A sticky SALESman thread

[thefuzz]

I don't know what that means... I think I'll get it if I ask and I'm not greedy. Was just looking for some insight from people who are salary plus commission sales.. thanks for the info though I guess.

 

You just said you don't normally make commissions.

 

Why would they pay you a commission if you didn't have it in writing, and you have delivered the contract?

[SCP]

Ok so got the bid on the project. However apparently my contact doesn't have the authority to spend 300-400k and the project still has to meet approval. My question now is, we don't typically get commission since it's all inside sales. This is my baby and I've been working this lead for three years with smaller projects. How much commission should I ask for profit percentage wise?

If you don't get commission why would you expect it now? Maybe ask for a small finders fee or something. But if you're not a commission based sales organization I doubt they'll just say sure man here's 20%. If you're making a nice salary and benefits then you don't have much leverage. Most commissioned sales people are on the no salary to low/moderate salary scale.

Sent from my iPhizzle while pooping using CarolinaHizzle

[Doyle]

A man can dream can't he?

[toldozer]

We're talking about a small company with this job being about 20% of total company sales last year. If my efforts on this aren't appreciated it'd be pretty clear the company doesn't value me, which I don't think is the case. I'm fairly confident if I go and let them know I think I deserve x percent they'll cut me a check. If I don't ask I won't get it. I just don't want to come across greedy

[Carolina Husker]

You're fuged buddy.

[SCP]

We're talking about a small company with this job being about 20% of total company sales last year. If my efforts on this aren't appreciated it'd be pretty clear the company doesn't value me, which I don't think is the case. I'm fairly confident if I go and let them know I think I deserve x percent they'll cut me a check. If I don't ask I won't get it. I just don't want to come across greedy

Making money is about being greedy. I want to make as much bank as possible. The last thing I'd be worried about is looking greedy. If you think you earned it, try to get I suppose. But if I'm the sales manager I'm saying thanks for the hard work, maybe we can discuss a potential commission plan during your next review. Maybe I'd throw you a small bonus for the hard work and take you to Applebee's for a sammich and a tea.

[thefuzz]

We're talking about a small company with this job being about 20% of total company sales last year. If my efforts on this aren't appreciated it'd be pretty clear the company doesn't value me, which I don't think is the case. I'm fairly confident if I go and let them know I think I deserve x percent they'll cut me a check. If I don't ask I won't get it. I just don't want to come across greedy

 

If you aren't greedy, you won't make it in sales.

 

My boss asked me the other day what I would have told an applicant when asked how much they want to make, and they said, "as long as it's as much as my last position I'm good".  They applicant was making like 35k or so at the last place.

 

I would have told them to GTFO was my response.

 

There is a reason we work differently than others, it's to make more money.  Be greedy, but do the right thing always.

[boo7382]

If you aren't greedy, you won't make it in sales.

 

My boss asked me the other day what I would have told an applicant when asked how much they want to make, and they said, "as long as it's as much as my last position I'm good".  They applicant was making like 35k or so at the last place.

 

I would have told them to GTFO was my response.

 

There is a reason we work differently than others, it's to make more money.  Be greedy, but do the right thing always.

 

Seriously.....why would you even go through the effort of making a change if there was no increase in income?!

 

We are all greedy money grubbing sales people......and that's why we are in sales. period. you take all the risk and deal with all the bullshit and stress because at the end of the day, it pays off (and should pay off well)

[Panthro]

Dunno, I'm a bit more altruistic....aka my comp plan sucks

[boo7382]

Dunno, I'm a bit more altruistic....aka my comp plan sucks

 

Good base at least?

[Panthro]

Not really...by my standards. It's decent but not where it should be if I worked somewhere larger. I like what I do though and they hired me a couple years back when I was needing something more in line with my expertise. I have a certain set of skills :/

 

 

[Hotsauce]

I got a PM regarding how to make yourself more visible to recruiters and hiring managers. I thought I would also include this information on this thread, hopefully it can help you guys as well!

My best advice is this...

Are you on LinkedIn? If not, join.

How does you LinkedIn page look? You want to have a clean page, with your career history, only giving highlights for each company you have worked for.. I.e ABC Company - Territory Sales Rep - 2010 finished #5 (out of 200), 2011 finished #3 (out of 200),

or Presidents Club 2011, Chairmens Club 2012, etc

or Salesman of the month 2012; Jan, Mar, May, Oct, etc

Or 2012 exceeded quota by 32%, etc

Be carful not to be too wordy, my advice would be straight highlight facts, don't worry about the details. You want someone to be able to look you up, see a nice professional picture, and read through your profile in its entirety within :30 secs.

Now that your profile looks good, now is the time to:

Follow companies your are interested in

Link up to managers of companies you want to work for within your territory

Link up with as many recruiters as you can find (don't worry about being shy here, their business is networking). During your link up request, send a message like "hello, I am pursue img vnew opportunities and would like to introduce myself to you..etc".

Join groups that are in the field you are interested in

Doing all of these things makes you visible when hiring managers and recruiters are looking for candidates in your area. The bigger your network of contacts, the more likely you will be found. Remember, this is your online professional resume, keep the fluff out!

[Panthro]

Your boss also sees your activity if connected so when adding a recruiter add people in groups at a time. 

 

My biggest influx of views and interest has come from joining pertinent groups in my industry and actively posting and commenting in them.

[Hotsauce]

Your boss also sees your activity if connected so when adding a recruiter add people in groups at a time.

My biggest influx of views and interest has come from joining pertinent groups in my industry and actively posting and commenting in them.

You should be able to turn off those activity notifications. Just do it in the settings.

Also, who says you have to be linked up to your boss???