GitHub's VP of global RevOps Betsy Matthies on comp plans that change behavior

Episode notes

A sales compensation plan that actually works goes way beyond a spreadsheet—it’s about its ability to create desired behavior and whether it earns trust. In this episode of The Sales Compensation Show podcast , Nabeil Alazzam speaks with Betsy Matthies, the VP of Global Revenue Operations & Enablement at GitHub, to discuss how leaders can design incentives that drive the right outcomes without creating confusion, backlash, or skyrocketing the cost of sales. Betsy shares real examples from her career about unintentional rewards and how she's redesigned plans with three strategic buckets to drive growth and a meaningful cultural shift. You’ll also hear Betsy’s practical rules for comp design and rollout: Why leaders often try to use comp to fix non-comp problems (and why it backfires) How to avoid “complexity bloat” so reps don’t need a calculator to prioritize their time Why “the math is easy” but change management is the real work How to build stakeholder buy-in across Sales, Finance, and exec leadership—and why follow-up is non-negotiable Plus, hear Betsy’s hot take on AI.