Resolve a sales commission dispute fairly
A clear analysis of a commission disagreement against the written plan, plus a decision and a respectful response to the rep.
The prompt
Help me resolve a commission dispute with a sales rep.
The rep's claim: [what they believe they're owed and why]
The relevant comp plan language: [paste exact clauses: crediting, splits, territory, clawbacks, caps, timing, plan changes]
Deal facts: [deal amount, booking date, who sourced and worked it, territory, payment or invoice status, any changes after signing]
What was paid and how it was calculated: [DETAILS]
Precedent: [how similar cases were handled before]
Who decides: [e.g. me, comp committee, finance]
Steps:
1. Restate the dispute neutrally in two sentences.
2. Apply the plan language clause by clause to the facts. Recalculate the payout under the rep's reading and under ours, showing the math.
3. Identify where the plan is ambiguous or silent, and how the ambiguity is usually resolved (e.g. intent of the plan, precedent, contribution to the deal).
4. Consider fairness and team impact: what message does each outcome send?
5. Recommend a decision, with reasoning.
Return:
- A summary table: Issue | Plan clause | Rep's view | Our view | Recommendation.
- The recalculated amounts.
- A respectful written response to the rep explaining the decision.
- Plan language changes to prevent this dispute next time.
This is general guidance, not legal or payroll advice. Wage and commission rules vary by location; confirm with HR, finance, or legal before finalizing.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
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What to fill in
- what they believe they're owed and why
- DETAILS
- how similar cases were handled before
- e.g. me, comp committee, finance
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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