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Old 08-22-2013, 08:16 PM
 
20,948 posts, read 18,980,904 times
Reputation: 10270

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A) You MUST believe in what you sell.

B) You MUST know the company that you're about to join.

C) You MUST produce your own leads.

D) You MUST follow up on what the company promised.

Everything else is just making excuses.

Nearing 30 years in commissioned sales and still going strong!

It's not easy, but nothing worthwhile is.
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Old 11-24-2013, 10:34 AM
 
18,837 posts, read 37,227,760 times
Reputation: 26458
I have known people who lived on commission jobs, but they were selling easy products, more or less, like advertising space on billboards, yellow page ads. I would not sell herbalife, but, people have made millions on Amway products, so what do I know?!
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Old 11-24-2013, 01:10 PM
 
20,948 posts, read 18,980,904 times
Reputation: 10270
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasper12 View Post
I have known people who lived on commission jobs, but they were selling easy products, more or less, like advertising space on billboards, yellow page ads. I would not sell herbalife, but, people have made millions on Amway products, so what do I know?!
You're foolish if you think ANYTHING is an easy sale.
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Old 08-07-2014, 07:46 AM
 
2 posts, read 2,435 times
Reputation: 15
These jobs are difficult for 99 percent of the people who try them. The failure rate is almost 100 percent.

Most companies will try and make you believe you are getting a "Great" opportunity and that with a lot of elbow grease, you will make more than enough to live very well. In reality, you may end up in Bankruptcy if this is your only source of "Potential" income. And remember, you can't go to the grocery store and buy food with "Potential". They expect money for the food.

Independent sales reps are out there, and some make a decent living, but they have very good lines that sell well, and they had enough money in reserve to allow the commission only sales to catch up to their spending needs. If you have little or no money, you may find that it will take months to get the first sale, and by then you may be living with your Mother again.

Some of these jobs actually require travel either by car or by plane. Very few companies that expect you to work for commission only will pay for these travel expenses. You have to shoulder the cost yourself. Racking up 500 miles a week on your car at $4.00 a gallon plus the wear and tear and possible overnights are going to put you in the poor house quickly. Sometimes you are expected to provide lunch or snacks for your prospects (for example if you are selling medical equipment to a Doctor's office). These folks are used to well paid Pharmaceutical Reps with big expense accounts wining and dining them. You have to keep close guard on how much you may be putting out in time and effort and expenses vs the potential return. And, what if you get sick or injured? Unless you have personal insurance for loss of income, you are going to be out of any income potential at all when you are in the hospital.

If you sell product every year that provides you an income of $40,000 in commission, but you spent $10,000 in travel and expenses, your net of 30 grand still might not sound too bad. Remember you have to live on that, and just because you claim a large deduction on your tax return does not mean you get it all back. You have to pay taxes on all money earned in commission. If you are an independent contractor, the company paying you will not deduct taxes for you. You have to have the resolve to tuck 20 percent or so away for tax time. So on that original 40k in commission, you may only take home spendable income of 25k when you are all done. you would have to weigh this against what you put out in energy, time and travel away from home and family. I'm painting a fairly rosy picture here. I've known commission salespersons that netted below 10k per year after expenses and taxes. At this rate, you'd be better off working two part time jobs for salary close to home.

Draw against commission is how some companies set up salespeople as well as commission only. In this scenario, the Salesperson draws money from the company that he has to pay back in commissions either monthly or quarterly, assuming that his commission will outweigh the draw. If it does not, the Salesperson is usually let go fairly quickly.

Some companies really run you through the gauntlet before they hire you as commission only. Sometimes much more so than if they hired you as a salaried employee. They are trying to weed out failures before they fail. The net of all this is that sometimes the potential salesperson is caught up in a mind set of "I really have to compete for this job" during the "interview process". They may even tell you that you have a lot of competition to get the job. Remember, they are not going to pay you for anything until you produce for them. It's only an opportunity if you have the resources, hard driving will, talent, and enthusiasm to succeed with what they are asking you to sell. What is their commission like? Is it 10 percent of sales on items that take 90 days to close and sell for $500 dollars? Fifty bucks for 90 days of effort is hardly worth your time in today's day and age. What is your competition? You may be one of 50 salespeople hawking their product in whatever territory you are trying to sell it in. Failure rates before you are looking to try the position may be at 100 percent. Ask them outright why your position is open and how many have worked the area before you.

It's low risk for the company to hire a commission only sales person. Time and training (if they offer that) are the only thing they are out if you do not succeed.

This kind of position is not for the faint of heart. You must be the right kind of person with the right kind of resources and talent to do this kind of work. it is definitely not for most.

Last edited by billybobb; 08-07-2014 at 08:09 AM..
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Old 08-08-2014, 02:30 AM
 
70 posts, read 102,271 times
Reputation: 21
Run, don't walk, away from those types of sales jobs. Unless you're the pharaoh at the top, be prepared to learn a bunch of sleazy sales tactics, spend 10+hours a day going door to door, and bring PLENTY of sunblock...you're going to need it. I'll never take on a commission-only job again, ever. Too high of a risk, too much turnover, lousy training, too many promises that you'll be promoted to a salary/managerial position that never happen, and a complete waste of your valuable time.
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Old 10-14-2016, 07:05 PM
 
1 posts, read 800 times
Reputation: 10
Default Commission Only Jobs are good forthe right person.

I understand some of the fear. However, That is pretty much all I have worked during the times when I was actually able to make big money. BUT, you have to be a good sales person. I'm not talking about someone who "throws heat" but someone that is full of integrity and is a real believer in the product being sold can really make a killing. That is where I learned not to feel bad about all the money that I was making. I started to equate the money to the number of people that I was helping.
However, on the flip side.. I have worked for some companies that were taking advantage of people. When I found out, I quit on the spot. (THEY WERE ACTUALLY PAYING A SMALL BASE!) In my experience, the commission only jobs have been better. But I am very selective.
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Old 02-16-2018, 07:32 AM
 
22 posts, read 17,666 times
Reputation: 89
Quote:
Originally Posted by billybobb View Post
These jobs are difficult for 99 percent of the people who try them. The failure rate is almost 100 percent.

Most companies will try and make you believe you are getting a "Great" opportunity and that with a lot of elbow grease, you will make more than enough to live very well. In reality, you may end up in Bankruptcy if this is your only source of "Potential" income. And remember, you can't go to the grocery store and buy food with "Potential". They expect money for the food.

Independent sales reps are out there, and some make a decent living, but they have very good lines that sell well, and they had enough money in reserve to allow the commission only sales to catch up to their spending needs. If you have little or no money, you may find that it will take months to get the first sale, and by then you may be living with your Mother again.

Some of these jobs actually require travel either by car or by plane. Very few companies that expect you to work for commission only will pay for these travel expenses. You have to shoulder the cost yourself. Racking up 500 miles a week on your car at $4.00 a gallon plus the wear and tear and possible overnights are going to put you in the poor house quickly. Sometimes you are expected to provide lunch or snacks for your prospects (for example if you are selling medical equipment to a Doctor's office). These folks are used to well paid Pharmaceutical Reps with big expense accounts wining and dining them. You have to keep close guard on how much you may be putting out in time and effort and expenses vs the potential return. And, what if you get sick or injured? Unless you have personal insurance for loss of income, you are going to be out of any income potential at all when you are in the hospital.

If you sell product every year that provides you an income of $40,000 in commission, but you spent $10,000 in travel and expenses, your net of 30 grand still might not sound too bad. Remember you have to live on that, and just because you claim a large deduction on your tax return does not mean you get it all back. You have to pay taxes on all money earned in commission. If you are an independent contractor, the company paying you will not deduct taxes for you. You have to have the resolve to tuck 20 percent or so away for tax time. So on that original 40k in commission, you may only take home spendable income of 25k when you are all done. you would have to weigh this against what you put out in energy, time and travel away from home and family. I'm painting a fairly rosy picture here. I've known commission salespersons that netted below 10k per year after expenses and taxes. At this rate, you'd be better off working two part time jobs for salary close to home.

Draw against commission is how some companies set up salespeople as well as commission only. In this scenario, the Salesperson draws money from the company that he has to pay back in commissions either monthly or quarterly, assuming that his commission will outweigh the draw. If it does not, the Salesperson is usually let go fairly quickly.

Some companies really run you through the gauntlet before they hire you as commission only. Sometimes much more so than if they hired you as a salaried employee. They are trying to weed out failures before they fail. The net of all this is that sometimes the potential salesperson is caught up in a mind set of "I really have to compete for this job" during the "interview process". They may even tell you that you have a lot of competition to get the job. Remember, they are not going to pay you for anything until you produce for them. It's only an opportunity if you have the resources, hard driving will, talent, and enthusiasm to succeed with what they are asking you to sell. What is their commission like? Is it 10 percent of sales on items that take 90 days to close and sell for $500 dollars? Fifty bucks for 90 days of effort is hardly worth your time in today's day and age. What is your competition? You may be one of 50 salespeople hawking their product in whatever territory you are trying to sell it in. Failure rates before you are looking to try the position may be at 100 percent. Ask them outright why your position is open and how many have worked the area before you.

It's low risk for the company to hire a commission only sales person. Time and training (if they offer that) are the only thing they are out if you do not succeed.

This kind of position is not for the faint of heart. You must be the right kind of person with the right kind of resources and talent to do this kind of work. it is definitely not for most.
That is SO true, older post, but we did books for many sales people. When my CPA hubby would sit down and SHOW the true picture of what it took to get the sale, and HOW they were not really receiving much more than someone delivering pizza for all their hard work and effort. Not to mention the constant pressure of NOT performing to standard. While their mgrs probably did LITTLE for the salaries they were knocking down. If it is such a MONUMENTALLY great opportunity, then WHY aren't they helping their "staff" succeed? What they are doing is placing ALL the risk on you, you shoulder ALL the expenses, and in most scenarios reaping ALL the benefits of your effort while offering you a small pittance. I saw so many that were led to think they were doing GREAT, until the truth was graphed out in black and white, and they were NOT doing that much better when you had to add in ALL factors. If only 10% are making a killing or even breaking even, is that a job? Or is that volunteer work.
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Old 03-03-2018, 07:49 AM
 
757 posts, read 1,089,946 times
Reputation: 990
For me, I always go with a salary + commission. Too many factors other than not being able to sell can affect your income. When you are commission-only, you are taking almost 100% of the risk and the company isn't. They need to have skin in the game too.

This is especially true if you know nothing about the product, company, sales cycle or anything else that can hinder your sales efforts. The company is fully aware of these barriers and almost always never fessed up about them and then when you fail, they'll blame your sales abilities. Seen it many times.

The only time I would consider a 100% commission-only job is if I knew the company, their products and had my own client base to sell to. Basically, I would need to know that the company and its products are successful and sellable. Or the job came with a verifiable revenue producing account list.

Look at the Insurance business. They lure thousands of people every year into selling for them on 100% commission. They make rosy promises and outline a dream life. The reality is that 80% of agent fail their first year and whatever business they do write, the renewals are kept by the company.
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Old 03-03-2018, 01:19 PM
 
251 posts, read 202,548 times
Reputation: 416
I would never do it simply because I've been on the other side of the coin. I want to bring on new vendors all the time yet I am beholden to the whims of the Finance dept. So the guy you are selling to a lot of times doesn't even have the final say. Maybe they need to develop a new Sales plan that attacks Finance departments first before their desired target. Finance dept. is the primary roadblock to putting food on your table as a Sales person.
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Old 03-05-2018, 08:05 PM
 
22 posts, read 17,666 times
Reputation: 89
Quote:
Originally Posted by UEHelp View Post
For me, I always go with a salary + commission. Too many factors other than not being able to sell can affect your income. When you are commission-only, you are taking almost 100% of the risk and the company isn't. They need to have skin in the game too.

This is especially true if you know nothing about the product, company, sales cycle or anything else that can hinder your sales efforts. The company is fully aware of these barriers and almost always never fessed up about them and then when you fail, they'll blame your sales abilities. Seen it many times.

The only time I would consider a 100% commission-only job is if I knew the company, their products and had my own client base to sell to. Basically, I would need to know that the company and its products are successful and sellable. Or the job came with a verifiable revenue producing account list.

Look at the Insurance business. They lure thousands of people every year into selling for them on 100% commission. They make rosy promises and outline a dream life. The reality is that 80% of agent fail their first year and whatever business they do write, the renewals are kept by the company.
The insurance industry NEEDS overhauled and they KNOW it. There is so many things that can go wrong with a sale in insurance. How do I know, I have worked call ctrs, small agencies, and been an independent. The turnover is high because it is UNREALISTIC. With the economy as it is, I would not do commission EVER AGAIN. I would do salary + performance bonus. If you don't get renewals it is SO unfair in a commission environment-you are starting from scratch and that is too RISKY. You can be an honest great agent, but if the company doesn't stand behind the policy, you are the BAD guy. Seen that happen TOO many times on a claim. Stuff that SHOULD be covered, wasn't. Sure you can challenge it, but if you had a loss, the last thing you need is to fight the insurance company.
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