How to Transition to Commission | Support Your Sales Team Now

Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Ask Evan. Today I'm going to answer a question from one of my Facebook readers, Christian, who runs a company and is working with salespeople and is asking me about compensation. So he's finding that the people who he pays just salary to are not meeting their sales quotas and are not doing a good job. And he's wondering if he should move to a commission type of model. So Christian, to help answer your question, good salespeople usually do like to run on commission. They're usually very competitive people, they like closing the deals, and they know that the more they close, the more money they're gonna make. So you definitely wanna have a commission component built in there. The caveat there is it often takes people a little bit of time to get used to selling your product. So you wanna have a buffer in there where they can take a draw, still make money at the beginning, and you know, not be out looking for other ways to make money because they can't sell your product. So it might take 3 months, it might take 6 months, just depends on how long your sales cycle is. You want to make sure you're supporting them through that period so that when they get to, you know, that commission model, they're able to make the money. So I'd have a commission model, show them how much they can make, but be patient with them and let them know that there's a ramp-up period that you're going to support them through so that they're not out, you know, on the street trying to find other ways to make money, you know, until they can ramp up their sales. The next thing is I'd also make sure that I'm training them, so you're giving them all the resources that they need to be successful. It's not just, "Hey, go out and sell." You know, you're giving them a model on how to do it. Hopefully you've done it yourself before, you have some experience you can help them with, or you have a really good salesman already on staff who can help part of the training as well. So you're helping support them, you're championing them, you're believing in them, and not just saying, "Go out and do it," without giving them any experience. And I'd also try to give them leads as much as possible. So if people are contacting you by phone or email, on your website, or Facebook, or however they're contacting you, try to give your salespeople some leads as well so it's not only up to them to go out and bring in new leads. If they see, especially at the beginning, that they can close a couple sales, it gives them some motivation, inspiration to want to continue, want to do better, want to go and close more sales. You know, salespeople, there's Often riding highs and riding lows. You want to get them to those highs as quickly as you can, and there's nothing that makes a salesperson more high than closing a sale. So try to get them some warm leads as well, support their development, especially at the beginning, so they get used to selling the product and know how to do it, and they're gonna support you longer term. So I would say move to a commission model, but just with the caveat of giving them that base at the beginning to support them through the transition period. And then try to give them as much training and support and leads as possible to make sure they're gonna be successful and be happy and help you grow your business for the long term. So hopefully that helped Christian. For those watching, if you like the video, please give it a thumbs up below. I always appreciate those. And I'd love to hear what you have to think. If you wanna leave a comment under the video, if you have an extra thought for Christian or if you have a question of your own, feel free to leave a comment under this video. And we'll see you on the next episode.