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It's not unusual for companies to get their best ideas for new products from salespeople, since they tend to be closest to customers. What's surprising is that so many companies leave it to chance. Not so General Alum & Chemical Corp., based in Holland, Ohio. There, salespeople can earn almost double the standard commission by generating orders for new products from existing customers. Moreover, the salesperson continues to collect the new-product commission if he or she gets transferred. "It's kind of like a royalty system," says president Jim Poure.

General Alum's program grew out of Poure's own experience as a salesman for a large midwestern chemical company. Even without special incentives, he had made a habit of identifying new business opportunities for his employer. So when he began looking for ways to generate new business for General Alum, he naturally thought of his sales force as a prime resource.

"In particular, we look for products that are too small for big companies to make themselves," he says. As a result of leads from salespeople, General Alum is now making products for Mallory Industries, Oakite Products, and Dow Chemical. The new products, he estimates, account for an additional half-million dollars in sales per year.