SalesTechStar Interview with Siva Rajamani, Founder and CEO of Everstage

Siva Rajamani, Founder and CEO of Everstage chats about the current state of sales compensation practices in B2B in this catch-up with SalesTechStar:

__________

Hi Siva – tell us more about Everstage and your recent funding

Everstage is a modern Sales Performance Management software that not only simplifies sales compensation for RevOps and sales teams but also turns it into a strategic lever. With a rating of 4.8/5, we are recognized as the highest rated platform on leading technology market insights platforms such as Gartner and G2 based on 2,000+ customer reviews.

We recently raised $30M in our Series B funding round, bringing our total funding to $45M. Over the past four years, we’ve grown rapidly to become the #1 rated sales compensation platform and a preferred choice for enterprises globally. This funding will allow us to deepen our product capabilities, specifically in areas like AI-driven features and sales performance analytics, and enhance our customer success and professional services to help customers get the most out of our platform.

Where in your view is the Sales Performance Software market headed?

The sales performance software market is at an exciting juncture. There’s been a clear shift from traditional, manual processes to modernly automated, intelligent platforms. Buyers today are very aware that a tool that automates the sales compensation process partially without providing any insights into their sales compensation program isn’t going to cut it anymore. As more complex compensation models emerge, companies are realizing the need for flexible and scalable solutions that not only automate their administrative busywork but also provide deep insights.

In the next few years, I see the market moving further into predictive analytics and AI, allowing organizations to anticipate sales performance outcomes and adjust strategies in real-time. Sales teams will rely more heavily on software that not only tracks performance but also proactively suggests improvements. The integration of other revenue-related functions, such as territory management and quota planning, is also becoming increasingly important to create a unified ecosystem.

Read More: SalesTechStar Interview with Josh Kanagy, Head of Revenue at Hightouch

Can you talk about some of the core in-demand features in the industry when it comes to Sales Performance Software? What do end users really seek?

One of the core in-demand features would have to be real-time dashboards that provide immediate insight into both individual and team performance.

Another important feature is flexibility. Compensation plans are getting more intricate, with multiple layers of bonuses, accelerators, and spiffs. End users need software that can adapt to these complexities while remaining user-friendly. Finally, integration is key. Sales performance software must seamlessly connect with CRM systems, ERP platforms, and other tools in the sales stack to provide a unified view of data.

As far as end users are concerned, salespeople and managers want to know exactly where they stand with their compensation and quota attainment without waiting for month-end reports. Beyond the basics, one key feature that is an absolute game changer would be advanced payout forecasting intelligence. Sales reps can forecast how much they stand to earn in commissions based on the deals in their pipeline. It helps with planning their personal finances as well as with their deal prioritization.

How are you seeing AI play a key role in this sub segment?

AI is making a flashy entrance into the sales performance software space. AI is helping get to performance insights and workflow automation to a whole new level. With AI, platforms like ours can analyze historical data to forecast future sales performance, help RevOps and Finance teams design more effective compensation plans, and model plans to ensure maximum ROI from their sales performance initiatives.

AI can also enhance the user experience by providing personalized insights to salespeople. For example, it can suggest actions that could boost their chances of hitting quotas or hitting their accelerators. It’s all about making the process more proactive rather than reactive.

What top takeaways and tips would you share with our readers on compensation protocols before we wrap up?

Incentives drive behaviors and have done it so the entire human lifetime. Getting them right alone is not good enough in a technology first world that we live in today. You also need to ensure people are able to understand that clearly.

When we speak with a lot of sales compensation leaders, they often feel that they are a passenger in their sales compensation journey and don’t have as much control in driving their business outcomes through their platform. Everstage offers control back to you as a leader by providing a high performance, completely configurable platform with dedicated support and in-house implementation available to you which puts you back on the driver-seat.

We have had a lot of success over the last few years with enterprise players like Paychex, Trimble, Gray TV, Wiley, Diligent, Dealer Tire to quote a few of our large customers. So, the next time you are looking for solutions as to why your reps aren’t hitting the quota, it’s time to check if they know how they could hit their quota.

Read More: Breaking Down Silos: Merging Marketing and Sales for Better Lead Nurturing