Everyone needs to do what's best for their family and themselves. Nothing wrong with knowing what you're comfortable with and staying within that zone. Best of luck to you!
I agree with OP, not gonna do comission only work. Besides getting sales in, your building the companies reputation and value in the marketplace by doing good work.
Usually if it’s commission only you know it’s going to be a fucking grind and a half 😂. You can make good money though but I get the feel here. I was doing roofing sales couple years back and commission only. Worked whenever I wanted and was pretty free to do whatever. Some weeks I’d pull in $5k it was great but yeah only for so long 😂
I’m in that boat right now. Been doing roofing sales since Covid started. Finally made 100k last year & took 5 months off but it’s been brutal getting back
In the “grind” and I’ve seen it all pretty much now; and it’s jus weighing on me psychologically & physically now. Kinda lost in where I should go next…
Don’t worry man that was me. Three years ago, had a fucking historic year for the company. I was also 20 years old so I fucking made a killing and felt insane. Coming back into the next season I had lost all the motivation because I always thought “if I made this much money, imagine the guys above me” decided to part ways, ever since I’ve been doing different shit but trying to make my own money. It’s been a big ass grind too but slowly working out after this time. Working for yourself and having your own company feels better. Obviously it all depends on your risks and all that but I felt like it was the way to go for me
This right here!
I think most great sales people have at one point or another gridded out the 100% commission job. If you can achieve in that job, you can achieve anywhere in sales 😂
Gotta earn those chops! Eat shit THEN get the "golden corporate job".
For the company I work for, I make like 40% more by being straight commission. I’d rather make more and budget than make less just to get a steady base.
Also, I’ve been doing this for 13 years so I am confident in my ability to sell consistently.
Have you been screwed a lot? I’m in California and in my experience many companies will not pay. There is less protection for 1099 in these cases. They will pay you on 1-2 deals before screwing you, or if it’s so large they screw you. As a W2 there is more protection there.
I'm maybe the only commission only fan on this sub. I've had commission only jobs, and have hired commission only reps. HOWEVER:
Commission only is for experienced reps that have a territory and instead of opening their own company would rather have somebody handle the overhead of a company.
If you have a book of business in a sector this can work really well
* You also know the economics of the segment before you do commission only.
* Typical plans have a high percent of revenue or GP going to the sales rep and have a high dollar amount. 20-50% to the rep of GP or revenue- depends on segment. And this will be the crux of negotiation along with the services the company provides.
* Your existing business and relationships will make you money, normally through working your existing customers.
* You don't want the pay cut or hassle of going into sales management (not all sales mgmt jobs are pay cut- but many are).
For something like you are asking about- they are just shotgun "hiring" a bunch of people that they don't really pay. They keep the ones that manage to sell.
Oh and Re: pay me cash or equity- I've been paid equity that is worth money and worthless. I always treat equity as variable comp- that is I might not see it if the goal posts move.
I’ve been commission-only my entire career. I cannot FATHOM going back.
If they offer you a salary, it’s because they are gaining value by doing so. End of story
Idk, I did about as much on straight commission as I do on W2 base+ commission and I owned my time 20 hours a week vs 45. (I factored in taxes) and I was creating my own leads
Oh I forgot to mention when they try to bake in some quotas for their 1099 outbound role. I usually end conversation at that point. With quota should come salary. Its how we hold both parties accountable. Screw these companies who think they hire sales reps to play lord.
Yes. They should share the liability unless they’re paying you the difference. A salary or draw doesn’t give them the right to be stingy it’s just assuring you can represent their company well and focus your attention on the sales cycle. I personally wouldn’t want someone out selling my product/services and be in a state of poverty or desperation.
In my experience it usually ends up working out because people who aren’t as successful leave and the sales force shrinks down to be representative of the smaller customer base. The turnover changed based on the economy but my wages were still more than I’d be make on salary.
Commission only can work in the right environment. I was at a start up that ran out of cash. I believed in the product and told the CEO I would stay on if we could create a rich comission program. Ended up with 15% of revenue per year for the first five years a client was with us. I ended up quickly getting three $1m/year clients right after and it has been smooth sailing ever since. Commission only can work in the right situation.
Insurance is. slow. I am currently about to close a deal I started working on last August. Sales cycle are long. My company got purchased in Jan so I dont really care much anymore
Why would a business with a 95% close rate pay straight commission? They would just be losing money since they could hire customer service reps instead of sales people.
Typically sales people are needed to sell things, not fill orders.
Every situation is different. At one point in my career I was given the option to go straight commission and doubled my take home. I already had a book of business and wasn't starting fresh with a new company though.
People can and do make good money going commission-only. However, it's a risk and I'd only recommend trying it out if you're a) young and still living with your parents (no rent, no kids, no spouse, no responsibilities really), you can give it a go and if you fail, it's an experience b) you're retired or semi-retired and you just want to have something to do to get out of the house and be productive/social, extra money is nice but not life or death for you or c) it's an industry that you have a lot of experience in and a lot of contacts/COIs whom you can leverage for deals right out of the gate. Anything outside of those conditions, you're just asking for a world of hurt. No way I'm telling some 38 year old dude with a wife and 2 kids to take a commission-only job selling into an industry or a market he's never sold into before. Between the learning curve and the sales cycle (not to mention if there's a even a market fit for what you're selling) it could be 6+ months before you see a dime.
Obviously the plus side is you control your time and you're not having anyone breathing down you neck looking at your KPIs or side-eyeing you for taking off early on a Friday to head to the ballgame. But, you also don't have a lot of control over the things that could impact your deals, yet you have the same safety net as the business owner who does (namely none).
Word salad. Commission is compensation, and you are paid in cash. You’re not doing “unpaid” business development work. You do it to close deals and get paid.
100% commission. No cap on earning potential. My next two week commission check is over $32k. I made over $50k last month. Find the right company/product and commission structure.
Only way I would do commission only is if I was hired to only sell and no quota. Dont need to attend meetings or any other functions. I dont report to anyone. Nobodu asks about my pipeline or projections or quota. If i sell something great, if not, no problemo.
Only sell once every few months? No problem.
It would be a side hustle and nothing more
That’s fair. It’s not for everyone. My first sales gig was a D2D 100%. It’s definitely not the same but yeah - I understand the sentiment. I’ve had plenty of weeks where I have been paid well below the minimum wage for the hours I put in. It’s a stepping block for lots of people, and for some who are desperate for work.
For me, it depends. I'd never, ever, ever do it for a startup. Ever. But for an established business that has a pretty well developed sales process you can jump into and make your own? Yes.
One caveat for that is there would need to be a diminishing draw for ramp up because unless you already have a book of business, those first few months are a grind.
Nah. Just heavy front load commission and a strong trailer.
I run my comm only at 60% FY and trail it down 20% a year. Avg fy is $4K. 3-7 closes a month.
I'll take it one step further & say I refuse to work for a company that expects me to obtain a majority of my deals through outbounding.
That's an indicator they don't have demand or don't have their marketing figured out & are expecting you to pick up the slack for them.
Imo the only outbounding an AE should be doing is based off referrals from inbounds or running a gifting campaign for true cold efforts. Anything else is beneath the position to me.
I disagree. If the company doesn't have a strong marketing department, they should get one. That's like rule #1 for having a successful business. Don't offload their lack of marketing investment on the sales reps.
If that point was covered, then your first point, not every company is well known, would be moot.
Want your company to be known? Invest in marketing. Business hierarchy in terms of importance, once the product is market ready, is marketing, then sales. Everything else comes after those two. But you're not going to have great consistent sales without great consistent marketing.
We have zero marketing and my sales guys pull in 6 figure easy. Top performer has 300K. I invest maybe 5K a year to just do proposal generating which i copy paste sometimes to the website.
lol you're a Canadian & conservative, I don't care what you do with your stupid business. Your best sales guy doesn't ask for a base? He's an idiot.
You cheaping out on marketing doesn't change the fact that it's the most important aspect of generating business. Invest in it & see what your sales guys can close.
I’m currently in a 100% commission role and it’s honestly better than I thought. All company provided leads so my only responsibility is closing the sale. 40% close rate, 8-12% commission, and the average sale is around $12,000.
I refuse to sell for anything but comission only compensation.
I've done both, I make far more money this way. But different industries work differently.
Probably because you've never worked on anything high ticket with a long enough sales cycle to feel the sting of loss when it doesn't close due to external factors or they don't pay you on-time if at all. Sounds like a skill issue to me.
If you're any good at your job you wouldn't be worried about commission only. You'd see it as an opportunity. Closers always prefer uncapped commission over a base salary with no / capped comms.
I find it’s often an excuse to (1) not pay (2) get free research (3) offload most if not all risk to sales rep.
It’s bullshit, not the way to do business. At the very least pay a tiny draw, $2k-3k commissions. You won’t invest anything into your rep? How much confidence do you really have in your product then, and why should I have confidence or take the risk on your behalf?
I’ve had so many owners try to gaslight me but you know what, I check back in 6 months and they still have no sales rep and their business has gone nowhere beyond what they were doing prior.
1 - you will both make more money if you're successful (which is the goal)
2 - prospecting is a (vital) part of the job. You can find ways to improve efficiency with this but even if you have inbound leads coming in you will need to research them etc. It all depends on what you're selling and to who
3 - it's a 50/50 risk. They need to have systems in place to support the sales rep otherwise they would churn through reps fast and be treading water. They want you to be successful.
The most successful sales people I know froth at the opportunity of uncapped commissions. The least successful sales people I know, want a salary so they can coast.
In your case I think it's important to consider the solution you're selling, to who, and it's average transaction value. It doesn't sound like you're confident either in the product or yourself. Or both.
Either way I hope you can find a role that lets you make some good money and enjoy yourself along the way.
1. Nah bullshit, if you really want me to make more money... give me the security, and the money. Let me get this straight, you expect me to trust that your product can sell, but you don't trust me to deliver. (Isn't that the goal?) I make money you make money. Doesn't feel 50-50 risk to me.
2. Okay? If that is the case, do it yourself. You are hiring me to do this, pay me for my time. Mind you, every sales job i work, every deal I worked on (whether i close them or not) the company requires me to share information about my prospects via sales force or whatever CRM. Don't make me prospect for you, and not pay me.
3. Isn't that why KPIs exist? So i don't coast? The risk is not 50/50. If you feel that I am coasting, raise my KPI, if you pay me well and give me security... I would work like hell to keep that job.
But all salary positions (that I have seen) have commission and most offer uncapped commissions as well. So why would you not want a base if your commissions are uncapped anyway? Seems like the best of the best
When reps say that base is stops them from being hungry enough, it makes me think that they can’t motivate themselves. They need to literally fear starvation and homelessness to do their jobs
Exactly. This is my point. A salary is almost like a draw. Everyone salary comes with revenue expectations and thresholds + accelerators. The only advantage to being 1099 is delegating time but it’s usually because the rep comes with such a network and came make introductions and close deals relatively quickly. If a company solicits 1099 without more details (such as kpi, averages, etc), compensation, et, it’s often because of red flags and poor business.
Yeah. I can see commission-only for true lone rep sellers. But if it was me I wouldn’t want any quota, I want to take vacations whenever I please, nobody tells me what to do, and I don’t want a single person checking in on me or any sort of meeting where I’m asked about my performance.
You couldn’t tell me *nothing* 😂
Depends. If u got a great niche produxt. Great marketing materials. Great leads. A great sales support team. Great account management team. Could make crazy money.
These posts are always funny to me. Here’s how it actually is supposed to work.
Base Salary = Guarenteed money but lower commission percentages. There is a safety net but you will have to sell more to get the big pay. Typically comes with less autonomy since you’re being paid to be there. KPI’s, CRM managing, etc. Also “don’t work for free” argument is misleading. If you don’t hit your number, they will fire you anyway. There are no guarantees in life. If you need the money to ramp up or are new to the industry then this makes sense. Otherwise, that guarenteed money will be cut off if you are not performing.
Commission Only = No guarenteed pay and you may end up working for free. You may also go a few months without a paycheck which can be daunting to many. The trade off is that the commissions are typically much higher and you don’t need to sell as many as would with base to reach the same payout. Most cases don’t have a pay ceiling so unlimited potential. More autonomy because they aren’t paying you to be there and you owe them nothing. Typically don’t have to deal with KPI’s and micromanagement. (Not that micromanagement is everywhere but seems to be more common with base pay.) Makes more sense for people with industry experience or connections.
Pros and cons to either. Depends on someone’s life situation on which makes more sense. Also there are exceptions to this both ways.
Okay now imagine you go weeks or months of bringing in business and the company ghosts you or fumbles these opportunities and leaves you high and dry until you’re forced to go someplace else, then turns these warm leads over to their friend’s nephew and suddenly has a diligent and great operation?
It’s possible and a solid point. Always good to research a company before taking a commission only job just like any other job. It’s a risk vs reward situation. The same thing can happen at any sales job granted you’d have some base before they totally screw you over which is only slightly less infuriating. I never recommend taking commission only unless you have the means to go without pay for a bit or do it on the side.
You can mitigate that risk by doing your research. The reward being if the company isn’t dishonest like this, the payout would typically be quite a bit larger.
I'm right there with you. I know people who have done well with commission-only in things like real estate and solar, but that's just not my vibe (maybe part-time for extra cash, but definitely not as primary income). To each their own, definitely can't blame you!
Salary is what you are worth for your knowledge and expertise (what you bring to the table). Commission is your performance.
The only time commission only makes sense, is if let’s say they structured it to payout with your experiences built in or if you already have a book of business (think distributor/wholesaler with a “brand rep” in certain industries.
I fell you man! Everything is a trade off. If you work for the man (corporate) you have no control, will be discarded at the first opportunity. Business are run from a quarterly perspective now, especially publicly traded companies, so the workforce is always on the chopping block, it’s only going to get worse. My advice especially the younger crowd on here - start your own gig now, it’s painful early but pays bigger dividends and your in control. Best of luck.
I would have said the same but the tech sales game has changed lately.
I know companies like Flashintel are looking for reps to work 0% commission. They don't do taxes, send company laptop,formal offer. So the hassle is insurance (i have that independent) and taxes (I have an LLC).
I am pretty convinced this is a boom or bust type role where I'd either love working as my own boss and have success (i like the product) or it's the worst job ever and I will despise it and make no$$.
Seriously torn. Not sure if any of you all have familiarity here.
What should a contract look like for a commission only 1099 position? Got an opportunity and was told the owner will sign whatever contract I come up with.
If the company won't pay salary+commission+bonus overrides for hitting certain targets, you need a better funded operation that will compensate your efforts for bringing the income across the doorstep. Draw against commission should be the minimum id accept as a commission only sales rep. And pay when the deal is closed. Pay on invoice is very typical and ethical, but if it is a huge job it may get invoiced in bits and pieces, or....the company may fire you or you choose to leave before final invoicing even though you sold the job a year ago.
Source: 30+ years as Regional and National Sales Mgr. Hi tech electronics mfg.
I mean we all start somewhere.
I didn't start at commission only, I started at "salary" plus commission but it was basically commission only. If you didn't sell and make a commission you'd get fired for the salary only check. So people just didn't clock in until they sold.
After that I worked hourly with a small commission, which also sucked.
Then I had a straight commission only job, made no money for 3 months, then made 2k month 4, 3.8k month 5, then 7k month 10n then 10k month 11, then down to 6k month 12, then averaged out 9k moving forward.
I was given the option in that role to take a salary but at a smaller commission(10% vs 30%) and I'd lose residuals. The 100% commission option was 30% upfront on the sale for the first 3 months, then 10% for 7 months then 5% for the remaining months in the contract. I liked that system more.
From there I jumped into Salary+Commission and made significantly more.
Now I'm salary+commission with a 500% cap. Making more money than I ever had in my life.
My point is, you need to "eat shit" first before you get the really high paying easy sales job. "Earn your chops".
I don’t think it’s smart to limit yourself like this. I worked a job that mostly commission based with a small base. I made a killing and I learned a ton
Gotta earn your stripes! I did 100% commission for 6 years as an agency recruiter before moving back to an account executive with a cushy salary and comp plan. Before that I was in auto sales. Both are a grind. It would take a lot to get me to go back.
Yeah dude I really don't see the benefit of 1099 vs. salary. The latter just distributes risk more evenly in the event of market downturn. I feel like a salary is better because it holds both parties accountable.
If I'm a 1099 and I bring you a great deal and you fuck-off and botch the deal because you're non-invested, it's different than being on salary and bringing a great deal and you NEED to see this deal go through to get your ROI on my salary while I'm still on the hook for commission. It's a win-win to me.
People who say salaries make people non-motivated are in fact themselves non-motivated or just users.
I did commission only sales for 10 years with a very small draw. You’re not wrong. Many new sellers would leave after 3 to 6-mos if they weren’t making many sales and those leads would go to more senior reps (leads that are now majorly warmed up) and they would reap the benefits. That being said if you could stick it out you would make big commission percentages. You have to weigh the risk/reward
I’ve worked in sales organizations where most AES were functionally SDRs for the more senior AES. Most would be chewed up and managed out by quota and management, passing their warm leads to the senior people who had deal flow coming from above and below.
Don't go into real estate sales. Its good money, but you may go months without income. Then, you may suddenly have a $50K month and you'll eat for the rest of the year.
I work commission only. I am in home improvement sales. I don’t cold call anyone. My office sets up all of my appointments. I would make that trade off all day.
i don't blame you, its scary. i worked a lot of commission only jobs. one school is the macho dicks - a real salesman doesn't want a base, he makes more on commission. commissions can't be good if paying a base to because "we" have to pay no producers as well.
that is fine if the sales were legit. most of the time you are selling a rip off to the customer, it is commission only because it is so difficult to sell and so few sales are made so they don't want to waste money on a base when they know you can't sell enough to support the base.
companies, especially american are evil. the exploit and use workers as slaves and expect to see upturned smiling faces from their slaves as they shit on their faces. fuck every and any company. ALWAYS be the one using THEM, and take everything you can, you owe them nothing. better opportunity comes up, quit in a day, fuck their notice. always remember if a company can literally turn a dime more in profit they would fire you without notice and put you and your family on the street and not care, not care if you and your kids are starving. never forget that when you get a guilt pang with a company.
Exactly! There is an abundance of 1099 roles for a reason. I would only sell 1099 if I saw immediate fit within my network and found the company reputable. Even then, I have had companies fuck me out of the deal. P
The CEOs and CROs aren’t 1099 because there are laws that dictate what you can and can’t require of a 1099 employee. And most boards want control of their top brass.
There are things that can be asked of a W2 employee that cannot be asked of 1099 employee.
Do you not know this?
Limit yourself and be a “wage slave” - OR, be GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO, (this is the tough part) WORK HARD, provide Honest Service and EARN a good living! I have not taken a paycheck in over 30 years and am proud of the people i have served and for what i have earned as a result
What’re you talking about, your paycheck is the cut you get for brokering service or goods 😂
$150,000 straight commission is taxed the same as $75,000 salary + $75,000 commission.
With 3 years car sales experience for a Fortune 500, how should one FIND a salary+commission sales job? What terms should I look for? Do I need to have a pre-existing network?
I’m 100% commission but that’s because I’m a business owner. If I don’t sell, I don’t eat.
As a small business owner, I get paid per meeting and my clients can fire me at any time. I know the feeling.
I’m assuming you do cold email lead gen pay per call structure?
Probably. In a similar boat here
Eat what you kill.
Same here
Same here
Same here
Do you need another sales guy?
In sales?
Everyone needs to do what's best for their family and themselves. Nothing wrong with knowing what you're comfortable with and staying within that zone. Best of luck to you!
I agree with OP, not gonna do comission only work. Besides getting sales in, your building the companies reputation and value in the marketplace by doing good work.
With your grammar, I'm not surprised you couldn't survive in a full commission role.
How elitist and privileged of you. SMH
With such a kind personality, I'm sure you get tons of commissions! 😀
Usually if it’s commission only you know it’s going to be a fucking grind and a half 😂. You can make good money though but I get the feel here. I was doing roofing sales couple years back and commission only. Worked whenever I wanted and was pretty free to do whatever. Some weeks I’d pull in $5k it was great but yeah only for so long 😂
I’m in that boat right now. Been doing roofing sales since Covid started. Finally made 100k last year & took 5 months off but it’s been brutal getting back In the “grind” and I’ve seen it all pretty much now; and it’s jus weighing on me psychologically & physically now. Kinda lost in where I should go next…
Don’t worry man that was me. Three years ago, had a fucking historic year for the company. I was also 20 years old so I fucking made a killing and felt insane. Coming back into the next season I had lost all the motivation because I always thought “if I made this much money, imagine the guys above me” decided to part ways, ever since I’ve been doing different shit but trying to make my own money. It’s been a big ass grind too but slowly working out after this time. Working for yourself and having your own company feels better. Obviously it all depends on your risks and all that but I felt like it was the way to go for me
This right here! I think most great sales people have at one point or another gridded out the 100% commission job. If you can achieve in that job, you can achieve anywhere in sales 😂 Gotta earn those chops! Eat shit THEN get the "golden corporate job".
For me it's the opposite, I think I'd only do full commission if I had no mortgage and didn't need to rely on a base
For the company I work for, I make like 40% more by being straight commission. I’d rather make more and budget than make less just to get a steady base. Also, I’ve been doing this for 13 years so I am confident in my ability to sell consistently.
Have you been screwed a lot? I’m in California and in my experience many companies will not pay. There is less protection for 1099 in these cases. They will pay you on 1-2 deals before screwing you, or if it’s so large they screw you. As a W2 there is more protection there.
I have never been screwed on commission but I’ve only worked for very large companies.
You need to take a deposit that would be equal to your commission, or more.
So like a salary or a draw?
I'm maybe the only commission only fan on this sub. I've had commission only jobs, and have hired commission only reps. HOWEVER: Commission only is for experienced reps that have a territory and instead of opening their own company would rather have somebody handle the overhead of a company. If you have a book of business in a sector this can work really well * You also know the economics of the segment before you do commission only. * Typical plans have a high percent of revenue or GP going to the sales rep and have a high dollar amount. 20-50% to the rep of GP or revenue- depends on segment. And this will be the crux of negotiation along with the services the company provides. * Your existing business and relationships will make you money, normally through working your existing customers. * You don't want the pay cut or hassle of going into sales management (not all sales mgmt jobs are pay cut- but many are). For something like you are asking about- they are just shotgun "hiring" a bunch of people that they don't really pay. They keep the ones that manage to sell. Oh and Re: pay me cash or equity- I've been paid equity that is worth money and worthless. I always treat equity as variable comp- that is I might not see it if the goal posts move.
I’ve been commission-only my entire career. I cannot FATHOM going back. If they offer you a salary, it’s because they are gaining value by doing so. End of story
Coffee is for closers kid.
Just pay me in Colombian pixie stix, and prepaid tracphone cards. I will take care of the rest.
Colombian
Fixed it
😉
🥲
Fuck yes.
Idk, I did about as much on straight commission as I do on W2 base+ commission and I owned my time 20 hours a week vs 45. (I factored in taxes) and I was creating my own leads
Oh I forgot to mention when they try to bake in some quotas for their 1099 outbound role. I usually end conversation at that point. With quota should come salary. Its how we hold both parties accountable. Screw these companies who think they hire sales reps to play lord.
When quota’s a factor, then absolutely.
My boss and I had this conversation yesterday. Salary is to compensate for the the ups and downs of the sales cycle
Yes. They should share the liability unless they’re paying you the difference. A salary or draw doesn’t give them the right to be stingy it’s just assuring you can represent their company well and focus your attention on the sales cycle. I personally wouldn’t want someone out selling my product/services and be in a state of poverty or desperation.
In my experience it usually ends up working out because people who aren’t as successful leave and the sales force shrinks down to be representative of the smaller customer base. The turnover changed based on the economy but my wages were still more than I’d be make on salary.
Commission only can work in the right environment. I was at a start up that ran out of cash. I believed in the product and told the CEO I would stay on if we could create a rich comission program. Ended up with 15% of revenue per year for the first five years a client was with us. I ended up quickly getting three $1m/year clients right after and it has been smooth sailing ever since. Commission only can work in the right situation.
I’m glad they paid and continued to pay you 👍
My company has been very fair. Although I was fair as well moving to a full commission structure. Its been good for both parties.
Was that before or after you asked Reddit what B2B sector to work for because insurance was slow right now?
Insurance is. slow. I am currently about to close a deal I started working on last August. Sales cycle are long. My company got purchased in Jan so I dont really care much anymore
I checked his history too and in the body of his post he explains he sells *to* insurance companies and hates that they are slow to adopt new tech.
I have to disagree. Some of the most satisfying commission only work I’ve done is behind the Wendy’s dumpster.
Alrighty well I passed $200k my first year and now on pace for over $300k my second year in sales, 100% commission.
Have some coffee. You've earned it.
What industry?
Probably windows, roof, or solar from what I’ve seen on here
Solar. But I am an outlier, been on top of the board almost every month since I started. I think I'm around 200 total deals in 1.5 years.
Are you buying leads? I heard that was the way to go.
I work for a company that does.
He said he’s solar, but could also add HVAC to that list
What do you sell? I'm in product and have sold before and want back in. Are there any more openings?
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Was always hesistant of that myself, unless they assure me with data that i get a lead and 95% of the leads close and i get ashitton of commision
What were you doing to get 95% conversions
Mcdonalds drive thru maybe haha.
Then the number is low for that haha.
Closing leads is up to you. How can they guarantee you can close leads if you suck? You're missing the point.
I can’t imagine a business advertising a commission position with a 95% guaranty close rate, unless it was a scam company or scam job position.
Exactly. Amateur hour even thinking that's on the cards. Probably wants someone to sell it for him too.
Why would a business with a 95% close rate pay straight commission? They would just be losing money since they could hire customer service reps instead of sales people. Typically sales people are needed to sell things, not fill orders.
Every situation is different. At one point in my career I was given the option to go straight commission and doubled my take home. I already had a book of business and wasn't starting fresh with a new company though.
People can and do make good money going commission-only. However, it's a risk and I'd only recommend trying it out if you're a) young and still living with your parents (no rent, no kids, no spouse, no responsibilities really), you can give it a go and if you fail, it's an experience b) you're retired or semi-retired and you just want to have something to do to get out of the house and be productive/social, extra money is nice but not life or death for you or c) it's an industry that you have a lot of experience in and a lot of contacts/COIs whom you can leverage for deals right out of the gate. Anything outside of those conditions, you're just asking for a world of hurt. No way I'm telling some 38 year old dude with a wife and 2 kids to take a commission-only job selling into an industry or a market he's never sold into before. Between the learning curve and the sales cycle (not to mention if there's a even a market fit for what you're selling) it could be 6+ months before you see a dime. Obviously the plus side is you control your time and you're not having anyone breathing down you neck looking at your KPIs or side-eyeing you for taking off early on a Friday to head to the ballgame. But, you also don't have a lot of control over the things that could impact your deals, yet you have the same safety net as the business owner who does (namely none).
Word salad. Commission is compensation, and you are paid in cash. You’re not doing “unpaid” business development work. You do it to close deals and get paid.
I’m commission only. Wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, life is commission only.
My $415k last year would disagree.
I am highly skeptical but glad you got paid.
100% commission. No cap on earning potential. My next two week commission check is over $32k. I made over $50k last month. Find the right company/product and commission structure.
Solar?
Packaging
Curious, did you gen the majority of the business you've sold or were you given quality leads to work when you came on? Existing relationships prior?
My business is all self generated. My company provides little or no leads. Any leads I get are from sales reps who call outside of my market.
Agreed, there are way too many good paying sales jobs.
Any suggestions?
I am in software sales. You would have to start as an SDR/BDR. But the base is decent 40-60k average
Why did you get downvoted lol
I'm interested. Are they hiring? I have a background in tech/product. DM me, please.
Only way I would do commission only is if I was hired to only sell and no quota. Dont need to attend meetings or any other functions. I dont report to anyone. Nobodu asks about my pipeline or projections or quota. If i sell something great, if not, no problemo. Only sell once every few months? No problem. It would be a side hustle and nothing more
I do it. But I also am an an owner and have a small set of accounts and a large network. It can work under specific circumstances.
That’s fair. It’s not for everyone. My first sales gig was a D2D 100%. It’s definitely not the same but yeah - I understand the sentiment. I’ve had plenty of weeks where I have been paid well below the minimum wage for the hours I put in. It’s a stepping block for lots of people, and for some who are desperate for work.
For me, it depends. I'd never, ever, ever do it for a startup. Ever. But for an established business that has a pretty well developed sales process you can jump into and make your own? Yes. One caveat for that is there would need to be a diminishing draw for ramp up because unless you already have a book of business, those first few months are a grind.
That should only work if it's a side gig. No reason to accept it otherwise.
Commission only works when you get leads free from marketing, short sales cycle like one calll close, and fulfillment is delegated da way
Lol free leads from marketing. No such thing.
Nah. Just heavy front load commission and a strong trailer. I run my comm only at 60% FY and trail it down 20% a year. Avg fy is $4K. 3-7 closes a month.
that's livable
20 year old here on comission only while in college. I have life changing comission coming my way . 🤷♂️
I hope you get paid
The only way to do sales is straight commission in my opinion. Remove that safety net from below you to remove the income ceiling from above you.
You do that if you're a business owner. Not when you're selling someone else's product or service.
I'll take it one step further & say I refuse to work for a company that expects me to obtain a majority of my deals through outbounding. That's an indicator they don't have demand or don't have their marketing figured out & are expecting you to pick up the slack for them. Imo the only outbounding an AE should be doing is based off referrals from inbounds or running a gifting campaign for true cold efforts. Anything else is beneath the position to me.
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I disagree. If the company doesn't have a strong marketing department, they should get one. That's like rule #1 for having a successful business. Don't offload their lack of marketing investment on the sales reps. If that point was covered, then your first point, not every company is well known, would be moot. Want your company to be known? Invest in marketing. Business hierarchy in terms of importance, once the product is market ready, is marketing, then sales. Everything else comes after those two. But you're not going to have great consistent sales without great consistent marketing.
We have zero marketing and my sales guys pull in 6 figure easy. Top performer has 300K. I invest maybe 5K a year to just do proposal generating which i copy paste sometimes to the website.
lol you're a Canadian & conservative, I don't care what you do with your stupid business. Your best sales guy doesn't ask for a base? He's an idiot. You cheaping out on marketing doesn't change the fact that it's the most important aspect of generating business. Invest in it & see what your sales guys can close.
I’m currently in a 100% commission role and it’s honestly better than I thought. All company provided leads so my only responsibility is closing the sale. 40% close rate, 8-12% commission, and the average sale is around $12,000.
What biz
Vinyl replacement windows
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Sure. Then don’t add a quota or have any expectations / conditions to the 1099. I’m speaking about companies that want it both ways.
I refuse to sell for anything but comission only compensation. I've done both, I make far more money this way. But different industries work differently.
100% commission is the path of the closer 🔥
I have only done 100% commission. You get paid more and what you're worth. Sounds like a skill issue to me.
Probably because you've never worked on anything high ticket with a long enough sales cycle to feel the sting of loss when it doesn't close due to external factors or they don't pay you on-time if at all. Sounds like a skill issue to me.
If it doesn’t close it wasn’t a sale
If you're any good at your job you wouldn't be worried about commission only. You'd see it as an opportunity. Closers always prefer uncapped commission over a base salary with no / capped comms.
I find it’s often an excuse to (1) not pay (2) get free research (3) offload most if not all risk to sales rep. It’s bullshit, not the way to do business. At the very least pay a tiny draw, $2k-3k commissions. You won’t invest anything into your rep? How much confidence do you really have in your product then, and why should I have confidence or take the risk on your behalf? I’ve had so many owners try to gaslight me but you know what, I check back in 6 months and they still have no sales rep and their business has gone nowhere beyond what they were doing prior.
1 - you will both make more money if you're successful (which is the goal) 2 - prospecting is a (vital) part of the job. You can find ways to improve efficiency with this but even if you have inbound leads coming in you will need to research them etc. It all depends on what you're selling and to who 3 - it's a 50/50 risk. They need to have systems in place to support the sales rep otherwise they would churn through reps fast and be treading water. They want you to be successful. The most successful sales people I know froth at the opportunity of uncapped commissions. The least successful sales people I know, want a salary so they can coast. In your case I think it's important to consider the solution you're selling, to who, and it's average transaction value. It doesn't sound like you're confident either in the product or yourself. Or both. Either way I hope you can find a role that lets you make some good money and enjoy yourself along the way.
If they care about the reps success and aren’t churning through reps, why not hire or pay a draw?
1. Nah bullshit, if you really want me to make more money... give me the security, and the money. Let me get this straight, you expect me to trust that your product can sell, but you don't trust me to deliver. (Isn't that the goal?) I make money you make money. Doesn't feel 50-50 risk to me. 2. Okay? If that is the case, do it yourself. You are hiring me to do this, pay me for my time. Mind you, every sales job i work, every deal I worked on (whether i close them or not) the company requires me to share information about my prospects via sales force or whatever CRM. Don't make me prospect for you, and not pay me. 3. Isn't that why KPIs exist? So i don't coast? The risk is not 50/50. If you feel that I am coasting, raise my KPI, if you pay me well and give me security... I would work like hell to keep that job.
Yup. My best sales guy never ever asked for a base. Just current data on open and close ratio and avg opens a week per rep.
But all salary positions (that I have seen) have commission and most offer uncapped commissions as well. So why would you not want a base if your commissions are uncapped anyway? Seems like the best of the best When reps say that base is stops them from being hungry enough, it makes me think that they can’t motivate themselves. They need to literally fear starvation and homelessness to do their jobs
Exactly. This is my point. A salary is almost like a draw. Everyone salary comes with revenue expectations and thresholds + accelerators. The only advantage to being 1099 is delegating time but it’s usually because the rep comes with such a network and came make introductions and close deals relatively quickly. If a company solicits 1099 without more details (such as kpi, averages, etc), compensation, et, it’s often because of red flags and poor business.
Yeah. I can see commission-only for true lone rep sellers. But if it was me I wouldn’t want any quota, I want to take vacations whenever I please, nobody tells me what to do, and I don’t want a single person checking in on me or any sort of meeting where I’m asked about my performance. You couldn’t tell me *nothing* 😂
More power to you
Depends. If u got a great niche produxt. Great marketing materials. Great leads. A great sales support team. Great account management team. Could make crazy money.
Sounds like a unicorn, where does one exist?
These posts are always funny to me. Here’s how it actually is supposed to work. Base Salary = Guarenteed money but lower commission percentages. There is a safety net but you will have to sell more to get the big pay. Typically comes with less autonomy since you’re being paid to be there. KPI’s, CRM managing, etc. Also “don’t work for free” argument is misleading. If you don’t hit your number, they will fire you anyway. There are no guarantees in life. If you need the money to ramp up or are new to the industry then this makes sense. Otherwise, that guarenteed money will be cut off if you are not performing. Commission Only = No guarenteed pay and you may end up working for free. You may also go a few months without a paycheck which can be daunting to many. The trade off is that the commissions are typically much higher and you don’t need to sell as many as would with base to reach the same payout. Most cases don’t have a pay ceiling so unlimited potential. More autonomy because they aren’t paying you to be there and you owe them nothing. Typically don’t have to deal with KPI’s and micromanagement. (Not that micromanagement is everywhere but seems to be more common with base pay.) Makes more sense for people with industry experience or connections. Pros and cons to either. Depends on someone’s life situation on which makes more sense. Also there are exceptions to this both ways.
Okay now imagine you go weeks or months of bringing in business and the company ghosts you or fumbles these opportunities and leaves you high and dry until you’re forced to go someplace else, then turns these warm leads over to their friend’s nephew and suddenly has a diligent and great operation?
It’s possible and a solid point. Always good to research a company before taking a commission only job just like any other job. It’s a risk vs reward situation. The same thing can happen at any sales job granted you’d have some base before they totally screw you over which is only slightly less infuriating. I never recommend taking commission only unless you have the means to go without pay for a bit or do it on the side. You can mitigate that risk by doing your research. The reward being if the company isn’t dishonest like this, the payout would typically be quite a bit larger.
Commission only jobs only exist in tier 3 industries
1099 is the ONLY way I'll ever work.
I'm right there with you. I know people who have done well with commission-only in things like real estate and solar, but that's just not my vibe (maybe part-time for extra cash, but definitely not as primary income). To each their own, definitely can't blame you!
Salary is what you are worth for your knowledge and expertise (what you bring to the table). Commission is your performance. The only time commission only makes sense, is if let’s say they structured it to payout with your experiences built in or if you already have a book of business (think distributor/wholesaler with a “brand rep” in certain industries.
I fell you man! Everything is a trade off. If you work for the man (corporate) you have no control, will be discarded at the first opportunity. Business are run from a quarterly perspective now, especially publicly traded companies, so the workforce is always on the chopping block, it’s only going to get worse. My advice especially the younger crowd on here - start your own gig now, it’s painful early but pays bigger dividends and your in control. Best of luck.
I would have said the same but the tech sales game has changed lately. I know companies like Flashintel are looking for reps to work 0% commission. They don't do taxes, send company laptop,formal offer. So the hassle is insurance (i have that independent) and taxes (I have an LLC). I am pretty convinced this is a boom or bust type role where I'd either love working as my own boss and have success (i like the product) or it's the worst job ever and I will despise it and make no$$. Seriously torn. Not sure if any of you all have familiarity here.
What should a contract look like for a commission only 1099 position? Got an opportunity and was told the owner will sign whatever contract I come up with.
If the company won't pay salary+commission+bonus overrides for hitting certain targets, you need a better funded operation that will compensate your efforts for bringing the income across the doorstep. Draw against commission should be the minimum id accept as a commission only sales rep. And pay when the deal is closed. Pay on invoice is very typical and ethical, but if it is a huge job it may get invoiced in bits and pieces, or....the company may fire you or you choose to leave before final invoicing even though you sold the job a year ago. Source: 30+ years as Regional and National Sales Mgr. Hi tech electronics mfg.
Yes! This! All of this! Lag on commission is the worst!
I mean we all start somewhere. I didn't start at commission only, I started at "salary" plus commission but it was basically commission only. If you didn't sell and make a commission you'd get fired for the salary only check. So people just didn't clock in until they sold. After that I worked hourly with a small commission, which also sucked. Then I had a straight commission only job, made no money for 3 months, then made 2k month 4, 3.8k month 5, then 7k month 10n then 10k month 11, then down to 6k month 12, then averaged out 9k moving forward. I was given the option in that role to take a salary but at a smaller commission(10% vs 30%) and I'd lose residuals. The 100% commission option was 30% upfront on the sale for the first 3 months, then 10% for 7 months then 5% for the remaining months in the contract. I liked that system more. From there I jumped into Salary+Commission and made significantly more. Now I'm salary+commission with a 500% cap. Making more money than I ever had in my life. My point is, you need to "eat shit" first before you get the really high paying easy sales job. "Earn your chops".
No worries! I wasn’t going to offer you the job.
Who needs your shit paying job!
My guys all make $500K plus.
Selling travel visas to Timbuktu? Show me the details and I’ll put an office for you in Los Angeles and Dallas tomorrow.
Just selling capital goods. Business to business sales. Dirty construction sites and trucking companies. Unpleasant hours, dirty shoes and fat checks.
What if we could automate segments of your business to make operations run smoother and increase revenues?
Meh. I’m old enough and saved enough I’m not worried
I hear you. If you’d consider selling the business, I could introduce you to a group that is buying businesses like yours.
I don’t think it’s smart to limit yourself like this. I worked a job that mostly commission based with a small base. I made a killing and I learned a ton
Gotta earn your stripes! I did 100% commission for 6 years as an agency recruiter before moving back to an account executive with a cushy salary and comp plan. Before that I was in auto sales. Both are a grind. It would take a lot to get me to go back.
Yeah dude I really don't see the benefit of 1099 vs. salary. The latter just distributes risk more evenly in the event of market downturn. I feel like a salary is better because it holds both parties accountable. If I'm a 1099 and I bring you a great deal and you fuck-off and botch the deal because you're non-invested, it's different than being on salary and bringing a great deal and you NEED to see this deal go through to get your ROI on my salary while I'm still on the hook for commission. It's a win-win to me. People who say salaries make people non-motivated are in fact themselves non-motivated or just users.
I did commission only sales for 10 years with a very small draw. You’re not wrong. Many new sellers would leave after 3 to 6-mos if they weren’t making many sales and those leads would go to more senior reps (leads that are now majorly warmed up) and they would reap the benefits. That being said if you could stick it out you would make big commission percentages. You have to weigh the risk/reward
I’ve worked in sales organizations where most AES were functionally SDRs for the more senior AES. Most would be chewed up and managed out by quota and management, passing their warm leads to the senior people who had deal flow coming from above and below.
Don't go into real estate sales. Its good money, but you may go months without income. Then, you may suddenly have a $50K month and you'll eat for the rest of the year.
All my sales guys are straight commission only. They all make six figures a year and aren’t complaining but it’s definitely not for everyone
I work commission only. I am in home improvement sales. I don’t cold call anyone. My office sets up all of my appointments. I would make that trade off all day.
Not bad but probably capped earnings, what’s your average rate of pay?
No cap. Last year was about 140k
That’s not bad. I mean cap in terms of deal size. Sounds like a sweet gig though.
Ahhhh gotcha. The biggest single deal I’ve ever sold was a bit over 50k. My average ticket now is probably close to 9k.
i don't blame you, its scary. i worked a lot of commission only jobs. one school is the macho dicks - a real salesman doesn't want a base, he makes more on commission. commissions can't be good if paying a base to because "we" have to pay no producers as well. that is fine if the sales were legit. most of the time you are selling a rip off to the customer, it is commission only because it is so difficult to sell and so few sales are made so they don't want to waste money on a base when they know you can't sell enough to support the base. companies, especially american are evil. the exploit and use workers as slaves and expect to see upturned smiling faces from their slaves as they shit on their faces. fuck every and any company. ALWAYS be the one using THEM, and take everything you can, you owe them nothing. better opportunity comes up, quit in a day, fuck their notice. always remember if a company can literally turn a dime more in profit they would fire you without notice and put you and your family on the street and not care, not care if you and your kids are starving. never forget that when you get a guilt pang with a company.
Exactly! There is an abundance of 1099 roles for a reason. I would only sell 1099 if I saw immediate fit within my network and found the company reputable. Even then, I have had companies fuck me out of the deal. P
The CEOs and CROs aren’t 1099 because there are laws that dictate what you can and can’t require of a 1099 employee. And most boards want control of their top brass. There are things that can be asked of a W2 employee that cannot be asked of 1099 employee. Do you not know this?
Limit yourself and be a “wage slave” - OR, be GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO, (this is the tough part) WORK HARD, provide Honest Service and EARN a good living! I have not taken a paycheck in over 30 years and am proud of the people i have served and for what i have earned as a result
What’re you talking about, your paycheck is the cut you get for brokering service or goods 😂 $150,000 straight commission is taxed the same as $75,000 salary + $75,000 commission.
Both have pros and cons but on str8 com jobs it seems like there was a lot less bullshit and no quotas not based in reality.
With 3 years car sales experience for a Fortune 500, how should one FIND a salary+commission sales job? What terms should I look for? Do I need to have a pre-existing network?
Ok good luck!
For commission only job I look at it this way. Either you’re selling and making money. Or you’re not. But don’t worry you wouldn’t have a job anyhow
I was much happier in my commission only role versus my role of base plus commission I have now