Do any sales people work on 100% commission any more?
I'm a one man show and I need to grow my business. My sales need to increase, but I'm spread out too thin in order to sell more. Any advice in finding a sales person that will work 100% commission
Yes people do in fact work for 100% commission. Before I started my entrepreneurial career I left corporate and worked as a 100% commissioned sales rep in advertising. It was the first time I made six figures in my career and the work almost seemed effortless.
Some people frown on commissioned sales because they want to have the stability of knowing where their pay cheque is coming from instead of creating their pay cheque. Notice the mindset of the person I just described. one is actively in pursuit of not just showing up to be paid but in fact is willing to work for their pay and the other wants the assurance of being paid without working yet for their pay. Is that interesting?
More and more companies are seeking people who are entrepreneurial in mindset. Truly, you can make more money if the company has a great product, good marketing tools, great compensation scale and good support.
Working commission only, as others have noted, really means working for free quite a bit -- since it takes time to generate sales.
You may want to consider offering a high enough commission rate to make the opportunity worthwhile for your sales people -- Make it an incentivized rate since there's no base pay.
Also, if you find people who are already well connected in your target market, this would help reduce the risk of working a lot of time without pay and might make it a more attractive opportunity.
Hi Chris,
Someone had mentioned that they didn't think commission sales would work with your opportunity, however we have quite a few clients who do energy savings and commercial LED installations. Our business is helping companies find commission based sales people.
If you have a long sales cycle and don't provide any kind of draw, you'll certainly have more problems attracting salespeople to your opportunity.
Here is a quick guide I wrote about the subject: http://timetohire.com/blog/commission-only-sales-people/how-to-hire-commission-only-sales-reps/
I hope it helps, and good luck with your company.
Yes, the best sales people only work on commission because that provides them the most upside and does not Their potential! If they need a salaried they're probably not as good
If you are looking for sales people to work on commission without a salary, then they are not really an employee as you are asking them to work for free and hope that you have a product or service that is sellable and that you are spending the proper marketing to build brand awareness.
An option is to look for sales agents, but even with sales agents, you need to have a business that has everything in place: sales cycle, training , marketing materials, ordering process, delivery process.....etc. You can hire sales agents that represent multiple companies sell for commission, but all they are doing are selling and you have to fulfill the order. These are usually professional sales reps that have worked for companies and are now self-employed. This does help with your cash flow as these are "contract" personnel, but there is an expectation that everything you would need in place if you had a sales rep exists.
It is important to grow your business, but at times this comes with a risk which is hiring other people and lowering the amount you receive yourself in order to pay others to help you grow. You cannot ask others to take 100% of the risk and by asking them to - you will not attract the right kind of individual to help you grow your business.
you have to read "100% commission and death of the big box realty" by Shah. amazing book. will answer all your Q
Hello, I'm looking for Sales people for my web design & development agency Klick Magic Solutions. Please let me know if anyone is interested!
If your product doesn't suck, and it probably does suck horribly bad, then I will gladly sell for you for 100% commission.
I just need assurances that you won't pull the rug out from under me when I start making more money than you.
So sell me on it and let's get to work.
I. Love. Selling.
And people hate utility bills about as much as they hate credit card processors.
After having posted positions that were 100% commission, most people want a job that pays a regular salary. If they show interest, then you will get an email back stating they didn't realize it was 100% commission and not interested. Lots of people have good experience, but they don't want to work on 100% commission.
Ha...ask any real estate broker...100% commission model is the cowards way to run a business..it is cheap...it shows that employers don't trust that they can train and motivate its employees and they have the wrong belief that it still motivates employees more...but what it does do is to recruit part time workers who claim to be full time...employees who don't care whether they get fired or not ... and employers who don't care if they have a turnover over of workers.... P.s. I am a real estate broker....
Hi Chris,
I realise this is an old thread but thought i'd chime in and answer your question.
As co-founder of a service which connects commission-only sales people and companies, I know how you will be feeling at this early stage in your business where lack of time/sales skills or other reasons can limit sales activity.
There are a huge number of sales professionals out there who work on a commission only basis, but it goes far beyond simply knowing where to look.
You must understand how this type of sales professional work, who they are and why they have decided to become self-employed before embarking on a journey to connect and work with them.
It's important to remember that not only are the majority of self-employed sales people at the top of their field, hence the reason for becoming self-employed, but that they also incur their own expenses while developing new territories - especially when working with newer companies. It's also certainly not all about the money either. You should view them as partners in your business and respect their input and advice. Be willing to negotiate and learn before setting all of the ground rules.
Reps today do work for 100% commission, besides a good product, marketing engine and sales process these reps still need the individual support of the company they work for. Some companies take the approach that 100% commission reps are free, but they can damage your company brand, culture and drain your logistic resources. As the old saying goes nothing is for free. 100% is the incentive and doesn't equate to 0% cost or investment.
Hello, my name is Carter Kuhl and I currently am a sales rep. working on 100% commission if you are interested in joining my team and expanding your sales experience and make incredible money email me at carter.kuhl@Hotmail.com.
If you have no interest then maybe someone you know does and you can send them my way. My team is currently 234 associates and growing.
From our experience as a sales commission solutions provider we see that it varies.
Some industries seem to be only 100% commission ( classic example: MLM). Whereas some mostly do base pay. It has to do with how much risk/reward the company wants to offer and how much the rep is willing to accept. They approach it from opposite ends.
Big brand companies where closing the sales is very likely ( particularly with limited competition will offer more base pay and less commissions. They feel the product is selling itself and they can make the commissions smaller and the costs more predicable.
New companies or also-ran companies will tend to do more commissions and less base pay. They don't want high fixed costs and want to share the risk of closing the deal with the rep.
In both cases, reps come from the opposite end. For almost-guaranteed sales, they would like more sales commission even up to 100%. For low-probability sales they want more base pay.
These are rational choices from both sides.
Easy-commission.com
At YourSales we have extensive experience with the 100% commission model for 3+ month sales cycles and are leaving it in favour of other commission models with higher sales productivity.
I know, I know... "any sales person worth their salt, yadee, yadee yaaa...".
The numbers don't lie: for longer sales cycles (and likely also for shorter) a single digit percentage of sales professionals will commit to 100% commission sales, and if they do you have zero control over when they work, how they work, which other products they carry, etc.
What I'm saying is that I'm not sure you even should want to have someone working for you on 100% commission basis. It just doesn't yield the same results as retainer-based commission plans.
You may not have other options, though...
I don't know and strong sales candidates that would work for commission only in a start up, as mentioned by other posters. If you have the capitol you need to invest in finishing the pubic image, website, and hiring the best most proven person you can afford. Set him up with a draw against future commissions on a 12 month contract based loosely on his previous compensation and reason for landing with you. reevaluate the plan at the 12 month mark to ensure it is still equitable for both parties. Make sure to inform the candidate this review will take place because you are a newer startup. Hope this helps.
Lots of great answers here...I'll just in some more info that may be of help.
I'm not to sure what you're selling but have you considered adding Internet marketing into the mix?
Have you considered increasing your customer value? How's your follow-up? Are you collecting email addresses for effective communication and follow-up?
You could use some Internet marketing tools to help you grow your business without even bothering with hiring salespeople Again I'm not sure what you're selling, but for most industries this does work very well.
Yes many people especially in real estate and related fields like timeshare.
More than you know. 99% of all insurance agents, self-employed accountants, 99% of all realtors. Some of these professionals would be interested in adding another product/service to their menu. Individuals who sell for Prepaid Legal also may be interested. Your Chamber of Commerce may be a good source. Good luck.
Hi,
How would I get an access to the list? I am looking for a fully commission based sales rep for ipad based point of sale soltuion
Regards,
Maruf