Leading Sales Comp Transformation in the Era of Digital Disruption with Christina Straggas, Head of Global Sales Compensation at Equinix

Nabeil Alazzam sits down with Christina Straggas, an accomplished sales compensation leader with extensive experience at companies like Equinix, AWS, and AT&T. Currently Head of Global Sales Compensation at Equinix, Christina brings a wealth of expertise in go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and team management.

Throughout the conversation, Christina reflects on her path into sales comp and the function's evolution into a recognized domain of expertise. She underscores the pivotal role of sales compensation in enabling digital transformation, advocating for comp's early involvement in strategic planning.

Christina shares best practices for managing change, such as maintaining transparency, articulating the "why" behind plan changes, and providing robust communication. She also discusses tactics for testing new plan components and metrics.

Looking to the future, Christina envisions the increased adoption of AI and machine learning in sales comp, enabling predictive insights, flag-raising alerts, and greater personalization. She emphasizes the importance of up-skilling teams to focus on strategy and glean insights from data, rather than manual administration.

This episode is packed with real-world examples and practical guidance. It is a must-listen for anyone looking to align sales compensation with digital transformation objectives. Don't miss Christina's insightful predictions for the function's future!

Episode highlights

👉 5:57 - 8:23: The critical importance of including a sales comp lens early in digital transformation planning

👉 12:32 - 15:14: Leveraging data and AI to design smarter comp plans, optimize quotas, and make faster decisions

👉 18:59 - 21:22: Navigating the tension between making necessary plan changes and minimizing disruption

👉 26:28 - 28:23: Techniques for testing new plan components and metrics on a subset of the sales team

👉 34:50 - 36:29: Predictions for the future: AI-driven comp plans, automated reporting, and recommendation engines

Episode Resources

• Christina Straggas on LinkedIn
• Equinix Website
• Nabeil Alazzam on LinkedIn
• Forma.ai Website
• Book: Crucial Influence: How to Lead Positive Change in an Organization