Will Salespeople Take a Straight Commission Job?
Will Salespeople Take a Straight Commission Job?
Most who wrestle with this issue are asking the wrong question. The correct question should be, "How can I get good salespeople to work in a straight commission environment?"
And the issue is not straight commission as much as it is how does the strong, new salesperson earn a living while waiting for the checks to begin showing up? To address this issue you must know what your ideal ramp-up time is. My formula for calculating ramp-up time is:
length of your sales cycle + length of your learning curve + 30 days
So if it requires 90 days to teach the new salesperson your business and your sale cycle is another six months, your ramp-up time would be 10 months. That means that for a straight commission plan to work, you must subsidize the new salesperson for the first ten months prior to transitioning that individual over to straight commission.
Will Salespeople Take a Straight Commission Job - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Last week I spoke at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix and at Barton Creek Country Club in Austin, TX. I don't recall whether it was Phoenix or Austin where I was asked this question but the question is a good one.
Most who wrestle with this issue are asking the wrong question. The correct question should be, "How can I get good salespeople to work in a straight commission environment?"
And the issue is not straight commission as much as it is how does the strong, new salesperson earn a living while waiting for the checks to begin showing up? To address this issue you must know what your ideal ramp-up time is. My formula for calculating ramp-up time is:
length of your sales cycle + length of your learning curve + 30 days
So if it requires 90 days to teach the new salesperson your business and your sale cycle is another six months, your ramp-up time would be 10 months. That means that for a straight commission plan to work, you must subsidize the new salesperson for the first ten months prior to transitioning that individual over to straight commission.
Will Salespeople Take a Straight Commission Job - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Understanding the Sales Force - Objective Management Group, Inc. is the pioneer and industry leader in sales force evaluations and sales candidate screening. Spearheaded by leading sales industry expert, Dave Kurlan, Objective Management Group, Inc. can help you measure sales effectiveness, execution and potential.
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