by Arnold Nadler

Created on: February 13, 2008

Do You Believe Salary Has No Place In A Sales Environment?

I am old school business person who believes salary has no place in a sales environment. I suppose the reason any company has a salary in a sales atmosphere with a small commission is their employees not willing to work strictly on commission.

I remember back in the eighties and nineties interviewing people for a commission sales job, selling a product that every business used and needed. It was a twenty hour week with very high commission rate, two sales a week would equal in dollars a whole traditional forty hour work week. My average sales person was selling five to eight deals a week, earning on average $800.00/week. The majority of applicants were afraid of commission wanting a salary instead. I found it shocking because they knew it was a sales job they were applying for. True sales people love the challenge of closing deals, like being self reliant, making their hours and earning a way above average income.

I presume many companies experienced these types of situations, figured out a ways to give people a salary, and reduce their labor costs at the same time. In business it is give the people what they want, if salary is what the masses want, then so be it.

Presently we have a new job title for sales person; it is called Customer service representative. It is fantastic for the companies because not only does an employee deal with customers concerns, but also the person is responsible to up sell or offer new programs. They get their salary and some kind of additional bonus for most up sells in a team, maybe a free meal, coffee, or ice cream sandwiches.

There are still sales professionals today who would never agree to have a salary. As an example, real estate agents making their fortunes selling homes, do you think they would trade commission for salary, and small bonus? When slow times will come, they bank enough money to ride the storm.
In my opinion there is nothing like sales, the feeling of educating and selling someone on a product they will use or profit from. In today's world there are the same risks in sales jobs as a salary job. With so many closures and layoffs there is a very short lifespan in the job market, living paycheck to pay check leaves no fat for the lean times. In commissioned sales you have an opportunity to make real money, live a decent life, and like I said before bank enough to wait out the storm.

If the backbone of any country is small businesses growing into large ones, then we need to appreciate the owner who took the risk, and the salesperson that helped put them on the map through promoting and selling their goods and services.

If you are a person who has been considering leaving your dead end job for a life as a commissioned sales person, once you make your first sale, you'll never look back.

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