What is Your Current Sales Pay Plans?
My first outside sales pay plan was commission only. No base, no draw, just commission. If I sold, I made money. If not, …. It was a great learning experience. It proved the Tom Hopkins quote, “In sales, there is no ceiling for how much you can earn. Of course, there is no floor either.”
Learn How to Sell
Sales was not a new endeavor for me, but this was my first time where it determined whether I made money. The first few months were tough, but I grew to enjoy the pay plan over time.
I learned to sell using Zig Ziglar’s “Automobile University.” The library was full of cassette tapes at the time, and my first was Tom Hopkin’s “How to Master the Art of Selling.” It was the beginning of my Master’s Degree in self-learned selling.
Next up was Brian Tracy’s “Psychology of Selling.” Then Michael Pink’s “Selling among Wolves.” I was beginning to love the art of selling. And my numbers showed it.
My next sales job was a draw against commission. The draw had a three-month free run, after which you should be earning more than the draw. IF NOT, you went into the hole with the company until you did. I never got into the hole with that incentive.
Then the same company changed the pay plan to be a base salary + commission. The base was small, but the commission was generous. Life was good.
More Pay Plans
As time passed, I noticed that pay plans continued to change. Here is what I can currently identify in pay plans.
- Salary Only
- Base Salary + Commission
- Base Salary + Bonuses
- Commission Only
- Commission + Bonuses
- Draw + Commission
Are there others currently in use by sales companies? I’m curious about that and have set up a survey to see where companies land on this issue.
Please take a second to respond to the survey.
It is only one question from the above choices.