In a consumption model, some growth is organic. Instead of paying reps for this predictable growth, Google used analytical models to forecast a customer's spend trajectory. Account managers were then compensated heavily for exceeding this baseline, rewarding them only for the growth they directly influenced.
Unlike perpetual or even subscription models, consumption-based compensation holds sales reps directly responsible for the customer's ongoing product usage. Reps are on the hook to ensure credits are "burned down," effectively merging the roles of sales and customer success and forcing a continuous selling motion.
Google's Ads team structured its sales force into three specialized units. The acquisition team was paid on getting a customer to start, the onboarding team on setup success, and the account management team on growing spend beyond a predicted baseline. This aligns incentives with each stage of the customer's consumption journey.
Google's new business reps were compensated on the first three months of a new customer's spend, despite handing them off immediately after the initial sign-up. This incentivized them to find high-potential customers who would derive significant value from the product, rather than just securing a large upfront commitment.