DISH Network - Sales Compensation

Company: DISH Network, Englewood, CO
Company Description: DISH Network is the offspring of EchoStar, a satellite TV equipment distributor founded by CEO Charlie Ergen in 1980. After filing for a DBS license in 1987, DISH was established in early 1996 and provided a wide array of programming to consumers. Now the third largest pay-tv provider in the US, DISH boasts 14 million subscribers and employs over 34,000 people nation-wide.
Nomination Category: Sales Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Compensation Program of the Year

Nomination Title: DISH Network's Direct Sales Compensation Program

1. Tell the story about your organization's sales compensation program since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Initially, DISH Network relied solely on retailers to sell its product. The
first Direct Sales team was developed in 2004 to take inbound calls driven by
their marketing team. Since then, the group has worked to acquire one million
subscribers in one year. Having the right compensation program is a huge
component of new customer acquisition and a balance of many variables.

Significantly impacted by the economic downturn in 2008, DISH Network
experienced a four-quarter period where it lost an average of 57,000
subscribers per quarter. In response, Direct Sales altered its compensation by
launching a new plan for its Inside Sales Associates. This compensation plan
established an important balance among the variables listed above and enabled
the Direct Sales team to achieve the highest number of direct subscriber
acquisitions in company history.

The Sales Associate Plan was different than the previous models, and carried
some risk with it. The Plan turned all hourly sales agents into salaried
employees, whose compensation would be 100 percent commission-based, with a
minimum salary that served as a safety net for those not making enough
commission.

This shift meant that associates were only compensated on their sales
performance- a win for both the company and the employees. The Sales
Associates now had a compensation plan that allowed them to increase their
earnings without any ceiling to the amount of commission earned. The increase
in performance the plan drove yielded a decrease in cost per sale (from $50 to
$37) while increasing the average payout for the Sales Associate, along with
morale on the sales floor.

From a company perspective, the plan was a success. While the individual sales
person was making more money, the cost per acquisition was significantly
reduced because of increase performance and efficiency. The decrease in cost
per sale represented a savings of about $5 million annually. Close ratio, the
prime efficiency metric, increased by 12 points, from 18 percent to 30
percent. During this same period, accuracy of order-taking improved to an all-
time high, and the call-in rate of new subscribers fell consistently. Customer
satisfaction surveys have improved since the implementation of the plan and
subscriber churn has fallen to industry-lows.

Changing the commission structure attracted high-caliber sales professionals
from industries such as insurance, mortgage and automotive. The amount of jobs
available and the earning potential attracted the attention of local
broadcasters. The 600 new sales professionals that were added performed 40
percent better than the existing staff.

The Sales Associate commission plan was a strategy that increased Direct Sales
customer acquisition by 80 percent year over year and allowed the team to meet
its goal of acquiring one million subscribers. The boost in performance the
plan drove is responsible for the drastic increase in acquisitions - 400,000
more than this time in 2008. It saved the company millions of dollars in
acquisition costs, while increasing the number of positions and payouts to the
Sales Associates.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated sales organization:

Kieran Callaghan helped launch the Pine Brook, NJ call center in 2000, where
he began his career with DISH Network. Hired as the call center Director he
was first tasked with handling DISH Network’s substantial foreign language
customer service business. In 2002 is center’s role was expanded to include
Direct Sales. For 5 consecutive years Pine Brook was the top ranked sales
center in the organization. With the much needed restructuring of the Direct
Sales organization Callaghan was promoted to Vice President of Direct Sales.
He was expected to implement the best practices used in Pine Brook across the
seven sales centers he now oversees.