Sales People Question

[dirtmaster]

Hey guys

I have a project that i am currently doing the finaly stages of research on before rolling it out.

So basicly, my question is... Would it be easy to find salesmen that will work on a commission only basis? I mean i know the anwser is yes lol but are they easy to find and what are the legal implications?

What % should i give to the sales staff? My "deals" will be worth around the £150 to £300 mark. (it will be the salesmen skills to get the higher figure)

Also, my idea is to go national i.e. selling to differnt parts of the UK. Is it possible to do this effectivly over the phone? I mean can i find effective sales people, who are on commission only to work on phones only?

Cheers in advance
Tony

 

[oldeagleeye]

I thnk that you are going to have a real problem recruiting good free lance salesmen. Most would want £150 -£300 a deal not a percentage of it.

Rob

 

[MH1]

Impossible to say, the OP forgets to mention the product or service involved, the demand, speed of sale etc. A sales person might sell one a day or ten a day.

Salespeople are interested in their overall wages, not percentages on the whole, 1st thing is will they earn enough to live on, then can they earn a good wage for good sales etc.

I have known some guys make £10k a year selling the same item in the same way as guys earning £60-80k a year, the difference is the guys, nothing else. The £60-80k PA guys are hard to find, the £10k PA guys are still hard to find but much more common.

 

[Lime One]

Commission only sales people who can actually do the job are hard to find. We, before selling LimeHR last year, did go down this route and with pretty mixed results. In our view its one of the more expensive ways to get sales delivery, time consuming as the sales people still require the infrastructure ie the marketing, telesales and hot leads for them to convert. We interviewed loads and so very few were imprressive even at interview never mind putting them on the phone or out to clients.

 

[oldeagleeye]

We have had all this so many times on here before especially with web design companies. When they say freelance sales most are usually thinking a cheap way of drumming up new business because they take freelance to mean cold calling.

No promotional material. No expenses just recruit a freelance salesman and he or she will deliver everything on a plate.

What amazes me too is that most again in addition to all that expect the salesman to sell an uncompetitively priced product by simply adding any commission paid to the retail price and I note that the OP takes this view. I quote.

"What % should i give to the sales staff? My "deals" will be worth around the £150 to £300 mark. (it will be the salesmen skills to get the higher figure)"

Now I am going to take a leap now a suggest that this product might be a clone of the Swan Dirtmaster vacumn cleaner. If it is then recruiting salesman is a no brainer let alone going nationwide. It's all be done before including the Kirby which was over £2,000 quid. Who on earth is going to pay for a premium price bagless or any other ooption when your can pick up a decent vac in Argos or any other electrical retailer for under £50 quid.

Be interesting what the OP has to say. I would add however that if not the vac and the steam cleaning process. That is even worse. Typical charges down my way and thems London charges are under £70 for a whole houses not £150 to £300.

Rob

 

[Kernowman]

No promotional material. No expenses just recruit a freelance salesman and he or she will deliver everything on a plate.

Rob

Couldn't agree more.

Whenever someone says "I am looking for a freelance salesperson on a commission only basis" what they actually mean is "I want to abrogate all my responsibility and find someone who will sell the unsellable, with the entire expenses burden shoved onto them, whom I can easily blame and get rid of instantly when it goes pear shaped".

Or, "We tried a website and that didn't work, we tried email and that didn't work, we tried telesales and that didn't work, so let's find a commission only salesman which is bound to work". See my "Zig Zag Sales Plan" post.

 

[Lime One]

I agree, but also the calibre of those wanting to do commission only is variable. Even where this is a proven sales method, in house marketing and they are bolting onto an existing sale team very few candidates were worthy of a 2nd interview.

 

[dirtmaster]

geee! some touch people on this forum! lol take a chill pill guys! i only asked a few simple questions!

anyway, back on subject...

Its nothing to do with carpet cleaning or web sites but good guess lol

Maybe i did ask for the wrong thing, how much for a cold caller? with training given on the product/service that they'll be selling etc etc they'll be given a list of people to call and they do the selling.

p.s. £70 for a full house carpet clean!? thats very cheap... pay penuts get monkeys springs to mind.... I charge atleast £50 a room minumum.

 

[S-Marketing]

geee! some touch people on this forum! lol take a chill pill guys! i only asked a few simple questions!

anyway, back on subject...

Its nothing to do with carpet cleaning or web sites but good guess lol

Maybe i did ask for the wrong thing, how much for a cold caller? with training given on the product/service that they'll be selling etc etc they'll be given a list of people to call and they do the selling.

p.s. £70 for a full house carpet clean!? thats very cheap... pay penuts get monkeys springs to mind.... I charge atleast £50 a room minumum.

If you are cleaning carpets or something similar, you cant afford a decent sales person. Not only will they put a premium on top of your sevice, they will also want to earn more a day than you make doing the carpets.

People on here aren't being touchy, they are providing their opinions.

 

[dirtmaster]

If you are cleaning carpets or something similar, you cant afford a decent sales person. Not only will they put a premium on top of your sevice, they will also want to earn more a day than you make doing the carpets.

People on here aren't being touchy, they are providing their opinions.

mmm well thanks for telling me what i can and cant afford Stretchy

As i said twice on this thread (in my orginal post and on the post above that you quoted from) that this NEW venture and has NOTHING to do with carpet cleaning
I have many ideas on marketing the new business, salespeople ooops my bad! i mean cold callers, will only be one source of lead generation....

Where will i find cold callers? how much roughly should i pay? are they hard to manage? and any other tips and advice would be very appreciated

phew, this is hard work! I'm sure drawing blood from a stone would have been easier lol

 

[S-Marketing]

mmm well thanks for telling me what i can and cant afford Stretchy

As i said twice on this thread (in my orginal post and on the post above that you quoted from) that this NEW venture and has NOTHING to do with carpet cleaning
I have many ideas on marketing the new business, salespeople ooops my bad! i mean cold callers, will only be one source of lead generation....

Where will i find cold callers? how much roughly should i pay? are they hard to manage? and any other tips and advice would be very appreciated

phew, this is hard work! I'm sure drawing blood from a stone would have been easier lol

Apologies, when you said how much you charge to clean carpets, I assumed you clean carpets. Just read your post again and see you said thats unrelated.

I personally would never recommend cold callers, there are much better ways to spend your money.

Give us an idea of what the business does and we can probably be much more helpful.

 

[Kernowman]

mmm well thanks for telling me what i can and cant afford Stretchy

As i said twice on this thread (in my orginal post and on the post above that you quoted from) that this NEW venture and has NOTHING to do with carpet cleaning
I have many ideas on marketing the new business, salespeople ooops my bad! i mean cold callers, will only be one source of lead generation....

Where will i find cold callers? how much roughly should i pay? are they hard to manage? and any other tips and advice would be very appreciated

phew, this is hard work! I'm sure drawing blood from a stone would have been easier lol

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, well you can have three drops from me It would help though is if you could give us an idea about which sector and product you are proposing to sell, because there are a few factors that affect the quality of cold caller you are looking to recruit.

The product to be sold. Is it a hot "must have" item, or a lifestyle product appealing only to a certain sector?

What is your target market and anticipated conversion rate? 1 sale in 5 calls requires a different breed of cold caller to a ratio of 1 sale in a 100 calls.

The level of support you are providing. Are you going to be carrying out product training? Are you giving them data with pre-qualified contacts or a phone book and a dart to throw at it?

All these variables will have an effect on the quality of cold caller and therefore their remuneration.

OR, you can lob an advert on People per hour and see what floats to the surface

 

[patientlady]

Hey guys

Would it be easy to find salesmen that will work on a commission only basis? I mean i know the anwser is yes lol but are they easy to find and what are the legal implications?

What % should i give to the sales staff? My "deals" will be worth around the £150 to £300 mark. (it will be the salesmen skills to get the higher figure)

Cheers in advance
Tony

Hi Tony
To get good 'staff' you have to pay.
How many of your widgets can an (OK )saleperson realistically sell per day/week/month and how much are you willing to pay them per deal. If it equates to a 'realistic wage', then this will be the minimum pay requirement.
Just a very small point i will not be able to apply as I am a woman

 

[gemd89]

Can i have more information, im looking for an opportunity to work from home. I have a house phone and have worked for peugeot and a top law firm in face to face and telesales. I have 5 years experience in face to face sales, high pressured sales, telesales and marketing. I would want around 5-10% of each job booked and would also need a list of prospects to call.

Gemma

 

[Psl]

Can i have more information, im looking for an opportunity to work from home. I have a house phone and have worked for peugeot and a top law firm in face to face and telesales. I have 5 years experience in face to face sales, high pressured sales, telesales and marketing. I would want around 5-10% of each job booked and would also need a list of prospects to call.

Gemma

I will give you job, PM your contact details and I will send you some details.

 

[Aspens Marketing and PR]

Talk to us too Gemma, email [email protected] as we have a current opportunity for some warm calls in professional services.

 

[christian_d]

A commission only salesman will be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Any decent salesperson knows their worth before they even debate attending an interview. It doesn't matter about lead times to closing and being told they can do ten deals per week at £150 commission each. that would just make them think, 'well if thats possible, why isnt he paying a basic with commission on top as it would work out more profitable for him'?

If you want to watch your outlay early doors, your best bet is to find a good saleperson that is willing to work part time and paid with commission on top. If you are doing 'door to door' they would be willing to give it a try after thier full time job finishes in the eves.

And as for getting rid of them quick as another post has suggested.... You wont need to because any decent closer will hand his notice in before you can say 'it takes a while to get into it, have another go next week!'

Hope that helps
Christian

 

[Psl]

A commission only salesman will be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Any decent salesperson knows their worth before they even debate attending an interview. It doesn't matter about lead times to closing and being told they can do ten deals per week at £150 commission each. that would just make them think, 'well if thats possible, why isnt he paying a basic with commission on top as it would work out more profitable for him'?

If you want to watch your outlay early doors, your best bet is to find a good saleperson that is willing to work part time and paid with commission on top. If you are doing 'door to door' they would be willing to give it a try after thier full time job finishes in the eves.

And as for getting rid of them quick as another post has suggested.... You wont need to because any decent closer will hand his notice in before you can say 'it takes a while to get into it, have another go next week!'

Hope that helps
Christian

I have few chocolate fireguards that earn good money as commission only sales people.
The debate on which is best, commission only or salaried sales people will rage on for ever and a day.
It dosen't help that the OP has not stated what the product is that he is selling/about to start selling.

 

[quarterdon]

If you had any confidence in the product and or any financial backing you would simply pay someone.

Commission only = waste of time for everyone because it fails to acknowledge the employer / employee relationship.

 

[christian_d]

I have few chocolate fireguards that earn good money as commission only sales people.

Congrats, you must be the needle in the haystack, but turn down your thermostat, it wont last long.

 

[Psl]

Congrats, you must be the needle in the haystack, but turn down your thermostat, it wont last long.

Not really the needle in the haystack, I just know how to treat them and we are in a niche marketplace. There is a constant recruitment process is place though.

 

[christian_d]

Not really the needle in the haystack, I just know how to treat them and we are in a niche marketplace. There is a constant recruitment process is place though.

Fair cop if its working for you.

I agree with the others though generally, No basic = has to be high commission = decent sales person smells a rat.

but I suppose for you... if it aint broke = don't fix it.

 

[alexlowe]

If i remember rightly Garden Furniture is supplied to Garden Centres by commision only sales people... I remember one guy who had all his contacts in place and once we agreed on his percentage (it was 10% which wasnt high but generous in his favour) he was off and running... came up with a lot of stuff.