sales people

refco

is it possible to hire a sales person on a comission only basis someone that will make contacts within a specified area and sell both products and contracts on behalf of a company.
If so has anyone used someone like this
is it an effective way of making sales
what kind of comission would you be expected to pay for that service

jetsonx

refco wrote: »

is it possible to hire a sales person on a comission only basis someone that will make contacts within a specified area and sell both products and contracts on behalf of a company.
If so has anyone used someone like this
is it an effective way of making sales
what kind of comission would you be expected to pay for that service

Read: I want somebody to do my dirty work while I do not even have enough
confidence in my own product to pay somebody a wage.

tombull82

jetsonx wrote: »

Read: I want somebody to do my dirty work while I do not even have enough
confidence in my own product to pay somebody a wage.

Not completely True, depends on the set up really.

I know a guy who installs Sky TV.
He has 2 people working for him doing installations along with him.

He then has 2 other people working on commission only selling the contracts.

I believe they are both happy with the agreement.

So as said. Depends on the Product / Agreement.

bungler

jetsonx wrote: »

Read: I want somebody to do my dirty work while I do not even have enough
confidence in my own product to pay somebody a wage.

Pile of Sh1te

Loads of big companies pay commission only such as Eircom,Airtricity,Energia,Flogas and nearly every utility broker in Ireland . So does this mean that all these companies have no confidence in their products?

I hate posters like you who always have to have some smart remark to a post. The OP asked for advice not some limp wristed clown waffling about confidence.

refco

first off i have plenty confidence in the products i supply and more so i have confidence in my ability to maintain and service any equipment that i would be looking after on a service or maintaince contract
My problem is i am not a great not even a good sales person and more to the point i dont have the cash flow to risk employing someone full time who says they are great at sales
all this is a new area for me because up to recently other companies sold the equipment and contracts and i was brought in as a sub contracror to carry out there installs and service the equipment for them so now i have to take a new approach in areas i am unfamilier with

Dutchie

jetsonx wrote: »

Read: I want somebody to do my dirty work while I do not even have enough
confidence in my own product to pay somebody a wage.

Many companies both large and small employ sales personnel on a commission only basis.
Is your company B2B or B2C? I would not recommend employing a sales person on a commission-only basis operating in the B2B arena as they need to build a synergistic relationship with your customer.

You pay peanuts; you get monkeys!

jetsonx

Dutchie wrote: »

You pay peanuts; you get monkeys!

refco, Dutchie has nailed it here.

No matter how bad this economy gets, quality salespeople will not work on a
non-commission basis. (and I include people from less developed countries here).Everybody wants the certainty of a wage at the end of the week. Sure, you will probably get people who will work for you on this basis, but only to tide them over for a couple of weeks and then will leave. This will lead to a situation whereby you are continually looking for new staff and continually training them. Big time drain.

Part of owning a business is taking a risk. If you are not prepared to take the risk of having salespeople as a fixed cost (or part fixed-cost + part commission), then you should investigate other sales channels such as online.

jaloppy

Dutchie wrote: »

Many companies both large and small employ sales personnel on a commission only basis.
Is your company B2B or B2C? I would not recommend employing a sales person on a commission-only basis operating in the B2B arena as they need to build a synergistic relationship with your customer.

You pay peanuts; you get monkeys!

Dutchie. I totally agree with your post. A genuine sales person has confidence and ability to contact and build a relationship with potential and existing customers. Generally people who are employed on a commission only basis tend to hang around for a very short while and have no particular interest in the product or service they are promoting, at the end of the day they just see a quick buck to be made.

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys! (Quote)

TheInquisitor

What is it that your doing?

I know reps that get 2.5% of any sales but thats with a well established company that has lots of customers and a strong brand so your % would definitely have to be higher than this. Also your Rep would not just be working for you. He would be working for between 5 and 10 other companies in order to generate a living wage