the key initiatives to strive for in the oncoming fiscal year.
•	Any changes to the operating model will have cascading implications for sales compensation plans and creating key initiatives. As wealth management firms evolve to meet their clients’ needs, new products and solutions emerge that must be considered in the process of creating an effective sales program. 
•	The type of key initiatives will vary by delivery model; full-service wealth manager models may focus on maintaining existing models with similar costs due to the modest capture of net flows, while both RIA and broker-dealer models may opt for higher investments in complex coverage models as they are experiencing disproportionate growth compared to the industry performance. 
Execution / Compensation Design
•	Following the diagnostic process and identification of future key initiatives, the design process can begin. 
•	Begin by establishing well-defined objectives for the sales compensation program. The objectives may include achieving specific revenue targets or introducing new changes to the GTM model. 
•	The most efficient approach for sales compensation design incorporates functional stakeholders across the organization into an iterative design process. The groups are not limited to sales, but also finance, HR, product, compliance, and other relevant groups that have any input from a strategic initiative or compensation plan perspective. 
•	As the organization goes through compensation design, unique considerations within the wealth management industry include the market impacts on asset types and the cost affordability based on profitability of different product types. Additionally, ensuring adherence to regulatory and compliance requirements throughout the process is particularly important in this industry.  
•	For the desired corporate results and individual seller actions to be in sync, it’s essential to create goals that are aligned. Examples of goal alignment include specific product or solutions measures delineated by role type, quota allocation that includes a share of corporate financial goals, and performance measures based on designed coverage (e.g., new and existing clients / assets). 
•	The goal of a best-in-class sales compensation programs is to align to the coverage model and drive individual behavior. 
•	When plan designs are agreed upon, the next step is to evaluate the financial implications of the plans. Cost modeling is pivotal to the design process as it determines the affordability of the plan under varying scenarios. Wealth management firms should model out the cost impact based on existing market conditions, desirable market conditions, and unfavorable market conditions to prepare for the potential outcomes of seller performance. 
•	After cost modeling and final plan adjustments, the plans can be reviewed for leadership approvals. Leadership will evaluate the plan under the lenses of alignment to objectives, cost affordability, and ability to be operationalized. 
Execution / Communication and Compensation Governance
•	Proactive and effective communication is the link between plan design and overall organization buy-in.
•	Communication of changes is multi-faceted and requires in-depth planning of the process. Sales and functional group leadership must be at the top-end of the communication funnel to appropriately convey the impact on the operating model changes down to the individual representative-level. It is imperative that representatives understand the plan and rationale behind any operating model and / or compensation plan changes. 
•	The most successful communication approaches create trust in the GTM organization and demonstrates the process is responsive to existing market conditions, ensures individual goals are consistent with organization initiatives, and addresses areas of ambiguity of changes. 
•	In parallel to execution of the communication strategy, firms need to have sound sales governance practices to operationalize the plan. If there are deficits, firms should consider investments into the backend compensation governance process to ensure a reliable and effective compensation program. 
•	Periodic reviews of the sales plan management process and sales plan effectiveness are necessary components of a streamlined governance process. Organizations should monitor the outcomes of the sales compensation plan changes from strategic goal achievement, down to individual representative impact.  
Conclusion 
•	As wealth management organizations adjust their strategy to meet the needs of changing client demographics and new market conditions, historical compensation plans will not be fit to drive growth under current market conditions and strategic directions. 
•	Companies can drive change through the in-depth process of designing compensation plans to meet objectives. The process requires input from multiple stakeholders and execution of codified processes. Bringing the representatives along the process through effective communication will result in a succesful launch of next fiscal year strategy.