I’m running a series of columns in which I answer reader questions on sales.  Last week I talked about selling long term versus selling short term.  Today I talk about how to compensate sales reps for selling digital billboard advertising.

How should I compensate my sales reps for selling Digital?

This implies another question; are you maximizing DOOH sales? In just a couple of years digital is projected to account for nearly 50% of all OOH sales! It’s a very important issue with a two-pronged answer/approach.

Likely a reexamination of DOOH will trigger a commission change in your company. There are legitimate reasons to adjust compensation, the biggest being realignment of company priorities. Make sure you have a well thought out plan to design and implement the change. Be transparent, honest, and upfront with your reps. Proactive OOH companies adjust their sales compensation at least every two years to be sure you are rewarding achievement of current company goals.

Create a superior DOOH compensation plan by collaborating with the sales team. Outline the changing company priorities regarding DOOH and ask for their feedback. Then, when you launch the new DOOH plan, it will not seem like a surprise attack.

The exact compensation can vary widely. Your DOOH commission/compensation rate should scale based on your base commission. Tailor it to the difficulty inherent in selling your DOOH. Keep the plan simple. Too many rep comp plans are so complicated, few people in the organization understand them.

1. The carrot: 87% of sales reps are money motivated (The Society of Human Resource Management). Compensation is an important tool in driving DOOH sales. Some companies pay upwards of 20% for DOOH sales where reps are expected to cultivate demand for your digitals as opposed to answering inbound leads and RFPs.

With OOH owners focusing on cost of sale, it amazes me nearly half of OOH home companies, according to a recent Billboard Insider survey, compensate inbound sales at the same rate as outbound/business development sales efforts. If companies are paying the same compensation for inbound sales-RFPS, call-ins vs. outbound-rep generated new business, they are not maximizing the cost of sale investment. You’re rewarding a sale on business you would likely get anyway.

Make the in-bound DOOH sales rep role an administrative position. Assign the job to a sales rep who does not have the aptitude for direct new/local business development. You’re saving your sales team fire power for self-generated new/direct business.

1. The stick: DOOH focus. Require each Sales Rep to have a percentage of their billing in digital. Make sure it is a percent and not dollars. If they have a huge year and make their digital “dollars” goal, you haven’t accomplished your goal, growing DOOH share of sales. Begin with the company’s existing overall digital sales percentage, then assign each rep their individual budget percentage as a reflection of the company’s goals based on their territory, tenure etc. Monitor goals regularly to make sure Sales Reps are focused on achieving them. It’s not simply an option, achieving the digital goal is a requirement.

I offer a live/ZOOM DOOH sales training module that is a great level set for an increased focus on selling DOOH. Let me know if your team would benefit from those insights.

If 2026 is the year to move your OOH company sales to a new level, we should talk. Learn more about me at OOHSalesFaster.com, Reach me at: KevinJGephart@gmail.com, call me at 612-387-5349

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