Hiring Outside Sales Reps

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What is the best way to attract reputable sales reps for a commissioned position? We are looking to hire about half a dozen reps for a 4 county area..which breaks down to 1 rep for each heavily commercial area.

We propose to offer a 30% commission rate for each deal..many will have recurring revenue. I understand they only get paid based on performance but is there a quota they should be held to..or an average they should meet over 90 days?

Interested in hearing the different thoughts.
#offline marketing #hiring #reps #sales
  • Tough, as most really good sales reps are already snatched up or doing their own sales.

    The ones available, you would have to invest some time to get them trained up, or they would walk after the first 30 days (Lack of cash flow on their part).

    A good salesmen knows they are good, and has options.

    Pay a safety net base wage, would be attractive and possibly net you some talent to mold.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • Be more specific...

      Reps to just cold call? Sell services locally? Keep in mind you are hiring people to represent your company in the community. Training will be key.

      What's your current cash flow situation?

      Just because you are paying them 100% commission, doesn't mean there aren't other employee expenses you will have to incur.

      Research how insurance companies and financial companies recruit, train, and retain their advisors/agents. Their strategies can be used across multiple industries. They have also been doing it for over 100 years.
    • Fishing has it nailed. My background has been in the very competitive specialty chemical selling space. That's exactly how all of the companies did it. Start with a small draw, $500 per week and keep a close watch on the new employee for the first 3 to 6 months. If they aren't bringing on new accounts, cut bait and bring in the next one. There will be a lot of attrition with this method however.
  • I cannot seem to find any quality sales reps without offering a base. I know they are out there, I just haven't found any good ones! If you figure this out, please do share!
    • [1] reply
    • That strikes me as so strange because someone who knew they were stellar wouldn't insist on a base.
      • [3] replies
  • Cant be anything much more competitive than chemical sells.

    Its a commodity, pretty much a set price.

    Tough.

    Have an old buddy not into IM who just got hired as a regional salesman for a Chemlight company, starting at 60G a Year.

    60G = Selling Chemlights

    But I helped turn him into a chem light selling ninja.
  • The only thing you need to do is pick up Chet Holmes "The Ultimate Sales Machine" and read his chapter on hiring top-gun talent.

    He explains everything from writing the for-hire ad, through the interview process, all the way to managing the top-gun's expectations for maximum performance.
    • [1] reply
    • Sounds like you read that chapter, why not just share what you learned?

      My thoughts on it are to qualify them out during the interview process just like I do when finding clients.

      As mentioned earlier the real closers know they don't need a base and aren't interested in having one. Yes many will disagree but to each his own.

      • [2] replies
  • Outside sales to pre qualified leads for online advertising on a local news website as well as local coupons..to start ..there'd also be cold calling based on a list of potential clients they'd look to secure
  • Are you hiring them as employees or as contractors?
  • Contracted salespeople sometimes called 1099 Salespeople are their own business. Think Avon consultants. There are rules but beyond the rules they work how they want and when they want. But they have taxes and expenses that eat into what they make.

    Employees you have more control over but you have other costs like payroll tax, unemployment tax, insurance, and etc that you need to pay. I would say expect an employee to cost at least 110% of what you are paying them directly. If you pla to have more benefits it might even got up to 140% or more.
  • Thank you for the replies and discussion. We're looking at if different hiring practices and are exploring commissioned reps. Not sure what avenue we' ll ultimately take but this has been an informative look at it through others eyes.
  • I actually bought that book based on the reccomendation here. Enjoying it so far.
  • Time To Hire specializes in commission-only outside salespeople, have you tried them? Hire Commission Based Sales Reps in Two Days Hire Commission Sales Reps in 24 Hours - Time To Hire Corporation
    • [1] reply
    • I've had clients use them and another service that say they expressly provide commission salespeople. Poor results. TTH did actually get us some OK candidates, but not as many as they promised. It's a high investment, too. But at least they got some results. The other company was a complete waste of time and money.

      2013 was the absolute worst in two decades that I've seen for attracting commission salespeople. You used to be able to put out CL ads and get responses. Now, nuthin'. It was better in 2008 after the crash! I think people have become much more cautious.
      • [1] reply
  • A draw instead of a base pay is much better than just paying out a salary. Instead of reducing the commissions in exchange for giving a base pay you can offer a draw of a few hundred bucks against their future commissions to give them some weekly cashflow until the commissions roll in.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • The market is FLOODED with commission only positions. Why would a good sales person take a chance on your company for no guaranteed pay? They would have to go weeks without a paycheck in order to get trained and complete a sales cycle.

    As with most things, you get what you pay for. Talent is one of those things
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    Hiring Outside Sales Reps

    What is the best way to attract reputable sales reps for a commissioned position? We are looking to hire about half a dozen reps for a 4 county area..which breaks down to 1 rep for each heavily commercial area. We propose to offer a 30% commission rate for each deal..many will have recurring revenue. I understand they only get paid based on performance but is there a quota they should be held to..or an average they should meet over 90 days?