Forma.ai’s New India Office Pushes Global Expansion and Improved Client Outcomes

Forma.ai's revolutionary sales performance management (SPM) platform is changing how companies incentivize and reward sales teams. With the launch of a new office in India, increasing our capability to service clients in the Asia-Pacific region, Forma.ai Managing Director, Paresh Bhandari plays a pivotal role in expanding the company's footprint and driving better revenue outcomes for clients. 

Paresh brings over 13+ years of experience in management consulting across various industries, including hospitality, airlines, manufacturing, and healthcare. Paresh has helped multiple clients drive revenue by enabling them to make business decisions using analytics. This experience allows him to lead a global team of professionals with expertise in commercial effectiveness, sales compensation, revenue management, and advanced data analytics.

We sat down with Paresh to discuss working for Forma.ai and what's to come in the sales compensation industry. 

What was your motivation for working for Forma.ai?

Forma.ai is solving problems I have seen across multiple clients and industries over my 13 years in management consulting. Modern sales organizations need to use data to drive their decision-making; unfortunately, most are not. Forma.ai is changing that. I want to be part of this journey, influence the next generation of sales compensation and impact this space. 

What problems do you see in the world of sales compensation and sales performance management?

The biggest issues in sales compensation revolve around the following:

Fixating on how did it happen - Most organizations still leverage data for only descriptive statistics and analysis, which helps them to answer past looking questions but doesn't enable them to predict the future. Leaders need to move from descriptive to prescriptive analytics, which will help them take actions.

Leveraging one-size-fits-all compensation plans: Organizations have single plan across all sales profiles, most of these plans are money centric and might not be popular with the new generation of salespeople. We need to experiment and provide individualized plan options which resonate with younger generation and includes non-cash incentives to motivate & inspire them.  

Thinking through rollout phase of new incentive compensation plans at the last minute: Most organizations don't give sufficient priority to change management while rolling out new plans, this leads to confusion among the sales team. Most well thought out plans are not able to drive the key objectives as the "Why" behind the change in not communicated to the sales team. Leaders need to discuss & prioritize change management and plan communication from day 1 of the rollout.

What about your background and experience makes you a great fit for Forma.ai?

I started my professional journey in the commercial organization space, after working in this domain for a couple of years, became a consultant to enable clients with commercial effectiveness. I've personally experienced the challenges most leaders face, especially in sales compensation. I understand how sales compensation teams make decisions and how they should go about implementing technology to get the results they need. As a management consultant, I have experience to identify and implement the right tech platforms to help leaders make better, more timely decisions. My experience will enable me to help Forma.ai's customers drive revenue, improve sales rep engagement by leveraging our technology and expertise in SPM.

What role will the new office play in Forma.ai's growth?

Forma.ai and our clients will have a lot of opportunities thanks to the new office, which will allow us to attract Indian talent with expertise in sales compensation, analytics and product development. Presence across regions will enable us to have diversity within the organization and share a global perspective. With a worldwide presence, Forma.ai will move closer to our customers.

How do you see sales performance technology evolving in the coming years?

In the current economic climate, things are changing quickly and often, and I envision further change in the years ahead. Most sales organizations react impulsively and change their compensation plans without data to rationalize their differences. New data-driven technology with advanced analytics will help them understand when and how to shift and help deliver more personalized incentive plans to accompany this change. 

This new technology will help engage the next generation with their incentive plans. This modern generation grew up with the internet and social media and feeds on instant gratification. They need to know how much they are earning with every sales call. The only way to deliver this is through real-time tech. While focusing on the younger generation, we can also use technology to enable the competitiveness of sales representatives positively and efficiently, gamifying the entire industry.

Lastly, too many sales organizations have fragmented sales compensation teams, and most senior executives don't have timely access to the right data to identify insights and make decisions. New technology will help teams centralize and enable senior executives to leverage data and make important decisions. New sales performance software can provide that for them and make sales a more positive experience for everyone.