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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
Recruiting & Staffing
recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
Exchange ideas about sourcing, screening, interviewing, finding passive candidates, measuring your results, and more.
Greetings everyone!
My agency is having a problem hiring commission-based sales agents. If we do get some, retention time is very limited.
Commissions and incentives are quite good but applicants ar
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Forums » Topic Forums » Recruiting & Staffing » recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 8/29/2006 3:55 AM EDT
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Posts: 10
First: 7/13/2006 Last: 9/1/2006 |
Greetings everyone!
My agency is having a problem hiring commission-based sales agents. If we do get some, retention time is very limited. Commissions and incentives are quite good but applicants are mostly looking for jobs offering basic pay. Pls. help! |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 9/1/2006 7:14 AM EDT
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Posts: 55
First: 11/10/2005 Last: 12/1/2006 |
It's all about job fit. Use a good assessment to help you identify candidates that fit the pattern of successful commission based sales people. I sent you some info on this. |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 9/1/2006 9:23 AM EDT
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Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Your post suggests that your sales positions are incentive and commission compensated only. Do you have any kind of draw, either recoverable or not, that provides for any kind of income stream for the reps? How long does it take for a rep to generate a sustainable income flow? |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 9/1/2006 11:33 AM EDT
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Posts: 10
First: 7/13/2006 Last: 9/1/2006 |
Greetings, Nork!
We do extend daily allowances to newly-accepted sales people but most of them are unable to produce satisfactory results. The turn-around time usually takes two weeks for a sales rep to earn his first commission. We even have products that can guarantee commissions in just 9 working days. Perhaps it is in the selection of candidates where we have to make improvements. To all, Thanks for taking interest in my topic. Any suggestion would be most welcome... |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 9/1/2006 11:40 AM EDT
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Posts: 10
First: 7/13/2006 Last: 9/1/2006 |
[quote]
On 2006-09-01 11:14, robcam wrote: It's all about job fit. Use a good assessment to help you identify candidates that fit the pattern of successful commission based sales people. I sent you some info on this. [/quote] Thanks Rob. I'm looking forward to sampling it in our next hiring schedule. |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 4/12/2007 2:50 PM EDT
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Posts: 4
First: 4/12/2007 Last: 4/12/2007 |
[quote]
On 2006-08-29 07:56, toybitz wrote: Greetings everyone! My agency is having a problem hiring commission-based sales agents. If we do get some, retention time is very limited. Commissions and incentives are quite good but applicants are mostly looking for jobs offering basic pay. Pls. help! [/quote] Hello, What about offering a retention bonus of an attractive amount if they can stay with the firm for say, 2 years? |
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recruiting and retaining commission-based employees
posted at 4/16/2007 2:15 PM EDT
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Posts: 13
First: 7/29/2005 Last: 8/9/2007 |
Fully commissioned sales reps are a rare breed...
I believe selection is a big part as already noted...if you're looking for people that aren't currently working. But that's just the 'tip of the iceberg.' My best recommendation - can only happen if you've got complete executive buy-in ... and I'm talking about the owners of the business. Why? Because the #1 - ABSOLUTE best way to find 'proven', top-notch sales reps is to STEAL them from your competition. An acquaintance of mine figured out how to do this, and he took a business from 12 million to 1.6 billion in revenue in 6 years. He ended up selling the business a few years later and retiring early a multi-millionaire. Want to know how he did it? Step #1 - Offer Some Form of Ownership - Bill Gates made a splash with this...today, Starbucks is the shining example of it's effectiveness. But you don't just 'give it away' you have to include step #2... 2. Set 'Hot-Shot's Only' Stretch Goals - Flip your org. chart when you do this. Most companies let sales reps set goals, then it goes to district managers, then to the regional folks, and finally to corporate. Guess what? Every step of the way, people are 'low-balling' their goals to make sure they meet them at the end of the year. Don't do this...instead... Managers need to set goals for reps to get their 'piece of the pie'. Here's how it works... When Johnny Sales Rep comes to you and says, "I think I can sell 1 million in business this year." You take a long hard look at Johnny's track record, and his potential and you make set his goals for him based upon if Johnny can meet his full potential. Make sense? Here's how it sounds. "That's great Johnny...your goal for this year is 3 million. I really believe you have the potential to meet that goal, but you'll have to really bust your a**. I'll do everything possible to help you reach that goal....good luck." Does that sound too gutsy? Because it takes a very special leader to do it, someone who really has a handle on human potential and someone who 'really cares' if their employee self-actualize. Step 3 - Make sure the rest of your 'total rewards/compensation' - based upon stretch goals - destroys anything your competition is offering. Step 4 - Find out who the 'hot-shot' sales reps are at your competitors and start calling them, offering them opportunities. Here's how it will 'play out.' If the owners will give up 25% of their stock to the employees that reach their stretch goals, the remaining 75% will double in value. It will happen quicker than you think too, because these people will already have clients that they can carry over to your company. You'll have a committed, passionate, group of sales reps who are top-performers, with great reputations in the industry. I know this sounds like a HUGE endeavor, but once you've sold the owners, it's a piece of cake. Mike Nacke www.mikenacke.com P.S. - Sales reps LOVE getting calls from competitors about a job. It flattering, so don't be afraid to make those calls. P.P.S - If you can't sell the owners, don't give up. Let me know and I'll give you another avenue to meeting your goals. |
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