Create a Plan and Assign Users
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain the role of Salesforce Spiff plans in automating commission calculations.
- Describe the difference between commission plans and commission rules.
- Create a plan in Designer.
- Assign users to a plan in both Designer and the Plans page.
What Are Salesforce Spiff Plans?
Salesforce Spiff automates and simplifies the process of calculating and managing sales commissions. With Salesforce Spiff, you can ensure accurate, timely, and transparent commission payments to help increase performance and keep your sales teams motivated!
Salesforce Spiff Plans are the backbone of how the Salesforce Spiff platform structures and manages commission calculations. They define the rules, targets, and payouts for sales teams, allowing organizations to automate complex commission processes efficiently. By creating and customizing Salesforce Spiff Plans, you can motivate sales teams, maintain trust, and drive revenue growth. Setting up and managing these plans helps you align incentives with company goals and ensure smooth commission management.
Plans and Rules
In the realm of commission management, the terms plan and rule are unique concepts that have separate, yet interconnected roles. Although they might seem similar at first, you need to understand their differences to manage commissions effectively. Let’s break down the key distinctions between these two concepts.
Commission Plan
A commission plan refers to the overall structure that outlines how sales representatives’ compensation is calculated and awarded based on their sales performance. Think of a commission plan as a comprehensive blueprint that guides the entire compensation process for a group of individuals. A commission plan defines the “who” of the commission calculation. Plans can cover different teams, products, services, or regions within an organization.
Commission Rule
On the other hand, a commission rule refers to a specific guideline or condition that dictates how a particular aspect of commission calculation should be handled. While commission plans provide the overall structure, commission rules offer detailed instructions on how to carry out certain calculations or adjustments. Think of commission rules as the detailed steps or directives within a larger plan. They address the “how” and “what” of commission calculation.
Example
Imagine a company has a Training Plan that includes three representatives. These representatives can earn commissions in two ways.
-
Deal attainment: The rep earns a $500 bonus if they achieve their deal attainment quota in the period.
-
Deal renewals: The rep earns a 5% commission on the ARR for all renewed deals in the period.
In this example, the Commission Plan (who) is the Training Plan with the three assigned representatives. The Commission Rules (what and how) are the two ways they earn a commission: the Deal Attainment Rule and the Deal Renewals Rule. Because there are two different ways that the reps can earn a commission, this particular plan has two different rules.
Note: If there is a component on a plan that one representative receives but the other does not, it's a good idea to split this into two different plans.
Create a Plan
To create a plan, navigate to Designer by clicking the DESIGNER button 
. The only place to create a plan is in Designer; you cannot create it from the Plans page.
Once in Designer, you’ll land on the Designer Plans tab—the main page for managing and creating plans.
To create a new plan:
- Click the three-dot icon
.
- Select New Plan.
Your new plan appears and a prompt asks if you’d like to create a worksheet, a datasheet, or start on your own.
Name the Plan
By default, the plan is named “Plan [number].” It’s important to give it a clear and specific name. You can rename the plan in two ways: by using the menu, or double-clicking the plan name directly.
To rename using the menu:
- Click the three-dot icon
.
- Select Rename Plan.
Assign Users to a Plan
After creating a plan, now you can assign users to it. You can do this in two ways: within Designer or from the Plans Page.
Assigning Users Within Designer
To get started, select I’ll Get Started On My Own when prompted. After the page refreshes, a purple banner appears where you can start assigning users to your plan.
- Click the Assign Users button
.
- Select the appropriate users.
- Click Assign Users to save.
After you assign and save users, you can use the Plan Assignments section to view assigned users, add new users, and edit effective dates (we cover effective dates in more detail later).
To create more space for managing payout rules, you can collapse the Plan Assignments view by clicking the collapse icon 
.
Assigning Users on the Plans Page
Once a plan has been created in Designer, you can also assign users from the Plans page outside of Designer.
To assign users from the Plans page:
- Navigate to the Plans tab in the top navigation bar.
- Select the relevant plan.
- Choose the appropriate users.
- Click Assign Users to save your changes.
Whether you assign users within Designer or on the Plans page, the assigned users appear in both locations once you save the changes.
Now that you’ve learned how to create a plan and assign users, let’s explore the Plans tab in Designer.