Benzinga, a fast-growing financial media and technology company, delivers high-quality market news, data, and trading tools to retail and institutional investors. Benzinga operates with a traditional media revenue model, primarily generating income through subscriptions, advertising, and event sponsorships. Although their sales organization was expanding and revenue was growing, the revenue operations were burdened by manual processes, inefficient go-to-market processes, and a lack of data-driven decision-making.
We sat down with Robert Checchia, Chief Financial Officer at Benzinga to talk about the state of the business before his arrival, why they sought a better way to manage their compensation program, and ultimately what led them to the solution they have today.
Key Results
Cut time to accumulate data and close commission processes by 50%
Reduced cost of commissions while improving overall revenue growth
100% accuracy on commission calculations and payments
The Challenge
When Robert joined, he quickly identified that the existing incentive programs were not structured to align with the company’s growth goals and the behaviors they wanted to see from their sales teams. Commission structures were too generic across roles and scenarios, leading to misalignment among sales representatives and a lack of trust in the payout process. Additionally, disputes over commissions were common, further consuming finance team resources and delaying payments. Without a streamlined system, it was difficult for leadership to track performance metrics effectively, making it nearly impossible to optimize sales strategies and drive predictable revenue growth.
As Benzinga scaled its operations, the finance and revenue teams faced significant hurdles:
- Manual Processes: Revenue calculations, commissions, and financial reporting were handled manually, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of errors.
- Lack of Real-Time Insights: The absence of automated data meant sales teams lacked immediate visibility into their commissions and revenue performance.
- Time-Intensive Commission Management: Finance teams spent excessive time tracking and calculating commissions, diverting valuable resources from strategic initiatives.
These inefficiencies were directly affecting profitability and slowing down Benzinga’s ability to expand and optimize its revenue streams.
“We were noticing that our structure took a long time to configure the results, so there wasn’t real-time visibility, and after some cycles we started noticing that we were incentivizing the wrong behaviors.” - Robert Checchia, CFO, Benzinga
The Solution
Robert was looking for a solution that could not only automate commission tracking, support more focused commission structures, and also provide real-time analytics to enhance decision-making. He wanted a platform that could integrate seamlessly with Benzinga’s existing systems while offering flexibility to adapt to future growth. After evaluating his options with support of a trusted partner in Vyva, he chose Xactly Incent for its robust automation, accuracy, and ability to provide actionable insights that aligned with Benzinga’s long-term strategy.
To address these challenges, Benzinga partnered with Vyva to deploy Xactly Incent to streamline his team’s incentive compensation operations. The solution included:
- Automated Commission Management: Xactly’s solution eliminated manual calculations, reducing errors and ensuring timely and accurate payouts.
- Real-Time Visibility: Sales teams gained access to real-time insights into commissions, fostering motivation and transparency.
- Scalability & Growth Enablement: Automating revenue operations allowed Benzinga to scale efficiently, focusing on growth rather than administrative burdens.
As the implementation partner, Vyva played a critical role in identifying the ideal solution for Benzinga, advising Benzinga on critical components for success throughout the deployment, and continues helping Benzinga optimize workflows and drive user adoption to this day.
“Vyva really held our hand and walked us through a bunch of issues that we found along the way. We got insights from the team on best practices, benchmarks... a lot of that came through the implementation phase of the process” - Robert Checchia, CFO, Benzinga
“Xactly has transformed the way we manage our compensation program—what used to take days now takes hours and keeps our teams focused on the right metrics.” - Robert Checchia, CFO, Benzinga
The Results
Since implementing Xactly’s Intelligent Revenue Platform, Benzinga has experienced substantial improvements in efficiency, profitability, and growth.
- Significant Time Savings: Robert’s team has reduced commission processing time by at least 50%, freeing up resources for strategic financial planning.
- Improved Profit Margins: Automated commission calculations has enabled the Benzinga team to implement structures that focus on ideal accounts and activities.
- Enhanced Sales Productivity: Real-time visibility into commissions has increased sales motivation and reduced disputes.
- Scalability Unlocked: The finance team can now handle increased sales volume without errors, ensuring accurate payouts and better financial forecasting.
“[Once we] were able to optimize the compensation structure, the culture shifted and “Hunter” reps started to make more money, so they're happier, and our overall commission spend was lower, which helped us reinvest in pursuing new markets.” - Robert Checchia, CFO, Benzinga
Next Steps for Benzinga
By partnering with Xactly and Vyva, Benzinga successfully overhauled its revenue operations, reducing inefficiencies, boosting profitability, and enabling sustainable growth. With automation in place, the company is now poised to scale faster and smarter in the evolving financial technology space.
“I don't want to underestimate this. This is a huge win for us.” - Robert Checchia, CFO, Benzinga
About Vyva
Vyva is a global leader in Sales Performance Management and Incentive Compensation consulting. As a trusted implementation partner for Xactly, Vyva empowers companies like Benzinga to transform revenue operations with a blend of strategy, technology, and execution.