sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information New Sales Person

I will be looking for a sales person shortly.
Any suggestions on how to compensate a Telecom sales person?
Thanks

We pay a salary for a 3 month ramp up period (90 Day Evaluation)and then pay a commission only. You will have to figure out what is best for your business as far as commission amount and salary for the sales rep. If the sales rep is not progressing by that time he probably won't be able to cut it. The last one we hired we extended the ramp up period because we had him training on a lot of the new systems and it took time from his selling however he learned the equipment much better and he had been doing a good job selling during that time(or we would have let him go). You will have to monitor your hired sales people carefully they will suck your cash like a vacuum if not careful. We have been more succesfull training telcom to sales reps and not hiring experienced telcom reps. Sale reps are high maintenance, I wish you luck.

Figure out how much it takes someone to live in NYC considering rent, food, transportation, and a little extra.

If your new employee isn't going to make that much they won't stay. When I first got into this business, I had a draw against commissions. The draw was subsistance to keep you going because most people are not going to close sales in the first week as most people buying systems have a lead time of a month or better.

No one wants to work at subsistance but that at least gives them a chance to see if they can make it with you.

I was one of three people selling for the first company I was with and I was doing 60% of the sales. The boss saw that I was making great commissions and cut my commissions in half thinking he could put more snow up his noze.

I was gone the next day and figured if I could be so good for him, I could be that good for myself. I was. If you get someone who is doing very good, leave them alone, let them make a bunch of money because they are putting bread on your table, not the other way around.

The deal I had was a minimum price on each piece of equipment and anything over that was mine. Needless to say I didn't want to lose one by pricing too high, but there were obvious times when I knew I would be doing hand holding and put more in the pot telling them why.

If they are selling a T-1/PRI, give them a third of the commission as long as they are with you. Those little things add up and encourage a person to stay.

I would have them pass a drug test, you don't want a liability on your staff. I've seen what it can do and if someone wants to smoke weed, then let them work for someone else.

Especially in the beginning, try to pass some leads, all cold calling makes a person cold. You might pick up a membership with Toastmasters, etc. as it is not a lot of money, but can bring in leads.

It wouldn't hurt to have that person go out on an install and see what people are actually going to do once a system is sold. Sales people have more respect for the grunts when they see the sweat coming down.

You might want to have a two day period where they go out with you on sales and let them see if this is what they want to do. It isn't easy to keep good people without paying them well and giving them positive feedback.

I very well remember the Monday morning that I brought in three contracts and the boss grabbed them and I asked for a perk, his reaction was, "You're just in sales." That was a big hurt, but not as big as when he came back and rode me up one side and down the other because one contract was not signed. That was the beginning of the end, when you are 33% of the sales staff and bring in 60% of the sales and get yelled at, its all over. Treat your salespeople as if they are making you successful because they are.

Just food for thought.

Thanks for the help, please keep them coming.

Good sales people cost and demand too much. Not-so-good sales people make too many mistakes, and end up costing more.

Until you get that big where you have lots of extra money to throw around, you should really think hard about hiring someone in such a position. You need to be prepared to pay for their full salary with zero income produced for at least 90 days. That's the complimentary "ramp-up" time. It usually ends up being six months, if you can afford to keep them that long.

If they come to you with a list of prospects, don't hire them. They just stole them from their previous employer, as in prospects they were paid to cultivate. Now, on the other hand, if they came from a non-competitive business, such as a CLEC or cable TV operator, prospect lists are OK to accept.

That's where I would go; with ex-CLEC or cable sales reps. They (should) know the phone business and the problems with phone carriers.

That's about all I can think of. Just be careful!

Your three minutes are up. Please deposit twenty-five cents for more boring information.

Thanks again, keep them coming.

Treat your sales people like gold....Why not, they don't cost you a dime. Your customers are paying their wages. That is if they are selling. If they are not get rid of them and get someone that can sell. We do Salary (modest) plus commission on gross. Some companies do commission on profit. Also I recommend using a headhunter if your guys/gals are going to have 50k plus/month quotas. Why waste the time and money on a unnone during the ramp-up period.

But your sales people do deserve respect for what they do, but they are high maintenance...Kind of like a wife in many ways.

Hang on I think mine just told me I will be sleeping on the couch again.

Good luck.

There are good sales people in this business. My best salesman did not even realize he was one until I showed him that he was. I feel that a good sales person in this business must have at least a minimal tech back ground. The biggest backfires out there are to try and do damage control after a system is installed and the customer was told it will do things and expand (Cadillac) when it (Neon) will not. Trying to fulfill unreasonable expectations can kill a small company. Now, not all technicians make good salesmen but when one does it is an extremely hard combination to beat.

This is a tough subject. I have been in business almost five years and have gone through at least 5 salespeople...of which only one was any good and the rest ranged from poor to downright horrible. It is kind of a catch 22 - to get a good one you have to pay a decent base salary, mileage and cell phone then you have health insurance and all of the other costs and this adds up quickly. This is fine as long as they are selling...otherwise it is a big nut to carry. Then realize that you will need to be "managing/motivating" them on an ongoing basis to insure productivity. A couple of bad months can cost you $10K plus in a heartbeat. Another thing to consider is what if any damage will occur when they leave. I had a guy leave, take all sorts of info and go to a competitor which i can tell you is an unpleasant thing. As it stands now i am thinking about another salesperson but not sure i want to pull the trigger..the straight commission thing sounds good. For those of you who do straight commission what type of percentage are you paying??

All great words of wisdom. Please send more.
Thanks
Ken