Straight Commission Jobs

[rainman]

Looking to change jobs soon and the two I am currently looking at, are straight commission. Current job is 50/50 and somewhat sceptical about the change in career. Anyone on here getting paid straight commission? Any advice?

[BSully828]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

Be prepared to work your ass off. These jobs are numbers driven and if you aren't putting up numbers, you're gone. There's very little loyalty, and when there is it's usually reserved for whomever is hot at the moment. Your co-workers will cut you at the knees without batting an eye and you'll have to do the same if you want to succeed. Oh and be prepared for a conference call every week from some bigwig saying "The sky is falling! Our goals aren't being met! Everyone needs to work twice as hard!!" Watch Glengarry Glen Ross or Boilerroom for a little taste of what the atmosphere is like.

If you are totally driven by money, willing to work loooong hours, and are able to completely commit yourself to a job - you will be rewarded big time. If not, well best of luck to you. What kind of job is it?

[rainman]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

Sounds exactly like what I am doing now. Currently managing a wireless retail store and pretty much live here. Just took a $10,000/year pay cut and constantly on calls as mentioned above. Don't mind working long hours and dedication is not a problem at all. I'm the type of person that would cut my arm off, if it meant I would be successful. The jobs in question are radio ad sales and a financial advisor position.

[Miguel]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

glengarry glen ross .... what a cast

everybody is a whore , yes theres no loyalty whatsoever

[Garrick]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

i would never consider a job on straight commision unless i was desperate and/or the market is in dire need of the service/product. just my opinion though... there are no guarantees with 100% commision. and i don't like that one bit.

[Miguel]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

^^ depends on what ur selling

[Garrick]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

that's why i said "and/or the market is in dire need of the service/product"

i'm not a good salesman so i know i wouldn't do well in a 100% commision job.

[FM]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

if I had to choose between the 2, I'd take the financial adviser position...at least there you'd have a chance to build your own client?le.

Radio blows these days as is...selling advertising is even worse unless you're a natural at sales...

[shosh]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

straight commission is where its at. in any job you have a floor and a roof. with a salary job the floor is set so you are guaranteed $ but so is the roof. on 50/50 the floor is lower and your roof is higher, but with straight commission, there is no floor and no roof either. its all about hard work and motivation, but there is no limit how much you can make. i will never go back to sallary because i couldnt never get paid enough, sans some big time ceo job.

[rainman]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

^^ my thoughts exactly. thanks for everyone's input.

[hhl]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

Oh dear god no! I most certainly wouldn't do that. Especially if you work in advertising, as the revenues on that field are down in general.

[Miroslav]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

I suppose it really depends on your preference for risk. I tend to approach straight commission offers skeptically, and I make no qualms about admitting that much of that is due to my personality. First, I'm assuming that these are both is a reputable companies - there are plenty of shady straight commission types of outfits out there that are not much more than scams for the gullible - i.e., "buy this starter kit from us and you can make $50,000 a month from your own home!!"

That aside, if I was in your shoes I would want to establish a realistic assessment of the risk that I would be undertaking. Can you answer these questions:

1.What's the length and frequency of the average sales cycle?

2.How much on average can you expect to make on a NET basis (don't forget whatever sales/job related expenses you may have to cover) per sale?

3.What level of business will you have to establish and maintain over time in order to maintain your desired minimum standard of living?

4.How long is it likely to take you to establish your book of business?

5.If this company isn't even providing you with any support while you're coming up the learning curve, do you have enough saved up to support yourself during this time?

6.What kind of support, if any is this company willing to provide to you to help you succeed (training, etc.)?

7.What's the general historical distribution of outcomes at this company (i.e., frequency and degree of success)?

8.What specific characteristics and actions have differentiated the winners from the losers at this company?


Consider this under a variety of scenarios - particularly "slow/worst case". Try to do your best to gather info that represents the entire reality and don't just talk to the one recruitment hotshot with a boat and a BMW.

If you can't answer all of these questions, you probably don't know what you're getting yourself into. If you can, then you're probably well-informed of the risks and ready to go - godspeed!

[floridaorange]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

I suppose it really depends on your preference for risk. I tend to approach straight commission offers skeptically, and I make no qualms about admitting that much of that is due to my personality. First, I'm assuming that these are both is a reputable companies - there are plenty of shady straight commission types of outfits out there that are not much more than scams for the gullible - i.e., "buy this starter kit from us and you can make $50,000 a month from your own home!!"

That aside, if I was in your shoes I would want to establish a realistic assessment of the risk that I would be undertaking. Can you answer these questions:

1.What's the length and frequency of the average sales cycle?

2.How much on average can you expect to make on a NET basis (don't forget whatever sales/job related expenses you may have to cover) per sale?

3.What level of business will you have to establish and maintain over time in order to maintain your desired minimum standard of living?

4.How long is it likely to take you to establish your book of business?

5.If this company isn't even providing you with any support while you're coming up the learning curve, do you have enough saved up to support yourself during this time?

6.What kind of support, if any is this company willing to provide to you to help you succeed (training, etc.)?

7.What's the general historical distribution of outcomes at this company (i.e., frequency and degree of success)?

8.What specific characteristics and actions have differentiated the winners from the losers at this company?


Consider this under a variety of scenarios - particularly "slow/worst case". Try to do your best to gather info that represents the entire reality and don't just talk to the one recruitment hotshot with a boat and a BMW.

If you can't answer all of these questions, you probably don't know what you're getting yourself into. If you can, then you're probably well-informed of the risks and ready to go - godspeed!

I've set it before and I'll say it again, miroslav your a smart one dude...this is the kind of input you could pay someone for, seriously.

Next I'm betting the sightless could shed some intelligent light on the subject...personally I work for one of the largest commercial real estate investment firms nationally so I could write an essay on this topic, but miroslav does an excellent job of covering the main points at the starting point. I'll chime in once you've been there a year. Shosh is right as well, we're on the same page.

[DJJEFFJONES]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

Hero to Zero!

Been riding the rollercoaster for several years now... wouldn't go back though even during the rough times.

Well unless I was getting a huge base

Good luck!

[floridaorange]

Re: Straight Commission Jobs

What is hero to zero supposed to mean jeffjones?