Do we all agree (and we may not) that employees should be compensated based on their performance and contribution to the business? Is it fair to say that some employees in similar capacities should be paid more than others if their impact on the industry is greater than that of others? When you have one individual who works harder than another and a person who subscribes to the company philosophy and goals, aren’t they more valuable to the company? Isn’t that the employee that you want to keep?
If we all agree on that (and we may not), why is it that many companies do not acknowledge these employees through regular recognition and additional compensation? Why do they not recognize the challenge in replacing a good and dedicated employee? Why would they take that employee for granted and give them any reason to look elsewhere? This is such a common occurrence, and I liken it to taking a top account for granted.
This applies to every capacity, but let’s look more closely at those that make the greatest contribution to revenue and profit: the salespeople. Yes, there are many who contribute in the background, and they should be acknowledged, but it is primarily the front-line sales team that gets and keeps customers.
If you are a “sales-driven” organization with a team of salespeople, they are THE most important part of your revenue generation. I have worked and consulted for many organizations that do not subscribe to this philosophy, and despite my efforts to change this mentality, those companies continue to treat their salespeople poorly and refuse to recognize their efforts as the majority contributors of sales and profit. If you are sales-driven and you have a sales team, your salespeople drive the revenue of the company; it is that simple.
Here’s a controversial statement that I so truly believe. And it is not because I spent my entire career in sales. Your salespeople should be compensated 100% based on their contributions and potentially be the highest paid in the organization. And no one in a sales-driven organization should be bothered by that. The positive efforts of the sales team directly impact the ability to pay higher wages for both them and others. If you have a salesperson who is a high producer and the wages do not reflect that, how long do you think they will stay? How long do you think the customers will stay? I have seen many instances of short-sighted companies losing their salespeople and, along with them, their customers. Those who contribute the most to the top and bottom lines should be compensated accordingly. Admittedly, an organization should not lose all of its business when a salesperson departs. That customer belongs to the company, and that company should have measures in place to ensure that does not happen.
Salespeople are typically self-driven and highly motivated individuals. The good ones are programmed to succeed, but each is motivated differently. It doesn’t matter what drives them, but there is one common expectation: pay them, or they will find a company that will, taking their customers with them.
Companies often assume that loyalty is permanent. They believe good employees will stay simply because they “should.” But loyalty is not a lifetime warranty; it’s a response to leadership. When companies ignore achievements, delay raises, or treat high producers the same as underperformers, they send a clear (though unspoken) message: “Your effort doesn’t matter here.” And when people feel invisible, they leave. Not because they wanted to, but because the company made staying impossible.
Replacing a top performer doesn’t just cost money. It costs momentum. It costs customer relationships. It often costs years of development and trust.
So the real question becomes: Why would any company willingly incur that loss? It’s not just poor decision-making; it’s organizational negligence.
The most successful companies don’t cling to the belief that everyone is equal in output. They understand that high-value employees are high-value assets. They accept that rewarding excellence is not favoritism, it’s a strategy. They know that people who drive revenue, protect customers, innovate solutions, and elevate the organization should never be treated as interchangeable.
The companies that fail to understand this will eventually face the same outcome: Their best people will leave, and the company will wonder what happened.
In summary, to keep your employees happy and satisfied, you must create a culture of acknowledgement, recognition, appreciation, appropriate compensation, fairness, and retention. That must start at the top. Leaders must lead by example to produce this culture and avoid their employees looking elsewhere.
Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers. It is a given that an internal positive culture produces an external drive to satisfy. To GET and KEEP Customers, you must GET and KEEP your employees happy.
