What is the right comp plan for the top sales job?

For the top sales job we sometimes see a sales comp type plan, and sometimes a hybrid between the corporate executive plan and a sales type plan. Which of these two to use would depend mostly on what the sales leader is expected to do as the core role:

a. Run the sales team under the direction of company leadership with a focus on keeping the sales team recruited, coached, and productive

b. Work as a member of the company’s leadership team to set the company strategy, determine how best to address the market for the company’s offerings, and deliver both the needed growth and company financial results.

If most of the time and effort are focused on a. then it’s a sales type plan. If both, the 50/50 sales-type plan and company executive plan. And it’s rarely mostly b. unless there’s an EVP of Sales & Marketing with a VP Sales reporting in.