In a recent piece I outlined 5 tip-offs that reveal when straight commission jobs are rip-offs, or at least "opportunities" you should decline.
But that article left me feeling I created a vacuum. I didn't disclose the five ingredients we should look for, so here they are:
(1) There needs to be a SUBSTANTIAL payoff for success. You're taking on a lot of risk, and of course the primary one is that you'll invest your time, talent, effort, and ego in an utter loser and emerge with zilch. There is a simple balancing formula that investors use for evaluating an opportunity: Does the reward substantially outweigh the risk? If not, then pass.
(2) The ultimate compensation must be greater than that being offered for a safe, no-risk sales job. Imagine at Company A they're offering a commission-only job that has the potential of yielding $100,000 per year. At Company B, they'll stake you to a guarantee, to a draw or a salary of $100,000. It's a no brainer; you'd have to go with B. The realistic earning potential of A has to add up to, minimally, 150% to 200% of what is being tendered by B.
(3) Management at the commission-only outfit has to be seasoned and trustworthy. Have they met a payroll, before, or are they in a seat-of-the-pants, gee-golly-gosh start-up mode with no financing? Are you working with a Fortune 1000 company, which is image conscious and aspires to earn a berth on one of those "Best Places to Work" lists, or is it a firm run by a lone wolf or by a partnership that couldn't care if it is sued right and left for unpaid wages and for stiffing vendors? The burden of proof is on novices to demonstrate that they are NOT flakes.
(4) There needs to be a short sales cycle, preferably measured in days or a few weeks. If you're self-financing, which is what a straight-commission arrangement requires, you need to see cash flow and fast. You can't go out on a limb and invest months in the hope that you'll make your first sale.
(5) Ideally, others are on board, making a steady, big income doing exactly what you're going to do. I spoke to the head of a company who asserted that he had a USC college student selling deal after deal, making about $4,000 a week. Why did this sales master leave? Where is he now? What were his methods? This sounds a lot like that big fish tale about "the one that got away."
Keep these five criteria in mind as you screen sales jobs or any pay-for-performance situation.
Commission-only deals can be lucrative, but you need to turn the tables and to qualify those that are offering them. You should hitch your wagon to them only if they can pass a stringent test.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a portfolio careerist: An attorney, real estate broker, college professor, best-selling author, TV commentator, professional speaker, and management consultant. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com and his profile can be read at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/a91/833
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman
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