CaptivateIQ is the #1 ranked sales compensation software on G2!

We’re proud to lead this competitive space and earn badges once again in the following categories:

• Leader (Overall, Enterprise, Mid-Market, and SMB)
• Easiest To Use
• Best Usability
• Best Relationship
• High Performer (SMB and Europe)
• Users Love Us

So why CaptivateIQ?

Simple: CaptivateIQ is laser-focused on helping performance-based teams with productivity, transparency, and motivation — three areas that are much needed in transforming your most considerable sales expense into a business driver.

Case in point: CaptivateIQ’s State of Sales Compensation 2022 report found significant disconnects between what sales reps and managers want and need — and what their companies are currently providing.

Based on our report findings, sales reps want: 

• More variable pay: More than half (51%) of closing sales reps say 25-49% of their pay is variable, but an equal percentage would like that raised to at least a 50/50 split between base and variable.
• Greater visibility (transparency) into compensation: Most sales reps (92%) believe clearer visibility into compensation is a strong motivator, yet roughly a quarter have access to real-time insights.
• The ability to forecast earnings: Nearly three-quarters (71%) of sales reps say the ability to forecast earnings would improve their motivation, yet only 28% can do so today.

Based on our report findings, sales managers want: 

• To become more agile and roll out plan changes with ease: Nearly all (95%) of managers want the ability to flexibly change plans to reflect new business dynamics, yet existing programs often limit their ability to remain nimble.
• To be better at aligning comp strategy with the top initiatives of their sales org while ensuring reps are happy and motivated: Sales managers (99%) think having a leading tech stack will help them reach their sales goals.

Both groups report spending too much time confirming commission accuracy and dealing with pay disputes (the opposite of productivity): 64% of sales leaders surveyed spend more than two days resolving pay questions or disputes every pay period!

Let’s dig into some of the reviews on G2 to understand why sales leaders and reps trust (and ❤️) CaptivateIQ.

Why is CaptivateIQ #1? Sales leaders!

First and foremost, ​​CaptivateIQ’s Rep Experience.

When it comes to performance (and life, for that matter), knowledge is power. And with great power comes great responsibility, as we all know.  

Our Rep Experience helps sales leaders equip their teams with even greater insight into their performance — fully customizable dashboards for leaderboards, top performers, and more. Enhanced visibility into past/present/future earnings helps sales leaders empower reps, which leads to more motivation and focus on performing at their best.

Another reason CaptivateIQ is #1 with sales leaders? Our 1,780 five-star reviews on G2 are more than any other sales compensation software provider’s total combined reviews — earning us a spot in the top right quadrant. You know, the one you want to be in!

But specifically, we earned that spot based on a few of our top-rated features (among other ranking factors): 

1. Sales Org Performance Reports 

• CaptivateIQ’s rating: 93%
• Based on: 246 reviews

CaptivateIQ’s Reporting helps orgs drive smarter decisions with data and analytics. We empower comp admins to share real-time analytics with dashboards and custom statements, providing enhanced visibility into past, present, and future earnings. We help sales leaders better manage the performance of their team.

As Dylan M., a Commissions Analyst at an Enterprise company, shared in his review:

The reporting system is really robust and offers a lot of flexibility, and it also allows for some cool dashboard creation options as well.

Thanks, Dylan!

2. Workflow and Approvals + Plan Documents and Agreements

• CaptivateIQ’s ratings: 95% for Workflow and Approvals, and 94% for Plan Documents and Agreements
• Based on: 140 reviews for Workflow and Approvals, and 471 reviews for Plan Documents and Agreements

It can be a pain in the you know what to manage the comp process, to field questions all day long. Instead, collaborate. Resolve inquiries and approve commissions in just a few clicks and alleviate that tedious back and forth!

As Stephanie P., the Director of Finance and Accounting at a Mid-Market company, shared in her review:

We've also just implemented the approval and reviewer workflow, which saves us hours in getting approval from all managers.

Thanks, Stephanie!

3. Compensation Statements and Leaderboards

• CaptivateIQ’s rating: 95% for Compensation Statements and 92% for Leaderboards
• Based on: 824 reviews for Compensation Statements and 86 reviews for Leaderboards

Productivity. Transparency. Motivation. Those are the “Big 3” when it comes to effectively compensating sales. Comp statements, dashboards, an earnings calculator, and seamless inquiry flow help tick off all three.

As James S., a Business Development Representative at a mid-market company, shared in his review:

I love that you have full transparency and access to your commission status for the quarter and [I am] able to find any discrepancies.

Thanks, James!

Why is CaptivateIQ #1? Sales reps!

CaptivateIQ’s Rep Experience gives sales teams complete visibility into earnings so that they can focus on driving results.

And we recently redesigned it all! A new homepage so reps have a cockpit view, surfacing the commissions insights they care about most. Sales reps now have more visibility into current and most recently completed payouts, trends over time, and outstanding tasks. Everyone wins.

Bonus: Our new What-if Earnings Calculator provides reps with an interactive way to test different scenarios and gain visibility into future earnings.

But why is all of that so important? 

Productivity.
Transparency.
Motivation.

Again, the “Big 3” when it comes to compensation plans. Let’s break each one down.

Productivity

Happy teams (and sellers) are more productive.

If you’ve ever worked at a job you don’t love, you know this. Longer breaks. Calling in sick when you are “not feeling well.” Skipping meetings. This is the case for workers in all jobs. Salespeople are no exception.

As we shared in How to Make Your Sales Team Happy (and the Cost of Not Doing So):

Facilitating a workplace environment that sales teams crave doesn’t just impact their happiness — it plays a role in improving sales team productivity.

Full Transparency

It should come as no surprise that trust is highly correlated to employee satisfaction. 

One way to earn that trust is to have fully transparent commission structures and reporting. Reps want to see exactly what they are getting paid and when and how.

One G2 review stated that “the transparency of how I am paid my commissions” is a benefit of CaptivateIQ. Previously, they used Excel, making it near impossible to understand how they were paid and which specific deals the commissions were tied to.

CaptivateIQ lays it out in an easy-to-understand way and stops the calls to my manager asking to explain my commission statements.

Another customer who titled their review "I LOVE CAPTIVATEIQ" shared:

I have never had so much transparency using a system for commissions, and now I can easily see everything from last year to current sales.

“This is the first platform I’ve used that offers 100% transparency into what I’m being [paid] on and how much,” shared another CaptivateIQ customer.

Motivation

Another factor in keeping your team engaged, happy, and fired up to meet/exceed their quota? Motivation. 

Most reps are competitive by nature. They want to win. This motivation often drives them to be A-players in the organization. 

Comp plans can be highly motivating when you can see exactly where you are to plan (and what it will take to blow through your number and grab that juicy bonus). And to further sustain that motivation, reps can leverage the what-if calculator throughout a pay period to understand what they could earn.

One G2 reviewer shared that CaptivateIQ “empowers teams to do the best work possible.” Specifically, it gives “sales reps the motivation and opportunity to succeed as well as the ability to see how they are doing in real-time.”

Another customer shared how the CaptivateIQ graphs motivate them “to push more and more every day, week, or month.”

This review nicely sums up motivation (and transparency):

CaptivateIQ has solved the business issue of performance management. Since everyone on our team is able to get a clear picture of what their bonus will be, this has kept motivation and performance management across our team.

In addition to “the Big 3,” accuracy and trust are essential. Anytime you do anything manually, you risk (human) error. Tracking commissions is no different.

As our friends at Gong shared, manual input left comp plans and payouts open to errors. As you can imagine, this was quite concerning as “any compensation inaccuracies put Gong at risk of higher rep turnover.” Couple that with any level of lack of transparency, and you have a high potential to negatively affect the team's overall morale and motivation.

BDR, Matthew D., echoes a similar sentiment.

One of the problems I was facing was not knowing if my commission was accurate at the end of the month. [The CaptivateIQ platform] spells out exactly where my commission dollars are coming [from].

Eduardo B., FP&A and Treasury Manager, said that his team reduced the commissions calculation process from five hours to 45 minutes! He likes that “the Salesforce integration helps reduce the amount of manual work, and it also avoids errors in keying incorrect data.”

Thanks to CaptivateIQ, Eduardo and team now “have improved transparency and trust as every sales rep has visibility into the calculation process.” 

SDR Mark W. also loves the accuracy:

[CaptivateIQ] gives me a more accurate up-to-date report on my commission. Previously we would have to wait until the end of the month and then go line by line and research each booking to find out what is missing.

Software that helps sellers track commissions easily

At the end of the day, above all, commission software needs to be easy to use. 

Gone are the days of clunky software. Ugly interfaces, unnecessary clicks, and 100-page user manuals to ensure your team will NOT use your commission tracking tool.

CaptivateIQ is consistently rated highly in the ease-of-use category: 

CaptivateIQ is simply laid out, easy to read, and fun to track my incentive payouts. I like how the statements show me the % of my metrics met and how much I get paid according to each. (See Review)

The best thing about CaptivateIQ is being able to clearly see how much commission I'm earning as well as how I'm trending by goals. (See Review)

I can easily log in and see how much commission I made in the previous month. UI is great, and the product is amazing to navigate through. (See Review)

We’re looking forward to more reviews as customers dig into the Rep Experience redesign and new What-if Earnings Calculator!