Sell More - Make More

What a concept. Sell more and make more money.

My first real sales job was selling medical supplies to doctors. It was a straight commission job that offered a salary for 90 days and then a draw against commission. That suited me just fine. In fact, when I received the offer I went home and told my wife “You won’t believe this. If I sell more I make more money!” Holy cow. I couldn’t wait to get in the territory and earn. I hit the ground running and made a great living.

Most companies that I deal with have some form of performance incentive in their sales compensation plans.

The primary two companies that I regularly consult with have different, but effective, commission plans.

The first offers a base salary and commission on every sale. The base is enough to get by on but the combination of the base plus commissions make the performing salespeople very well compensated. The catch is that the salespeople have to sell more to earn more. The irony of it is that their job is to sell. That is why there are employed. If they do their job they are well paid. If not, not so much.

So, sure enough, one of the salesmen just wasn’t performing and complained about his income. When we tried to work with him and help him close more business he abruptly quit for a “better job” and more money. I am guessing that his job search began when we took notice of his poor performance, kindly confronted him and thus triggered his exit decision.

Now, fast forward two months. He decided that he had made a bad decision. He realized that he had walked away from a great opportunity and asked to come back. Bringing him back didn’t make sense. He couldn’t close business. He completed a lot of sales activities resulting in few sales for the company.

A lesson to be learned is that not every salesperson is created the same. Some “get it” while others do not, and all points in between. Selling is not for everyone. The man I have mentioned has a great personality, has a good work ethic, is intelligent and has all of the tools to succeed but probably needs to get out of sales and get into something more aligned with his abilities.

I have never heard of a company telling a salesperson to “slow down, you are booking too much business”. That will never happen. I also know that companies are delighted to cut big commission checks to honor sales accomplishments. As sales and profits grow, so does the company.

The bottom line is that salespeople have dominion over their income. Compensation plans vary but one thing is certain. If you sell more you will earn more. It is fair to employee and employer alike and it is the truth.