Advertise on podcast: The Sales Compensation Show

What could the next era of sales compensation look like? Raji Narayanan, Head of Sales Compensation at Atlassian, joins Nabeil Alazzam to explore big picture thinking on how incentive design can become more precise without becoming more complicated. They unpack why comp plans get over-engineered, seller attention as a finite resource, and how AI could move incentives from broad SPIFFs toward targeted, deal-level “surge comp.”

What does it take to run a $2B go-to-market plan when the targets need to stretch the business, the forecast needs to stay honest, and AI is starting to change how the work gets done? Dominic Ballinger, VP of Revenue Operations at Sage, joins us to share what he’s learned about setting credible growth targets, translating executive ambition into quotas and incentives, and why bad news has to be able to travel through the forecast. He also takes us inside how Sage is putting AI to work across RevOps today—and considers what comes next: jobs unbundled into tasks, pressure on seat-based SaaS pricing, collapsing GTM silos, and a bigger role for RevOps as the “revenue architect” of the business.

Most operators own a piece of the go-to-market engine. Shefali Raghavan, SVP of GTM Strategy & Operations at G2, owns all of it. She was one of Twitter's first-ever sales ops hires, and has since built and scaled GTM systems at Salesforce, Airtable, and now G2. In this episode, she breaks down how to build sales compensation that really captures your strategy, how to scale from PLG to enterprise, and survive M&A without losing what made your company great.

Sales compensation is certainly influences behavior. But what does academic research tell us about the behavior it creates? In this episode, University of Houston Associate Professor Johannes Habel joins Nabeil Alazzam to explore the underlying psychology behind seller performance, including the unexpected consequences of stronger incentives, whether top performers should be compensated differently, and how AI may reshape incentives and the sales force itself.

This week, ZoomInfo's VP of Revenue Operations Mollie Bodensteiner gives a candid look at how she thinks about sales compensation. From plan design and quota credibility to governance, seller behavior, data, and the realities behind difficult decisions. Listen in for the principles she relies on, warning signals she watches for, and what revenue leaders should be willing to question when a plan isn't working as intended.

What does it take to turn business strategy into clear priorities for more than 37K+ sellers across 140 countries? Chinesh Gandhi, Director of Sales Operations at Microsoft, joins Nabeil Alazzam on the show to share how an engineering mindset can strengthen quota setting, cross-functional planning, and Sales Operations at enterprise scale. He also explores the significant role AI can play in quota setting, and shares his take on whether a healthy quota system *should* put every seller above 100% attainment.

Sales compensation is often where GTM problems show up, but it is not always where they start. And comp can't be tasked with creating total GTM clarity. Our latest guest, Marnie Sprenger, Sr. Director, Sales Compensation at Nutanix, joins Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam to discuss why sales comp leaders are increasingly operating as designers, detectives, and advisors. She advises on looking beyond plan design to diagnose the broader system around incentives, quotas, territories, governance, crediting, and seller trust.

Bringing a fresh perspective to The Sales Compensation Show, Lauren Silvers, Director of Sales Transformation at Okta, joins Nabeil Alazzam for a wide-ranging conversation on enablement, RevOps, AI, and the future of sales performance. Lauren shares why enablement is evolving into sales performance engineering, how organizations can drive meaningful behavior change across the go-to-market team, and what it takes to build systems that help sellers perform at their best in an increasingly AI-enabled world.

Global GTM and sales compensation leader Prev Dole joins Nabeil Alazzam for a candid, seasoned look at what really makes sales comp plans work or fall apart. From the first thing she inspects when stepping into a new comp role to why late planning quietly derails Q1 momentum, Prev shares the lessons that only come from years inside one of GTM’s most complex functions. Listen for sharp perspective on sales comp’s growing strategic seat at the table, why well-designed plans still fail in rollout, and whether clarity matters more than simplicity in modern incentive design.

What do sharks and shepherds have to do with sales talent and performance? More than you might think. In this episode of The Sales Compensation Show, Jason Wooten, Head of Finance Operations at ClickUp, joins Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam for a conversation spanning sales talent, incentives, procurement, and leadership. Jason brings a rare Finance Ops lens to one of the biggest questions in revenue organizations: how do you scale top sales performance without accidentally turning your best sellers into leadership risks? The two discuss why quota attainment alone doesn’t prove someone is ready to manage others, why procurement pressure is often misinterpreted, and how companies can better retain top talent.

What does it actually take to move a sales organization from bookings-based thinking to revenue accountability? In this episode, Heather Anderton, VP of Sales Operations and Enablement at Clarivate, joins Nabeil Alazzam to unpack Clarivate’s shift toward revenue quota, the change management behind it, and why the core comp plan often does more than layered SPIFFs ever will. It’s a candid conversation on incentive design, seller trust, and how sales ops and enablement can work together to make big change stick.

When go-to-market priorities shift, RevOps and sales compensation either move in lockstep or the field feels the friction. In this episode, Nabeil Alazzam is joined by Boomi’s Tim Cole, VP of Revenue Operations, and Taylor Stone, Director of Global Sales Compensation. It’s the first time the show brings together RevOps and sales comp leaders from the same organization, offering a truly connected look at both sides of the operating model — from seller support and communication to recognition and faster, strategic program execution.

What does it take to lead RevOps and sales compensation through meaningful change? Edie Cagle, VP of Global Revenue Operations at SAS, joins Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam to unpack the leadership realities behind compensation strategy, change fatigue, governance, and global consistency. They explore why incentives can’t solve every business problem, how trust is built with the field, and what RevOps leaders need to get right when strategy shifts fast.

Comp plans don’t just pay sellers—they steer your entire go-to-market motion. In this episode, GitHub’s VP of Global Revenue Operations & Enablement, Betsy Matthies, joins Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam to talk incentives, behavior design, and change management at leadership level. You’ll hear a real story of a comp overhaul that drove a double-digit lift, Betsy's “3 buckets max” rule for eliminating plan bloat, and the one prerequisite for AI in RevOps that too many teams skip.

How does an entertainment company like Netflix design sales incentives when speed is part of the strategy? In this episode, Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam sits down with Nathan Rosas (Director, of Global Sales Incentive Compensation at Netflix) to unpack how elite comp professionals build plans that fit company culture, stay flexible through constant change, and use listening mechanisms to catch friction early. Plus Nathan shares Netflix’s “data-informed vs. data-driven” mindset for making decisions faster without losing trust. Having built compensation programs across Microsoft, Amazon, and now Netflix, Nathan brings a rare vantage point you don't want to miss.