Q: I need to tap into “sales” people to discuss how they are paid. I would love to get my salary plus a commission. Our director is willing to agree to a new compensation model if I can provide him with one that is used at another college or the LERN suggested pay model for the “sales” person.
A: This discussion will be a process, so let me start with the various options I see in my travels…
1.Salesperson does more than just sales and is responsible for open enrollment, implementing sales contracts, and so on. In this model less than 25% of time is spent selling, so the salesperson must receive a fair salary for work done, because their is not enough time to earn an equitable salary on commission or a reduced salary plus commission.
2.Salesperson is just involved in contract sales, but is responsible for implementing contracts and possibly other services, such as lining up clients with state funding. In this scenario the salesperson at the best can spend 50% of his/her time selling and bonuses are sometimes given for revenue goals reached.
3.Salesperson just sells so they have time to generate enough sales to truly earn commission dollars. In this scenario the salesperson's salary might be less than what it would be in 1 or 2 above due to the ability to generate commissions.
-Knowing our industry and Rose State, I would suggest number 2 above. I am guessing you are going to end up doing implementation and will not have time to generate (at least at the beginning) lots of commission dollars. Best scenario would be to set a realistic first year goal and earn a commission if you hit it. For example, the goal is $100,000 and if you top $100,000 you get $10,000 and then for every $25,000 more you get $2,500.