There are those of us in the sales profession who get paid only by commission. If we don't sell, we don't get paid, so there is a bit more pressure to produce. I've worked in various kinds of pay situations, which include commissions and a draw, a salary plus commission, salaries that increase as production numbers go up, and of course, the 100% straight commission scenario.
People who work on "full commission" are a bit different than most others. When you speak to these people you notice that there is a totally alternative attitude. It's almost like a financial version of one of the danger acts you see at the circus or carnival. To say they are "all in" in an understatement.
At the same time, they may have a support system in place. Perhaps a spouse who works and can assist with paying the bills when sales are slow. Or they may have some sort of passive income, like rental properties. Those kinds of safety nets provide some stability, as well as taking some of the pressure off of the sales person.
There are two schools of thought regarding this support system. The first is that if the sales rep is under a lot of pressure to produce, they will work harder. This may have worked for others but it never seemed to work for me.
I know a young man who had been a financial advisor with a large national brokerage. His bosses encouraged him to spend money on things like expensive cars and clothes, with their logic being that he would "buckle down" and work more, just to pay his new bills.
This guy crumbled under the pressure of it all and, without getting into all of the details, ended up a hot mess. He liked to tell us, "My bosses did this to me." I think at some point in his brain he actually believed it.
The other philosophy is that if a sales person isn't under a lot of pressure, he or she can relax, which puts the buyer at ease, resulting in a sale. I personally like this and have had great success when I do some contract work on occasion. Getting paid a set daily fee plus a per diem for meals is a nice change of pace, and the end result is that I produce just as much, if not more, because I don't need to be "salesy", but instead it feels like I'm just having a conversation with someone.
Being able to take that "I'm going to get paid whether you buy or not" attitude into a full commission sales meeting can help you tremendously. When I was in college there was a shoe store across the street from campus that stayed busy all day long. I struck up a conversation with one of the guys working there and asked him how they did so much business.
"I tell people that I'm not on commission, and that I'm going to get paid either way," he said. "When people think there is no incentive for me to push a product, they trust me to make good suggestions, which increases my add on sales too."
He added, "I get a monthly bonus based on my sales, so I do have an incentive to sell. But I'm still being truthful when I say I'm not receiving a commission." He winked as if to let me in on his secret. I promised not to let the cat out of the bag.
So how are you paid? Do you relish the additional pressure of being a "full commission" kind of person or would you rather have a base salary or other safety net at your disposal. Let us know by commenting below.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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