Where can I Find 100% Commission Sales Reps?

[Big Red Packaging]

Just wondering if anyone knows where I can find a freelance sales rep who is only paid via commissions?

We are looking to expand, but I have not got the time to handle new customers etc.

The products are easy to sell, and the market is easy to target, so it should not be too hard a job.

How much should I expect to pay for someone to do this? Percentage of profits or percentage of sale? and does anyone know where I can find someone to take care of this?

Thank you

[Tristan Boyd]

Hi Big Red,

Have you thought about trying to build strategic alliances with other companies that service a simillar client base to yours.

The right company may be able to add your products to their offerings without too much extra effort.

[LeelaCosgrove]

Okay, I've worked as a comm only sales person (and done VERY well from it) - I've also spent a LOT of time around other top ($250k plus in COMMISSION - at 20%) salespeople ... so from a sales persons perspective, here's what you need to think about:

The first question you need to look at is:

Do you have a sales structure in place?

This includes:

* a proven sales script
* a proven sales cycle
* a CRM and database
* a marketing funnel that backs all of this up (not necessary, but useful).

In my experience, a lot of businesses want comm only sales people - but they have no sales structure in place. A comm only sales person is someone who sells, NOT someone who develops a sales structure for a business.

If you need the structure in place and don't know how to do it yourself, you need to hire a consultant to do it for you.

Only once all of these things are in place (and you can prove that they work) will a comm only sales person who's worth their salt be interested in taking the job on.

It's NEVER % of profits.

It's % of sales.

Your salesperson doesn't care what kind of a profit you're making - they care about what they can make from your product.

In a comm only role, a good salesperson would be asking for 20% of whatever they sell. You would want them to reasonably be able to make $100-$120k a year from selling your product - perhaps not in the first year, but certainly in the second.

It's important to recognise that your sales persons job is NOT to 'handle' clients - it's to get them. Once they've bought, you (or your staff) need to handle them ... sales people sell - it's a HUGE mistake to get them to do customer service.

I'd also avoid saying "It's not too hard of a job" - because it is. Getting on the phone / going to appointments, meeting people and closing them IS hard, no matter how good the product is. That's why people pay someone else to do it ...

Speaking from a salespersons point of view, I'm VERY wary of working for people who don't place a high value on what I do ...

All of that said, I can see that having a comm only salesperson would totally work for your kind of business ... so if you DO have the structure in place, or if you are willing to do it ...

Advertise the position.

I'm afraid that's really about it ... put it out the way you would any other job.

[Big Red Packaging]

Hi Tristan,

Thank you for your response.

I have been looking at something like this, but have not finalised a plan of attack yet. I was looking at something along the lines of giving companies 10% off vouchers for my business, to hand out free to their own customers. That way, they are offering an added incentive to their own customers, who in turn can also become my customers.

Concentrating mostly on the consumer of the products, it does somewhat limit my distribution possibilities, but I have been looking at that closely too (by way of logistics companies in various capital cities).

Thank you,

[Big Red Packaging]

Hi Leela,

Thank you for that information, it will certainly be a big help.

I will get started on this straight away. The way things are at the moment, I will likely need to take on an employee before I can handle an increase of that size.

Regarding the 20% comm, what sort of average dollar sale is this based on? The majority of our orders are around $100, but some of them go into the thousands (where we are working on slightly slimmer profit margins).

Thank you for your help,

[LeelaCosgrove]

I would expect 20% comms, regardless of the size of the order (I've sold from $100 to $50,000 on this basis) ... although I know some people who pay 100% commission on the first sale, because they know the client will bring in ongoing work ... the problem with the difference between $100 and $50k sales is that there is VERY little difference in the work it takes to close them (I know that sounds weird, but it's true). In fact, I've had $697 sales that were FAR harder to make than $30,000 sales.

I guess what you need to look at is this:

Really good salespeople who are willing to work Comm only are ALWAYS in high demand ... but even MORE so during a recession.

A really good salesperson can easily make between $80k and $120k, working 9-5pm selling on the phone.

You need to be competitive with that if you want to attract good people ... so, just like you would ask yourself "Why would my clients buy from me and not the guy down the road", ask yourself "Why would a really good salesperson work for me and not the guy down the road".

Comm only sales people are motivated by money - that's why they work comm only ... you'd starve if you didn't care about the cash!

[Big Red Packaging]

Hi leela,

Thank you for the information, I will be sure to take that into account.

Take care,

[VacuumRobot.com.au]

Good info there Leela
You can find commission based sales reps easily, but..you need trainers.. trainers who will then teach the new recruits how to sell, etc. Trainers need to be paid a base salary, usually $300 - $500 per week, plus commission (percentages from the new recruits)
At the mean time, do your research.. and perhaps call up for commission only sales jobs, and ask them questions, posting as a sales rep..this should give you some details about how they run their business.

Best of luck,

Dave

[abs-inet]

Originally Posted by LeelaCosgrove

I would expect 20% comms, regardless of the size of the order (I've sold from $100 to $50,000 on this basis) ... although I know some people who pay 100% commission on the first sale, because they know the client will bring in ongoing work ... the problem with the difference between $100 and $50k sales is that there is VERY little difference in the work it takes to close them (I know that sounds weird, but it's true). In fact, I've had $697 sales that were FAR harder to make than $30,000 sales.

Hi Leela
I am also looking for a commissioned sales rep. Can we talk via email?

[leisadent]

me too - they are in high demand, and hard to find