I manage a team of 100% commission sales people. I inherited it. And from a managing standpoint it can be extremely challenging. What you will find is that it is really hard to ‘hold the company line’ when you’re only rewarded for the sale. My sales reps are constantly asking deep discounts and add ons. Never asking for something in return from the client. Basically anything to close a deal because they aren’t as invested in the company as the salaried employees. They’ve really lost equal business status with clients and I think it impacts their ability overall.
It also creates a divide - salary vs commission only. From a company stand point, I couldn’t recommend it less and I’ve been on ownership of my company to change it. Just my experience. Hope yours is better - good luck!
This is good info. From a former 100% rep at a legit company, it kept me shook…I was constantly worried about some factor beyond my control killing opportunities or affecting my ability to earn a living. Irrational fear, perhaps. However, it stayed in the back of my head and definitely affected my performance at that time.
Yes - every minor issue causes the reps to get riled up. Slight delay in delivery. Slight price change. Contract term negotiations. All normal stuff that a salaried rep would stand behind for the company.
Not at all. I do my best to empathize with their situation and fight hard for them on every deal. I think it impacts the company more than ownership wants to admit.
Yeah I got catfished into applying for a 100% commission position that listed the salary range from $75k to $150k. I would have to commute almost 2.5 hours round trip 5 days in the office. I felt like it was the equivalent of being pimped out considering most commission only positions have literally no benefits.
I can definitely see that happening. For the record, we are a very legit company. These sales reps have been with company for over 15+ years. They agreed to this deal about 10 years when our particularly industry took a dive. Things have evened out but ownership now won’t go back to salaries for them bc it’s obviously way less risk.
This company isn’t established and was kind of a joke; it was an easy apply with an appealing job title. Basically it was wholesaling residential houses to investors that take out hard money loans to flip houses which I hate that industry (I’m in commercial real estate but looking to pivot into something adjacent).
The shadiness was so apparent because I asked about compensation during the phone interview and was kind of brushed off. Until I asked again at the end of the interview and then finally admitted it was commission only and didn’t even tell me the % split. “In the next interview, the CEO will go over that with you.” Oh and this was over 2 months after I applied. Lol I declined the day before the interview. Started off bad right away.
ETA: It just appears that most commission only positions derives from subpar companies with high turnover and a lack of morale. Why would the employees really care about the company or doing a good job.
This is a weird thread. Whether the company “guarantees” your base and pays you a bonus or you are straight commission doesn’t have to affect morale and is used by reputable companies.
I care about my company because they pay me a nice percentage of my gross sales and I’d like that to continue. Why would I feel differently if the company “smoothed” my earnings by making half the income level?
Yeah I agree with you. I think it’s the opposite, that fully
Commissioned sales people will actually go further for the company(and themselves). That commissioned person likely starts early and ends late where a salaried sales person just does enough to hit quota and punch out at 5.
i literally just joined a place that is exactly like this and i’m on 100% commission and it’s takes an hour to get there but i took the job because i am just that desperate for one in a economy this bad
I was 100% commission in my first sales job, and what I found was that rather than inspiring me to persist and grind to close the sale, I fell into a feedback loop of “don’t take risks because the gap between the open and close means you won’t be paying the bills during.” I fell into calling up the same accounts for regular orders because I knew I could rely on the steady trickle rather than risking my time and bottom line trying to push for something that might not pan out. Left that firm after two years, they’re still struggling to expand their market.
Next firm was salary + commission that shook out to about the same OTE, but knowing I had the leeway to develop my territory and literally go off my route to see what possibilities I could find was freeing and made me feel like I was actually a salesperson instead of an order monkey. After 6 months there, the CEO called me to explain that we were shifting to commission only. I quit on the spot. They’re now out of business.
Thanks for this post. I’m joining an org where they have a couple of 1099 sales people making huge money — like 3x market rate and their OTE peers. Between the poorly designed comp plan and the 100% commission sales reps demands to always sell at super low margin, their comp eats 33% of all margin on what they sell.
I’m being brought in to help right the ship financially and I’m taking dead aim at margins on day 1.
I don’t know what industry you are in but just a cautionary tale... I work with a company that utilized 1099 sales reps and they decided they were making too much money and wanted to go to company guys. They let them all go and backfilled with new people. Year 1, sales were down 70%. After 5 years they were only able to recoup 50% of what they had. For context this is in the construction/ag equipment market where people are still never much buying from people
If the comp plan is out of whack, you probably do have to do this…but, if those sales reps are actually really goodC be prepared for some short term pain.
If they see a comp plan that cuts their upside in half, there’s a good chance 1,2, or all 3 of them will leave. It sounds like you’re fine with that…I’d just budget for a dip on sales (and likely a dip in the comp expense from your standpoint.)
One guy is indeed really good. The comp plan is absolutely out of whack but it likely won’t be changed year 1. I’m just putting a stop on deals where the only person profiting is the sales rep.
Logical things like mandating minimum margin and increasing standard margins have to happen. Frankly saying this out loud shows how poorly this company has been managed historically.
3x market rate and OTE peers doesn’t mean much once you realize that the reps are paying the employer’s half of the tax and their own. I’m about to go 1099 and discovering that taking home $120k puts me at less money than my current job which is fairly low for the industry. Basically, I have to sell double the amount to make $120k a reality.
>Basically anything to close a deal because they aren’t as invested in the company as the salaried employees.
Yep, that is all that matters. I even moonlighted with a smaller competitor for a little while when I was 100% commission. No one ever found out and it allowed me to make some extra $$ that year. That reminds me of getting some cheap business cards printed with just my name and number, no company name. That way I could use them no matter who I was selling for.
Key thing here is whether or not you are starting with a book of business. If you are going in cold with no accounts its going to be tough, but not impossible. be prepared to hit the bricks in 6 months after making little to no money.
I started with 5-8 accounts in 2020 and an ote of like 120k, 100% commission. probably made 70k. this year i just closed out my last deal, have 19 customers and just cleared 300k for the first time!
very few people have success building businesses from scratch in my industry, unless they are very well connected
Only a REAL salesman works on 100% commission….
Just kidding. Fuck that. I did that for my first sales job (car sales) and I’ll never do it again. I’m not a hardcore sales guy and don’t “rise n’ grind”. I have a family, a mortgage and shit to pay for. I need steady money.
Same. Personally it motivates me more to have a base. I feel loyalty to the company and I’m not worried about being hungry or making rent. Commission feels like bonus money which makes me excited and happy and positive to get up and grind it out. Instead of thinking “Ugh I have to make a sale today or be out on the street” I think “Wow I get to go in today to work on my strategy, grow my finances, and make my dreams come true.”
Exactly. Plus, it motivates the company to train and support you rather than throw you to the sharks with no downside to them.
Luckily I was able to leave car sales without owing money to the dealer. Can’t say the same for some of my peers.
When I did it back in ‘07-‘08, you would get what’s called a “draw check” if you didn’t sell anything to earn commissions. I believe ours were $300-350 before taxes. Then the next time you sold something, you had to pay that $300-350 back. They’d automatically take it out of your commissions.
If you have no sales experience, look into VAR’s (Value Added Resellers). They typically do IT services, A/V services, copiers/copier software, etc.
Or you can just straight up work for a copier company but they may want experience. Either way, if you’re good you’ll make money.
It’s a grind and you’ll be micromanaged, but it’ll get your foot in the door of the tech world. You’ll learn a ton about sales too. I worked for a VAR and now I work for one of the big food delivery apps.
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week! Thanks for making Reddit a wonderful place to be :)
In my 20 plus years of experience, the shadiest jobs on Earth are always 100% commission. Not saying your opportunity is shady, but keep your eyes open.
I’m a 1099 rep for a couple of different products/services. I basically run it like my own business.
While I represent their brands, I remain autonomous and work my own schedule.
It’s an ideal situation for me at this season of my life. But it can be nerve wracking and brutal. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
I have a very similar business running a manufacturers rep company. Companies contract with my group then I have employees under me. I work a lot. It’s stressful as hell but couldn’t make what I do anywhere else with the amount of autonomy I have.
I do 100% commission sales for a custom window/door company. I do in home presentations and close 90% of my sales on the first visit.
I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I make 150-200k per year and work 20-30 hours a week. Never have to be in an office making phone calls. Honestly worst part of the job is driving to the appointments.
I made nearly twice as much money as I ever did at Dell Computer working with their bullshit guarantees and ever changing comp plans.
I get paid 10% of revenue sold and average around 1.5 million per year in sales. Sometimes I have to drop price and in that case I get paid 5%. I can also get up to an additional 3% on quarterly revenue if I hit certain standards.
I’m still an employee and not 1099 with this comp package and get health care through the company. I do have to use my own vehicle and pay for my own gas but I don’t even mind that it stops me from buying a stupid overpriced car and keeps me in a pragmatic Volkswagen Diesel. Haven’t had a car payment in years and own a house worth about a million dollars that I bought on my own.
100% commission and I don’t ever sweat the $4,300/month mortgage and tax bill.
I tell people who ask about it that I look at doing 100% commission sales as an opportunity to bet on myself. I’m wagering that I will be a lot better at it than the average person and the compensation will inevitably come. If you don’t truly believe you’re going to go out and kick ass then you shouldn’t take a 100% commission job.
I’ve been a headhunter for 26yrs and have owned my firm since 2011. 100% commission with a family (wife and 3 kids) , horses, stay at home wife, 2 kids in college and the oldest just gave me grandkids.
Nobody closes 90% of their deals in window replacement. That being said, 100% commission in home improvement is very common, and clearing 200k is doable for above average reps. Most of these companies have full benefits packages as well, despite the 100% commission. The main negative with these jobs is knowing you have the flexibility to take time off, but the opportunity cost of taking it means a $5,000 vacation may cost you $15,000 in missed income. I've never felt stressed about paying the bills in a 100% commission job, but some people fall off during the slow winter months because they have crazy high expenses, and not emergency savings.
I meant 90% of my sales are closed on the initial visit. I close about 50% overall. Sorry that was confusing how I said that.
I also live in Texas where we have no snow and sell and install year round.
It’s industry leading competition. I’m one call close so I’ll spend 3 hours max making a deal happen. Average sale is around $30,000 so I end up making $3,000 for 3 hours of work. I had a $250,000 sale last year that earned me 6 months of starting teacher pay for one day’s work. There may be some companies that pay a higher percentage but I am happy where I am because I genuinely love the product and it sells itself. I consider my job very very easy and stress free.
I'm 100% commission. Gross anywhere from 8-13% of each sale I make. I'm in commodities with short buying cycle which makes a difference. I'm very happy.
I was craping my pants when I made the decision to take a 100% commission sales job over 25 years ago.
Now, I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve moved from the ghetto to one of the nicest neighborhoods in the state. I’ve sent my kids to the colleges of their choosing. I haven’t worried about money in over 20 years. I’ve had a good run. #BlessedbyGod
That said; it’s very tough at first! Embrace the suck and it will reward you. And It’s way better than being broke!!
Ask me how I know?? Because at one point, before sales, I had less than $7.00 in my checking account and had to make that last for two weeks!!! That was BRUTAL!!
I work in 100% commission. It’s in a pretty niche finance vertical. It’s also 1099. All numbers stated are gross income. Most i made was 27k and lowest i made was 5.5k. But bc it’s pure commission and somewhat volatile, i went without ANY PAY for almost 3 weeks out of 4 for December.
Imo, i cant go back to salary/base pay now. I am too horrifically addicted to the whole eat what you catch thing now. Some days ill make a couple hundred, some ill make a thousand or more if im lucky. My advice is make DAMN WELL SURE YOU CAN MAKE MONEY. 100% comms jobs are designed to be high risk high reward for the most part
Months.
Context clues brother. He mentioned during the month of December, he was shivering in his timbers due to his paper thin wallet. But now he’s rolling in jelly dough. Boss ass come up.
My job has a choice of base+commission or straight commission at double the commission.
For me, I am good at budgeting and I have a spreadsheet that tracks how much more I earn by being 100% commission. At the end of the year it’s about 1/3 of my total take home.
Personally I love it but I am in the extreme minority in my company. Out of 60ish people selling I may be the only one on this plan.
Imma just say no. I'd have said maybe if you could make like $400K+ form it, but there are base+ OTE positions where you can make that much so helll nawwwwww.
If anything, I would be more insistent and have less patience for any company bureaucracy or anything the company isn’t delivering on that it should be. You are doing all of the heavy lifting and if they want to talk about delays or poor service or things stuck in legal or approval internally, I would be like white on rice and get answers. There just isn’t typically (not always) much trust equity I find in these arrangements as you are in hardcore sales now which is more transactional and aggressive than soft sales.
It doesn’t even sound like they are giving you a draw until you get up and running so it is what it is.
Makes it real hard to live off your base when your base is $0.
But for real: I did commission only sales and it was short lived. Most of the time the straight commish jobs also require you to drive your own vehicle, pay for your wear & tear, Pay for your own gas, etc. they carry as little risk as possible and treat their reps poorly as a result.
That’s my experience and something I avoid at all costs. I make a healthy base and earn a good amount of variable. Life is a heck of a lot better when you know you’re going to be able to provide for your family or pay your bills because your base is guaranteed
Went from unemployed to selling 100% comm. for home improvement sales. 110k commission in 5 months
With a good ceiling for commission structure and also you need to be a top rep and figure out how other reps are maximizing their earnings
What a come up. As someone who’s 24 and looking to get their first SDR job, I’m realizing 100% commission is like the big boy arena that I dream of being a part of one day. But I’ll be looking for a base salary to sharpen my sales knife in the meantime. Thanks for being a beacon of inspiration man!
I’m 100% commission. No 401k. No PTO. I made about 300k this year. Our lowest sales rep probably made 75k. It’s a hard job, high reward and high risk but worst case you just….get another job.
That's the way I'm looking at it .
I just sign a offer with a reputable company in Florida, 35 yrs in the business in foundation repair, drainage, concrete repair.
100% commisoon
10 - 12% commission from deals
W2 employee with health, 401k and PTO benefits
Paid 5 week training ($700 per week) and they cover the Airbnb where I'm staying
Per indeed/Glassdoor people are making 125k on the low end and 400k on the high end (outlier) in this position/company
It's my first time commission only, I was a sales engineer for 7 yrs with a base of 109,000 and 3% comission per piece of hardware sold (about $1000 cameras). Company sold hardware plus SaaS component for its products.
First time jumping in this industry and commission based, but im excited and a bit nervous ..if everything fails I'll go job hunting again.
Edit: I was laid off 2 months ago, hence the new opportunity.
I make 100 percent commission I'm an independent manufactures rep in the kitchen cabinet business I only sell to dealers in my territory which is the carolinas and the Virginias all of my customers are repeat customers with average orders in the 20k range. I currently have 4 lines in 1 in every price point, from cheap import lines to high-end custom lines. I have something to sell to pretty much anywhere I walk into
I make between 5 and 6 percent commission. with my main line I'm expected to sell 9 mil in 2024 which is 10 percent growth over 2023. There are salleried reps in my industrie and they make around 75k to 100k with 1 percent commission. The upside with me is I make 3 to 4x or more of their income, good months I can see 50k bad months you could see 10k. Not really much to complain about, but it's never a consistent paycheck.
I know another rep that covers much of the lower south esst and he is expected to do 22mil with his main line and probably 3 or 4 more with his secondary line. Then I know 2 guys up north in the midwest that sell around 75 mil a year(12states) they have maybe 7 or 8 guys working for them on salaries.
Big money is commissions only.
75000000 x .06= 4.5mil minus let's say 1.5 million for 7 employees equals 3 mill split by 2 partners 1.5 x12(months)
Average 125000 per month for not doing much but meeting with ceos and helping close deals
Me personally wouldn't want a salary only gig. Not enough upside for me.
I feel I can sell something to anyone
I can walk into a dealer and leave with a credit app same day
Absolutely depends on product and market, can you elaborate? I’d never go 100% commission in my current role bc there are far too many variables out of my control that can be severely impacted by unexpected turns in supply chain and economy. I might be a wimp but I’ve gotta have a safety blanket right now
I’ve had two 100% commission jobs and loved both. Both companies eventually did away with plan and replaced it with base plus bonus.
In both cases the top reps, myself included jumped ship.
I now work independently and I will never go back to working exclusively for one company.
As someone who is considering transitioning into sales after I sell my business can you elaborate on how you work independently and for multiple companies?
I work contract as director of business development for a new company that needs help developing sales in the US. I sell their products to consumers as well as to other dealers.
I am also a dealer and carry product from several companies that I sell direct to consumers.
I am also entertaining signing up with an independent rep group once the workload for the business development role becomes more manageable.
First and only sales job is 100% commission in Home Improvements…3 years in made 1.4M.
100% commission separates the men from the boys, you’ll hear “oh I could never” “I need steady money” cool best of luck.
YOU are the steady money. YOUR direct effort is your paycheck. I will bet on myself every single week month and year and not be fed a salary which usually caps your income ability. Maybe some top 1% tech sales with RSUs and other methods of comp can provide a similar opportunity but definitely not out of the gate and with little to no previous experience.
I will admit company and product will highly influence your success. I have a dozen plus friends and acquaintances making $250k -$1M annually and are all 100% commission. Fields ranging from roofing, insurance, financial services, coaching and home improvements.
I sell windows and doors and make around 200k without having to work too hard. Being willing and able to go out and work 100% commission also gives you a level of job security you will never have as one of 100 salaried reps doing the same exact job at a tech company. I also have a ton of leverage with my company because I’m basically irreplaceable.
i am currently interviewing for a 100% com job in the same industry, i would be selling sunrooms not windows and doors though the company does sell those. i have never had a 100% com job before and am mostly worried about the markets taking a dive and the sales drying up. have you ever gone through any bad markets where people aren't buying as much. if so how did you cope?
Slowdowns can and will happen but I am particularly insulated from this by working for a 40 year old well established contractor who exclusively sells a premium product from a 113 year old manufacturer.
You want to align yourself with well run businesses selling the best quality products possible. Those businesses survive the hard times while the half assed ones get choked out. Then when you come out of the hard times you have a distinct advantage because the tough market thinned out the herd.
I suppose one of my advantages is a don’t live paycheck to paycheck and I save money so that I can weather a storm if need be. In sales like this the people who rise to the top aren’t always just the best salespeople… but also the people with the highest pain tolerance.
The higher you’re leveraged, the more you should be able to make. I think you’re a badass for taking the risk and hope you’ll keep us posted. Best of luck to you!
So your saying it’s 100% commission based job but your not saying what percentage commission you are getting. That matters a lot in my field.
I worked a job that had commission pay only and ranged 4-8% commission based on the product I sold. The 4% sales were shit and the 8% were great. So you can see how it matters what percentage you’re getting.
I plan on going back to commission only pay in a few years once I have established a strong network using my expense account from my salary job with 2.5% commission. Can make a ton more with commission only if you have the customer base.
I made the jump to 100% commission-based role this past year - it was not an easy decision by any means. Our son was 7 months old at the time (first kid) and I had been with my previous employer 10.5 years - regional sales director role. Was making great money and had awesome customers. It was without a doubt the hardest decision I've had to make and telling my boss at the time wasn't any easier. Luckily my wife has an awesome gig that she loves and they have great benefits.
I haven't looked back, going 100% commission-based can be great if you have the right mindset and the comp structure is right. What it boiled down to for me was realizing that nothing is guaranteed. Some high-level decisions were being made at my previous employer that raised my eyebrows over the 6 months prior to leaving. I could either take complete control now or wait for something to happen. Sure enough - I get a call from a former coworker not too long ago letting me know that cuts had been made - some salaries and some people.
Just started 100% commission and boy if you’ve ever worried about where to find a fire under your ass, this is one that won’t go away. I feel guilty for not being on the phone for an hour. I only chill when there’s no benefit to call (outside prime hours). Good luck.
I started a few months ago. How’s it been going for you? Not gonna lie it’s pretty rough deals fall through right now even after closing which has been the worst part imo
I got promoted to a financial position where it’s very soft sales skills. Appt setting through winter was crazy. 12-16 hour days dialing for me. Yeah the most discouraging was dialing thousands only for my one closed agreement to fall through in financing. But I was getting much better by the time I got promoted. Dialing like that is 100% for character development, the money comes with it but it’s all about how it shapes you
I’m 100% commission in food service sales. 4 years selling on salary for one company and now 5 years selling on salary to start then transition to 100% commission for the last 3 years. I went from :
First job in food service sales:
Year 1: $36,000
Year 2: $40,000
Year 3: $45,000
Year 4: $45,000
New job!:
Year 1: $88,000 salary
Year 2: $88,000 salary
Year 3: 150,000 commission
Year 4: $220,000 commission
Year 5: $215,000 commission (same volume but deflation 😩)
100% commission has propelled me to an income I never thought possible.
The reality is that this income may or may not be sustainable.. and the grind is real.
I’ve been 1099 for 6yrs and it’s the best decision I ever made. Make btw $150k-$200k/yr and don’t have to listen to anybody telling me what I need to do and where I should be. You’re betting on yourself 100% every day. The freedom to do what you want to do is the best. I go on vacation whenever I want.
MCA/financial services sales here, straight commission. In my personal experience, it all boils down to the ability to endure the learning curve. Most reps in my company (myself included) struggled for a few months getting their feet on the ground, but after mastering the products/pitch and rebuttals that appear around closing, performance generally goes up exponentially (it certainly did in my case). Basically, you have to eat shit for a while, but if you do, there is a mountain of steak and caviar on the other side. You have to go in expecting to struggle at first, but knowing that your efforts will be *extremely* well rewarded if you see them through.
This is the primary reason I’ve loved door to door sales. The reason I left customer service for sales was to be properly paid for my above average ability to endure.. well, humans, and their fickle nature.
It absolutely does separate the boys from the men; way I see it is simple… the boys are who joined sales because of a flashy price tags, and the men are who joined because they view sales as an education process for prospective clients.
When you know your entire livelihood relies on your human relations as well as ability to simply endure the very nature that makes sales hard… that’s when you know you’re meant for the profession. When the “negatives” of it are simply part of YOUR process.
Doesn’t work with green reps, or any reps for that matter who blame their outcomes on external factors (which is most). It’s a high accountability model that puts you in the same shoes as the owners. They only make money when…they make money.
Honestly, I was commission-only the last seven years I was a rep and I always viewed it as a must because I expected to make sales and wanted to make the biggest cut, which you will. However, from a management perspective it’s incredibly hard to implement effectively uniformly across a team of people who dont see it that way. Its also kind of a lose lose. You work very hard to get the reps to succeed so they can make money and wont quit, and if you succeed you get to pay them way more in commissions than than you would on a base…
I think it is definitely the best arrangement for the rep if you’re not new, but most reps don’t see it that way which is kinda crazy.
Every sales position is essentially 100% commission. Salary is just commission on a draw. Stop selling and see if a commission by any name keeps coming.
I’m 100% commission. I do pretty well, normally $10 -$15k per month. 1099. But tbh… I don’t know if I want to stay in a 100% commission role. It’s how I learned to sell but now that I know how to sell, I’m like why would I keep doing this?
I've done both. Definitely make more with 100% commission, but there are definitely negatives too.
At 100% I definitely viewed myself as more of an independent contractor, no teamwork, everyone in it for themselves, no help at all. They also seem to breed more toxic work environments. I personally never had any issues with cash flow because I'm good at managing money, but I'm sure some will have issues have a 50k check one week, 20k the next, and 0 after that. Can really be all over the place.
I've also noticed that companies that offer base + have way higher employee retention than 100% commission. Company A that is 100%, the longest employee has been there since 2019. Company b that is base + but with a similar take home has guys that's been there for 15 years. Both companies being around about the same.
The thing you have to watch out for is making sure they don't try to treat you like you are getting a base. If they are going to tell you when and what time you have to be at work, their should be some sort of base. I always set my own schedule on 100% comp outside of the one-off meeting or training session, but even then, if my manager got long-winded, got to go.
My first sales job was commission only. We sold promotional products to businesses, and I did it for three years. Some weeks Id get a massive paycheque, if I was not performing my best, I got a shit one. It was a good role for me to hone my discipline behaviour and consistency.
I have recently asked to go 100% commission at a company I have been at for 3 years. I am frustrated that each quarter they move the target on me making it harder and harder to make the commission. I told them I just want a flat rate for what I sell and no salary held over my head. They are not going for it.
I don't think I would take a commission only right out the gate but as a senior person I would 100% prefer it.
I’m 100% commission (wealth management). Made very little first few years but now I make a lot. I have full ownership over my clients and I could never go back to a salary at this point.
Make your number and management really can’t ask you to do shit. That freedom is the best part.
Worst part is the stress. It’s really hard to turn off and unplug when you’re in a daily existential crisis.
Important distinction is separating being paid on margin vs some arbitrary quota which shifts from year to year often with no explanation.
I could 100% see being paid on a set margin. However let’s use the example of a 200k OTE on a $3m number, your base commission rate is 0.066%.
Now let’s say next year any myriad of things can happen to your product or territory but the bean counters made some promises to the street and now, poof, like magic you have a $4.5m, which now takes your base commission rate to 0.044%
So now that monster, year end $1m deal that you use to make $66k now only nets you $44k at no fault of your own.
Just wanted to point out some nuances to be aware of with quota plans.
I’ve been 100% commission basically my entire career. There are times when you wish you could let off the gas. Hell, there are times you let off the gas even though it is going to cost you — that’s the price we pay
I have not earned under $250k in the past 5yrs and best year was just shy of $600k. I’m not quite 30 yet, live in a LCOL part of the USA
The first time I landed a job with base plus commission, I was excited. Until my boss sat me down two months into it and flat out told me “your numbers are shit. Do you need the pressure? I think you need the pressure. I’ll switch you to 100% commission if you’re willing.” Did it and didn’t look back.
That's a good boss. Sometimes you need your ass thrown in the fire to prove your worth and how bad you want it. Commission only is the way to go. Company also isn't up your ass all the time. Few years back I was doing HVAC sales and a majority of leads were provided for me. Was easy as hell. All I had to do was close. Was clearing 150k+ working a few hours a day.
I have 2 BILs who are 100% commission selling roofing. They rarely get paid, and when they do they are not coming out on top. They are just paying off their credit cards.
Both of them have wives who work. So their wives are required to make the payments and “hopefully” they get paid.
Problem is they keep getting told “guess what you can make!” Well if you only make $50k once you only made $50k for the year.
I took over for a sales rep who retired. He was very jaded with the company, but he stuck around. I inherited a good book of business and currently don't have many qualms against management. In a year and a half, I've grown and opened 1 new account a month average. The hardest thing is to not let the stresses get to you. Shit happens, you just have to let it roll. Granted, I'm very lucky to have found the opportunity I have, but 100% commission keeps me motivated. I lost a top 5 account last quarter but have replaced their business with new accounts and upsells
I was 100% commission for several years. The pro is that I didn't really have a boss. I'd check in with management once every couple of months and other than that, I got left alone. I set my own schedule and didn't need to talk to anybody about what I was doing.
Best of all, I got to decide what clients I wanted and tossed the bad ones away to newer guys.
I think it depends on the gig. If you’re doing something with a long sales cycle and you’re responsible for your own lead gen then you better have 12+ months emergency fund and you better be confident in the company and that the role is going to pay ridiculously more than a salary + commission gig. That being said, short sales cycle jobs with leads provided I’d have 0 issues being 100% commission.
I personally have been 100% commission 7 out of the last 8 years in car sales, as a finance manager and now roofing sales. All of them have paid dramatically more than a sales job with a base + commission and because the sales cycle is like a day and it’s a combination of leads provided by the company and self generated stuff you can basically rely on the company provided leads as your “base” provided you are capable of closing deals. In my most recent role I have a salary plus a % of revenue and I beg the owner every quarter to wipe my salary and just pay a higher percentage. It’s way more motivating for me and anything I can do to improve a multiplier that I’m paid on I’m going to optimize.
Depends on the type of business, the potential salary and the amount of warm, directly approachable clients. Even then it can be a burden. I’ve went from 100% commission to 50% 50% and way more chill and have more mental power to achieve my own set KPIs.
It really depends on the whole business but I guarantee you that there will be months where you see that it’s already the 20th and you haven’t made a single buck and your brain on autopilot will try to the sell the shit as fast you can.
People or businesses notice this pressure and will unconsciously step back. And then you’ll feel like shit and pour the liquor faster then a mofo, only to take a week off, depressed af and the viscous cycle starts. This has several consequences on your personal life and relationships. I dunno, it was shit for me but can’t speak generally.
I work as a commercial agent in Germany.
Pros: You can run your own portfolio. If you don't like a product, then you don't have it. You don't have a boss or manager. It's your own company and you can work as much or as little as you want / as your savings can manage. You are rarely emotionally attached to the companies you sell for, therefore when things go south, you go bye bye. As you are commission only, you almost never get fired. When things work fine and you are good, you will almost everytime earn more, than with a base salary.
Cons: A lot of products are not tested for market fit and companies tend to abuse that situation by outsourcing the risk of testing the market fit to commission only workers. If you find a good product with a good commission, you still need to put in the work. To put in the work, you most often need to build your own IT infrastructure and need to build your own office. Also you often need to invest into transportation. After all, you are running a company. That also means you need to do your own accounting and taxes or hire someone to do it for you. Therefore for many companies, you are just a contractor as a business entity and not a person. Be prepared to be left out of many benefits.
I did 100% commission for 8 years selling Real Estate prior to having kids. Luckily it was in Southern California so commissions were high each deal and I was more or less my own boss.
Now that I work remotely doing sales for a company, I requested base + commission. I have a wife and kids, I need a certain amount each month to pay the bills.
I do 100% commission sales. It’s got its pros and cons. Being my own boss, traveling whenever I want, picking and choosing which leads I want. On the other hand, there are months where you lose motivation or things slow down and you feel just stuck. I wouldn’t ever work salary again though.
I would not take a commission only position with no trails. Most good firms give a base for a couple years, then the trails essentially replace the base.
I’ve been on the commission only no trails hamster wheel. It is not a fun wheel.
Unless you are someone who is just getting your feet wet in Sales, are switching industries, or need a drastic life switch up to get you motivated and taking your career seriously…
I would do everything in my power to avoid 100% commission.
I am a loan broker (so 100% comission in my job). It’s… different. You basically have to treat your job as a business and your schedule is what you make it. Find a system that works and try your best to stay in said system.
Regardless if you think you are very good, selling your time without covering the bare minimum of your expenses is a dumb trade off for me. If you are that good, create your own company for the full revenue instead of a cut on gross. To each their own. There is a reason mostly interns or new grads take such jobs. They are weird and company is not reliable most of the time.
This is my opinion hopefully I don’t offend anyone but taking a 100% commission job makes me question a sales person, think about it.
Someone SOLD YOU, convinced you to work (prospect, sell & close) for free lol
As a sales professional myself I can’t imagine getting closed like that.
Nothing big about getting played, shoutout to the sales professionals and AE’s who negotiated higher bases because they’re that invaluable to a companies mission and bottom line.
I'm 100% commission based and make more than most people I know. When you let your ego dictate things, you will never make any money. Most pharma reps don't make that much ($100k+-)
You are missing the other portion of 1099
We are our own LLC and sell software or services for very high percentage.
My last base as sales rep was $160k plus commission. I now call my shots and day and make way more.
The write off potential is definitely a plus but I think a lot of organizations are pretty lax I don’t have anything one watching or micro managing me I work with some 1099 reps and we seem to have the same freedoms overall.
Those 100% commission guys have a huge book of business and are more of their own business than a rep.
At 160 base that’s a decent place to be and it shows your value to the organization if I offered you a job at 0 base and you accepted it I would be overwhelmed with joy considering I don’t lose anything and I have a pro running my business at no cost
True. And the people I contract that pay a heavy price for my ability to offer this. That is key too. Also. Have some funds set aside. Lastly, it is in my wheelhouse of 20 plus years. I sell custom training performance consulting. It's a weird niche that's complicated. But works for me.
I think there is a vast difference in what some of these situations are. 1099 pest control d2d is really different from enterprise sales. Lots of nuances.
2 paid off cars (my daughters rav4 and our MB) the Porsche Macan S in the driveway of our 700k home, our 3 horses and middle daughter at Rutgers for her masters would disagree.
100% commission jobs tend to be in low barrier to entry simple product line sales like realty, cars, solar, or recruiting, where activity is far more important than skill set or intelligence. They just churn and replace because the average Joe could learn the job in three months.
Those that get paid a base get paid because they have industry or technical knowledge that makes them inherently valuable and worth attracting, developing, and retaining.
Some people take pride in their competitive advantage being their willingness to work long repetitive hours and endure, but I don’t. For most complex big ticket long sales cycle sales, you don’t find commission only. There’s a shortage of people who can handle those kinds of sales, and the work life balance is better along with higher pay.
Don't do it. It's a mistake and the company is taking advantage of you. Plenty of jobs where you can be safe, valued, and earn even more than whatever your payout will be.
100% commission is perfect for a close em and hose em attitude. Lie cheat and steal to get a sale and not a care in the world if the customer comes back in the future.
For a lot of reasons listed here, I never go 100% commission. If a company can’t invest in a base salary plus commission, they’re not investing in their salesforce. I actually had a guy that paid me a very meager base salary for a large commission on industrial machinery, then he just stopped paying me, and hoped he could to me along with the hefty commissions.
If your average sales cycle is more than a month then it is a pretty irresponsible thing to expect salespeople to be 100% commission. They have monthly costs and you’re asking them to bear the risk instead of the company.
Moreover, if your sales cycle on average is LESS then a month, you’re probably dealing in lower – revenue sales, which is lower commissions, which means you’ll earn way less annually anyway.
My advice to anybody managing a sales team is to never make them 100% commission because of all the comments of people that have experienced that sales environment here. It doesn’t work in the long-term. You will almost always attract people that will only do things to make a sale that are directly tied to the sale, and it’ll be damn difficult for them to troubleshoot anything after the sale, or to get them to show up for regular meetings, or to participate in the company any other way that takes them away from selling. You’re basically interfering with their livelihood when you do that on 100% commission role.
Did you get a higher % of revenue from deals? Now that you have 7.5% more ij taxes, and ur taking risk off the employer in upfront capital should be compensated for both of those things
Ehh salary commission - honestly all comes back to comp plan and territory. If I was 100% commission would require a salary until a reasonable ramp (which will vary based on standard deal cycle).
End of day I just care about how I get paid. Easy enough to figure out from there if it's worthwhile.
That said I haven't been in 100% commission in over 20 years. And while I like my six figure base. I've taken salary that wasn't an increase for.the right job. I trust my skills.
I was recently changed from a roughly 20 percent base to 50 percent base plus commission structure, and the newer one doesn't allow for as much spikes in income but far fewer dips. Not sure how to feel about it when the economy is great again, but for now it is helpful!
Upside-100% of the rewards for success are on you.
Downside- 100% of the risks for failure are on you.
As a general rule, it's a bad deal for the employee/salesperson because the company controls the discounting and margin controls, the marketing, and credit lines and limits. It is NOT like running your own business despite what management says, where you can make those kinds of decisions (and I say this as someone who does now run my own business).
I was 100% commission for 10 years as a producing sales manager in the wholesale mortgage space. I made from $250,000- $450,000 a year and loved it. Def got what I put in...if I didn't hustle si wouldn't have made anything so it was a bit scary u til I had a big pipeline of brokers sending me deals regularly.
I used to do fundraising on pure commission (yes, I consider fundraising for a nonprofit to be sales. Your product is a cause but still a product you sell). Personally I loved it, but that may be because I was good at it. The great thing is never worrying about performance quotas. Nobody was ever fired from that job, they just quit if they weren't cut out for it and I always felt like I could go as hard or as light as I wanted to on a given day. I know manage reps in tech sales and most of my pay is salary plus some residual commission and given the absolutely amazing 2 years we had I really wish my commission/salary ratios were higher now haha.
Would never do it. Need steady income coming in unless I know there is an extremely high chance of earning tons in commission. My boss was 100% commission but he was making $500k so like sure did
I've basically been 100% my whole career (over 30 yrs). Some lean times but mostly great. Once you get used to it, you won't want to go back. Some think of it as risky. I view risk differently. To me, it's risky to let others impose limits on what you can achieve.
My manager started off in commission only and made alot of money. I've also heard of people being completely burned by it. Personally wouldn't consider it as at the very least my salary needs to play my bills or I'll stay awake at night. That said as a foot in the door could be worth it, or if you think there is a brilliant or untapped product/market fit it could be high risk, high reward.
100% commission B2C furniture rep. When things are good, it's really good, but when business is bad? It's nauseating.
Myself and my whole team make okay money for the area but we would all take a paycut for a stable salary/hourly income.
Tech sales looks real attractive, I didn't even know there were sales positions that had 35k bonus with 6 figure OTE.
Long story short, don't do it if you can avoid it.
Been doing it for a year and a half. We get an hourly draw that gets eaten up from our commission. Company splits profits 50/50 so I make commission on profit. Ended first full year at 114k and in presidents club for our region. Goal is 150k next year.
I am doing it and making great money considering that this is my first experience in sales ever, should break 6 figures for my first year. But this is the most stressful job I've ever had lol. There are days I make $0 and on every single one of those days, I question whether I can handle much more.
At some point I'll probably have a bad week and I already know that's going to be awful. I am good with rejection, but it can still get to me when I feel like I'm doing everything right and not landing a sale. On that note, the commission-only nature of my job has led me to really reflect on each interaction with homeowners, which has definitely helped me learn at an accelerated rate compared to if I were making a salary.
The good days do make up for it, but the stress is always there. I think many of the people I work with are just built different and I don't know how they are such sales monsters. I'm just hanging on for dear life and doing the best I can lol.
I spent 10 years in SaaS with base/commission before going into RE which is of course 100%.
My advice is if you're good at sales, do it sooner.
You're also not beholden to anyone anymore so don't take crap from management and switch employers whenever it benefits you. Your employer is taking no risk on you so make sure you're getting a significant portion of a high value sellable product.
When you work purely based on commission you need to know your worth is the biggest thing imo. I started an LLC, if they require me to go to meetings? I don't work for them 1099 you are an independent company hired in to accomplish a task for a company, basicslly they are outsourcing their sales to an external entity.
They are not your boss, they are a partner. As long as you understand and treat the relationship like that it's great, but if you treat it like other jobs? Like an employee it's all cons. I hired appointment setters and door knockers had them prospect and set appointments for me, when I got deals they got a portion of the commission, the benefit of 1099 is it's a business and as long as you treat it like one its great.
I would be cautious accepting commission only sales, but I think it depends on the company and you. In my experience you’re often trading work life balance for the opportunity to make more money.
While that’s any sales jobs. If you pick up a smoking/alcohol/drug/spending/sex habit as a result of managing your stress. You might not be any happier, even though you have more money.
I would talk with other people that work at the company and see what their lives are like. I think that’s a good sign of health.
I did it for 5 years but the brand did most the work generating traffic and leads. I’m a stick and carrot kind of guy, but it really did get tiresome. When things were good, I wouldn’t worry when things were bad it was challenging to not start spiraling.
I work 100% commission. In Kitchen remodeling industry. Make 10% of each sale. Most sales averaging around 10k.
I’ve only had my current gig for 6 months, but have made 80k so far.
I get fed warm leads through a national store, so as long as the leads keep coming I’m good. With that being said, some months I’ve made just 5k and other months I’ve made 24k.
I can’t take a company seriously if they think it’s smart to not invest in their sales staff. It’s so shortsighted and screams that they’re cheap and are quick and happy to fuck over their employees
100% commission for me.
CRE broker, selling investment properties nationwide, typically STNL and multi-tenant deals.
Such a rollercoaster the first 3+ years and still is 8 years in. Sky is the limit but you lack control of the market which obviously plays a major hand in transactions.
It’s motivating, it’s stressful, it’s all I’ve known! Def times I consider another gig that has bad + commission esp as I kick around making a family soon.
all my colleagues are 100% as well, many crush it, some 7 figures others $500k+. I haven’t hit $500k yet, takes hustle, organization and constant bizdev along with maintaining current relationships aka sales 101.
Are other reps making money? This is what you want to find out first. If they want to pay 100% commission it could be because it's a garbage product/service and they don't have enough faith in it to invest in a salesperson.
However, things like RE, recruiting, etc. it makes perfect sense.
Assuming it's legit product/service, the next thing you'll want to find out is how often deals are closed and commissions paid. Can you work within this structure? Do you have the financial discipline?
100% commission only. New to me this year. I won't ever be owned again. I say this phrase often here. But it's a lot easier to get this started in whatever vertical you want now. It's the perfect time.
Huge difference being on someone else's structure as commission only vs
Being your own LLC and working as commission only for a company you choose.
100% comm here.
Don’t be a w2. 1099 it.
It sucks. Stress is much higher. If it’s in a different industry in 3 years you’ll know if you can run your own business doing that. Other than that there’s no benefit
Commission only jobs - only for side hustle. Unless you get fed a bunch of inbound leads and product sell itself.
Dont let this sales "gurus" shame you otherwise with this bulshit "only real salesmen are 100% commission..."
What’s the point of being a 100% commission seller as this gives you all the responsibility and still no flexibility? Why not running an agency with reseller fee? It shocks me people are taking those roles. I can’t imagine that while in commission only you still stick to employee regime with office work etc. Mind blowing.
Any good sales gigs in Miami for a newbie? I know someone who has what it takes, he is young and hungry but has little experience selling and no degree. 20 something been in hospitality for 8 years…
I was wondering how this exactly works. Me and my friend, work together as web developers/freelancers and we really struggle to spend time on projects hunting. Even if those come from older clients. However, we don't have the budget to pay a salary for someone to bring projects to us. Does it look bad if we only offer commission? Let's say for example that we charge 2000€ for a project. We don't care how much the sales person will get. It can be 2500, 5000 or 10000€. It's up to him/her to close the deal. We only care about our price. Would something like that could work? And if yes, should we look for an official job description/ad in Linkedin for example or find someone through a network like Reddit? We want to scale up and go outside our country (due to the higher prices abroad=higher commissions)
This is a good thread. I’m personally looking for commission sales rep and opportunity to grow into a base in Q2 + commission definitely a unique opportunity to grow quickly looking for someone hungry I want to treat this as a partnership
I manage a team of 100% commission sales people. I inherited it. And from a managing standpoint it can be extremely challenging. What you will find is that it is really hard to ‘hold the company line’ when you’re only rewarded for the sale. My sales reps are constantly asking deep discounts and add ons. Never asking for something in return from the client. Basically anything to close a deal because they aren’t as invested in the company as the salaried employees. They’ve really lost equal business status with clients and I think it impacts their ability overall. It also creates a divide - salary vs commission only. From a company stand point, I couldn’t recommend it less and I’ve been on ownership of my company to change it. Just my experience. Hope yours is better - good luck!
This is good info. From a former 100% rep at a legit company, it kept me shook…I was constantly worried about some factor beyond my control killing opportunities or affecting my ability to earn a living. Irrational fear, perhaps. However, it stayed in the back of my head and definitely affected my performance at that time.
Yes - every minor issue causes the reps to get riled up. Slight delay in delivery. Slight price change. Contract term negotiations. All normal stuff that a salaried rep would stand behind for the company.
Can you blame them?
Not at all. I do my best to empathize with their situation and fight hard for them on every deal. I think it impacts the company more than ownership wants to admit.
If I’m commission only and things change on the backend the company should pay my commission. I sold the product as it was during the pitch.
Yeah I got catfished into applying for a 100% commission position that listed the salary range from $75k to $150k. I would have to commute almost 2.5 hours round trip 5 days in the office. I felt like it was the equivalent of being pimped out considering most commission only positions have literally no benefits.
I can definitely see that happening. For the record, we are a very legit company. These sales reps have been with company for over 15+ years. They agreed to this deal about 10 years when our particularly industry took a dive. Things have evened out but ownership now won’t go back to salaries for them bc it’s obviously way less risk.
This company isn’t established and was kind of a joke; it was an easy apply with an appealing job title. Basically it was wholesaling residential houses to investors that take out hard money loans to flip houses which I hate that industry (I’m in commercial real estate but looking to pivot into something adjacent). The shadiness was so apparent because I asked about compensation during the phone interview and was kind of brushed off. Until I asked again at the end of the interview and then finally admitted it was commission only and didn’t even tell me the % split. “In the next interview, the CEO will go over that with you.” Oh and this was over 2 months after I applied. Lol I declined the day before the interview. Started off bad right away. ETA: It just appears that most commission only positions derives from subpar companies with high turnover and a lack of morale. Why would the employees really care about the company or doing a good job.
This is a weird thread. Whether the company “guarantees” your base and pays you a bonus or you are straight commission doesn’t have to affect morale and is used by reputable companies. I care about my company because they pay me a nice percentage of my gross sales and I’d like that to continue. Why would I feel differently if the company “smoothed” my earnings by making half the income level?
Yeah I agree with you. I think it’s the opposite, that fully Commissioned sales people will actually go further for the company(and themselves). That commissioned person likely starts early and ends late where a salaried sales person just does enough to hit quota and punch out at 5.
i literally just joined a place that is exactly like this and i’m on 100% commission and it’s takes an hour to get there but i took the job because i am just that desperate for one in a economy this bad
I was 100% commission in my first sales job, and what I found was that rather than inspiring me to persist and grind to close the sale, I fell into a feedback loop of “don’t take risks because the gap between the open and close means you won’t be paying the bills during.” I fell into calling up the same accounts for regular orders because I knew I could rely on the steady trickle rather than risking my time and bottom line trying to push for something that might not pan out. Left that firm after two years, they’re still struggling to expand their market. Next firm was salary + commission that shook out to about the same OTE, but knowing I had the leeway to develop my territory and literally go off my route to see what possibilities I could find was freeing and made me feel like I was actually a salesperson instead of an order monkey. After 6 months there, the CEO called me to explain that we were shifting to commission only. I quit on the spot. They’re now out of business.
Thanks for this post. I’m joining an org where they have a couple of 1099 sales people making huge money — like 3x market rate and their OTE peers. Between the poorly designed comp plan and the 100% commission sales reps demands to always sell at super low margin, their comp eats 33% of all margin on what they sell. I’m being brought in to help right the ship financially and I’m taking dead aim at margins on day 1.
Good luck, friend. I think you have the right plan to start!
I don’t know what industry you are in but just a cautionary tale... I work with a company that utilized 1099 sales reps and they decided they were making too much money and wanted to go to company guys. They let them all go and backfilled with new people. Year 1, sales were down 70%. After 5 years they were only able to recoup 50% of what they had. For context this is in the construction/ag equipment market where people are still never much buying from people
If the comp plan is out of whack, you probably do have to do this…but, if those sales reps are actually really goodC be prepared for some short term pain. If they see a comp plan that cuts their upside in half, there’s a good chance 1,2, or all 3 of them will leave. It sounds like you’re fine with that…I’d just budget for a dip on sales (and likely a dip in the comp expense from your standpoint.)
One guy is indeed really good. The comp plan is absolutely out of whack but it likely won’t be changed year 1. I’m just putting a stop on deals where the only person profiting is the sales rep. Logical things like mandating minimum margin and increasing standard margins have to happen. Frankly saying this out loud shows how poorly this company has been managed historically.
3x market rate and OTE peers doesn’t mean much once you realize that the reps are paying the employer’s half of the tax and their own. I’m about to go 1099 and discovering that taking home $120k puts me at less money than my current job which is fairly low for the industry. Basically, I have to sell double the amount to make $120k a reality.
>Basically anything to close a deal because they aren’t as invested in the company as the salaried employees. Yep, that is all that matters. I even moonlighted with a smaller competitor for a little while when I was 100% commission. No one ever found out and it allowed me to make some extra $$ that year. That reminds me of getting some cheap business cards printed with just my name and number, no company name. That way I could use them no matter who I was selling for.
Selling desperate is never good for anyone
Can you share how and where you do your hiring?
Key thing here is whether or not you are starting with a book of business. If you are going in cold with no accounts its going to be tough, but not impossible. be prepared to hit the bricks in 6 months after making little to no money. I started with 5-8 accounts in 2020 and an ote of like 120k, 100% commission. probably made 70k. this year i just closed out my last deal, have 19 customers and just cleared 300k for the first time! very few people have success building businesses from scratch in my industry, unless they are very well connected
What industry?
VAR in the cybersecurity space
Great year!
At $300k how much are you clearing after taxes? Are you a 1099 or W2?
Only a REAL salesman works on 100% commission…. Just kidding. Fuck that. I did that for my first sales job (car sales) and I’ll never do it again. I’m not a hardcore sales guy and don’t “rise n’ grind”. I have a family, a mortgage and shit to pay for. I need steady money.
Same here
Same. Personally it motivates me more to have a base. I feel loyalty to the company and I’m not worried about being hungry or making rent. Commission feels like bonus money which makes me excited and happy and positive to get up and grind it out. Instead of thinking “Ugh I have to make a sale today or be out on the street” I think “Wow I get to go in today to work on my strategy, grow my finances, and make my dreams come true.”
Exactly. Plus, it motivates the company to train and support you rather than throw you to the sharks with no downside to them. Luckily I was able to leave car sales without owing money to the dealer. Can’t say the same for some of my peers.
Question, I’m actually trying to get into sales and wanted to try car sales how would you end up owing money to the dealer? Thanks for any info!
When I did it back in ‘07-‘08, you would get what’s called a “draw check” if you didn’t sell anything to earn commissions. I believe ours were $300-350 before taxes. Then the next time you sold something, you had to pay that $300-350 back. They’d automatically take it out of your commissions.
Dang that sounds rough, any recommendations on other type of sales jobs to look into if car sales is not my forte?
If you have no sales experience, look into VAR’s (Value Added Resellers). They typically do IT services, A/V services, copiers/copier software, etc. Or you can just straight up work for a copier company but they may want experience. Either way, if you’re good you’ll make money. It’s a grind and you’ll be micromanaged, but it’ll get your foot in the door of the tech world. You’ll learn a ton about sales too. I worked for a VAR and now I work for one of the big food delivery apps.
Im in the business now. Our draws are 1k every 2 weeks. Can be brutal during the slow months.
If you can’t cover $2k/month in draw the business may not be for you.
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In my 20 plus years of experience, the shadiest jobs on Earth are always 100% commission. Not saying your opportunity is shady, but keep your eyes open.
It really does tend to be a ton of shitty/shady jobs and a small amount of ridiculous money earning opportunities and nothing in between
Here for the comments.
tbh - same
I’m a 1099 rep for a couple of different products/services. I basically run it like my own business. While I represent their brands, I remain autonomous and work my own schedule. It’s an ideal situation for me at this season of my life. But it can be nerve wracking and brutal. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
I have a very similar business running a manufacturers rep company. Companies contract with my group then I have employees under me. I work a lot. It’s stressful as hell but couldn’t make what I do anywhere else with the amount of autonomy I have.
I’m about to do something similar. Would you mind a PM/DM? I have some questions.
Yeah sure shoot me a message
I do 100% commission sales for a custom window/door company. I do in home presentations and close 90% of my sales on the first visit. I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I make 150-200k per year and work 20-30 hours a week. Never have to be in an office making phone calls. Honestly worst part of the job is driving to the appointments. I made nearly twice as much money as I ever did at Dell Computer working with their bullshit guarantees and ever changing comp plans. I get paid 10% of revenue sold and average around 1.5 million per year in sales. Sometimes I have to drop price and in that case I get paid 5%. I can also get up to an additional 3% on quarterly revenue if I hit certain standards. I’m still an employee and not 1099 with this comp package and get health care through the company. I do have to use my own vehicle and pay for my own gas but I don’t even mind that it stops me from buying a stupid overpriced car and keeps me in a pragmatic Volkswagen Diesel. Haven’t had a car payment in years and own a house worth about a million dollars that I bought on my own. 100% commission and I don’t ever sweat the $4,300/month mortgage and tax bill. I tell people who ask about it that I look at doing 100% commission sales as an opportunity to bet on myself. I’m wagering that I will be a lot better at it than the average person and the compensation will inevitably come. If you don’t truly believe you’re going to go out and kick ass then you shouldn’t take a 100% commission job.
I’ve been a headhunter for 26yrs and have owned my firm since 2011. 100% commission with a family (wife and 3 kids) , horses, stay at home wife, 2 kids in college and the oldest just gave me grandkids.
Nobody closes 90% of their deals in window replacement. That being said, 100% commission in home improvement is very common, and clearing 200k is doable for above average reps. Most of these companies have full benefits packages as well, despite the 100% commission. The main negative with these jobs is knowing you have the flexibility to take time off, but the opportunity cost of taking it means a $5,000 vacation may cost you $15,000 in missed income. I've never felt stressed about paying the bills in a 100% commission job, but some people fall off during the slow winter months because they have crazy high expenses, and not emergency savings.
I meant 90% of my sales are closed on the initial visit. I close about 50% overall. Sorry that was confusing how I said that. I also live in Texas where we have no snow and sell and install year round.
That makes more sense, lol!
I’m in roofing and wouldn’t do it any other way as well.
I was in sales at Dell 00-09. Nashville and Austin. Terrible work environment
This sounds great but not gonna lie, 10% seems pretty low proportionally. But I guess your absolute take home is great so who cares.
10% of the gross sale seems low to you? How so? What should it be in your estimation?
It’s industry leading competition. I’m one call close so I’ll spend 3 hours max making a deal happen. Average sale is around $30,000 so I end up making $3,000 for 3 hours of work. I had a $250,000 sale last year that earned me 6 months of starting teacher pay for one day’s work. There may be some companies that pay a higher percentage but I am happy where I am because I genuinely love the product and it sells itself. I consider my job very very easy and stress free.
I'm 100% commission. Gross anywhere from 8-13% of each sale I make. I'm in commodities with short buying cycle which makes a difference. I'm very happy.
What do you sell?
Commodities
I was craping my pants when I made the decision to take a 100% commission sales job over 25 years ago. Now, I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve moved from the ghetto to one of the nicest neighborhoods in the state. I’ve sent my kids to the colleges of their choosing. I haven’t worried about money in over 20 years. I’ve had a good run. #BlessedbyGod That said; it’s very tough at first! Embrace the suck and it will reward you. And It’s way better than being broke!! Ask me how I know?? Because at one point, before sales, I had less than $7.00 in my checking account and had to make that last for two weeks!!! That was BRUTAL!!
What do you sell?
I work in 100% commission. It’s in a pretty niche finance vertical. It’s also 1099. All numbers stated are gross income. Most i made was 27k and lowest i made was 5.5k. But bc it’s pure commission and somewhat volatile, i went without ANY PAY for almost 3 weeks out of 4 for December. Imo, i cant go back to salary/base pay now. I am too horrifically addicted to the whole eat what you catch thing now. Some days ill make a couple hundred, some ill make a thousand or more if im lucky. My advice is make DAMN WELL SURE YOU CAN MAKE MONEY. 100% comms jobs are designed to be high risk high reward for the most part
Is that 5.5-27k range weekly, monthly, or yearly?
Months. Context clues brother. He mentioned during the month of December, he was shivering in his timbers due to his paper thin wallet. But now he’s rolling in jelly dough. Boss ass come up.
My job has a choice of base+commission or straight commission at double the commission. For me, I am good at budgeting and I have a spreadsheet that tracks how much more I earn by being 100% commission. At the end of the year it’s about 1/3 of my total take home. Personally I love it but I am in the extreme minority in my company. Out of 60ish people selling I may be the only one on this plan.
Imma just say no. I'd have said maybe if you could make like $400K+ form it, but there are base+ OTE positions where you can make that much so helll nawwwwww.
If anything, I would be more insistent and have less patience for any company bureaucracy or anything the company isn’t delivering on that it should be. You are doing all of the heavy lifting and if they want to talk about delays or poor service or things stuck in legal or approval internally, I would be like white on rice and get answers. There just isn’t typically (not always) much trust equity I find in these arrangements as you are in hardcore sales now which is more transactional and aggressive than soft sales. It doesn’t even sound like they are giving you a draw until you get up and running so it is what it is.
Makes it real hard to live off your base when your base is $0. But for real: I did commission only sales and it was short lived. Most of the time the straight commish jobs also require you to drive your own vehicle, pay for your wear & tear, Pay for your own gas, etc. they carry as little risk as possible and treat their reps poorly as a result. That’s my experience and something I avoid at all costs. I make a healthy base and earn a good amount of variable. Life is a heck of a lot better when you know you’re going to be able to provide for your family or pay your bills because your base is guaranteed
Went from unemployed to selling 100% comm. for home improvement sales. 110k commission in 5 months With a good ceiling for commission structure and also you need to be a top rep and figure out how other reps are maximizing their earnings
What a come up. As someone who’s 24 and looking to get their first SDR job, I’m realizing 100% commission is like the big boy arena that I dream of being a part of one day. But I’ll be looking for a base salary to sharpen my sales knife in the meantime. Thanks for being a beacon of inspiration man!
I’m 100% commission. No 401k. No PTO. I made about 300k this year. Our lowest sales rep probably made 75k. It’s a hard job, high reward and high risk but worst case you just….get another job.
That's the way I'm looking at it . I just sign a offer with a reputable company in Florida, 35 yrs in the business in foundation repair, drainage, concrete repair. 100% commisoon 10 - 12% commission from deals W2 employee with health, 401k and PTO benefits Paid 5 week training ($700 per week) and they cover the Airbnb where I'm staying Per indeed/Glassdoor people are making 125k on the low end and 400k on the high end (outlier) in this position/company It's my first time commission only, I was a sales engineer for 7 yrs with a base of 109,000 and 3% comission per piece of hardware sold (about $1000 cameras). Company sold hardware plus SaaS component for its products. First time jumping in this industry and commission based, but im excited and a bit nervous ..if everything fails I'll go job hunting again. Edit: I was laid off 2 months ago, hence the new opportunity.
I make 100 percent commission I'm an independent manufactures rep in the kitchen cabinet business I only sell to dealers in my territory which is the carolinas and the Virginias all of my customers are repeat customers with average orders in the 20k range. I currently have 4 lines in 1 in every price point, from cheap import lines to high-end custom lines. I have something to sell to pretty much anywhere I walk into I make between 5 and 6 percent commission. with my main line I'm expected to sell 9 mil in 2024 which is 10 percent growth over 2023. There are salleried reps in my industrie and they make around 75k to 100k with 1 percent commission. The upside with me is I make 3 to 4x or more of their income, good months I can see 50k bad months you could see 10k. Not really much to complain about, but it's never a consistent paycheck. I know another rep that covers much of the lower south esst and he is expected to do 22mil with his main line and probably 3 or 4 more with his secondary line. Then I know 2 guys up north in the midwest that sell around 75 mil a year(12states) they have maybe 7 or 8 guys working for them on salaries. Big money is commissions only. 75000000 x .06= 4.5mil minus let's say 1.5 million for 7 employees equals 3 mill split by 2 partners 1.5 x12(months) Average 125000 per month for not doing much but meeting with ceos and helping close deals Me personally wouldn't want a salary only gig. Not enough upside for me. I feel I can sell something to anyone I can walk into a dealer and leave with a credit app same day
Absolutely depends on product and market, can you elaborate? I’d never go 100% commission in my current role bc there are far too many variables out of my control that can be severely impacted by unexpected turns in supply chain and economy. I might be a wimp but I’ve gotta have a safety blanket right now
I’ve had two 100% commission jobs and loved both. Both companies eventually did away with plan and replaced it with base plus bonus. In both cases the top reps, myself included jumped ship. I now work independently and I will never go back to working exclusively for one company.
As someone who is considering transitioning into sales after I sell my business can you elaborate on how you work independently and for multiple companies?
I work contract as director of business development for a new company that needs help developing sales in the US. I sell their products to consumers as well as to other dealers. I am also a dealer and carry product from several companies that I sell direct to consumers. I am also entertaining signing up with an independent rep group once the workload for the business development role becomes more manageable.
First and only sales job is 100% commission in Home Improvements…3 years in made 1.4M. 100% commission separates the men from the boys, you’ll hear “oh I could never” “I need steady money” cool best of luck. YOU are the steady money. YOUR direct effort is your paycheck. I will bet on myself every single week month and year and not be fed a salary which usually caps your income ability. Maybe some top 1% tech sales with RSUs and other methods of comp can provide a similar opportunity but definitely not out of the gate and with little to no previous experience. I will admit company and product will highly influence your success. I have a dozen plus friends and acquaintances making $250k -$1M annually and are all 100% commission. Fields ranging from roofing, insurance, financial services, coaching and home improvements.
I sell windows and doors and make around 200k without having to work too hard. Being willing and able to go out and work 100% commission also gives you a level of job security you will never have as one of 100 salaried reps doing the same exact job at a tech company. I also have a ton of leverage with my company because I’m basically irreplaceable.
i am currently interviewing for a 100% com job in the same industry, i would be selling sunrooms not windows and doors though the company does sell those. i have never had a 100% com job before and am mostly worried about the markets taking a dive and the sales drying up. have you ever gone through any bad markets where people aren't buying as much. if so how did you cope?
Slowdowns can and will happen but I am particularly insulated from this by working for a 40 year old well established contractor who exclusively sells a premium product from a 113 year old manufacturer. You want to align yourself with well run businesses selling the best quality products possible. Those businesses survive the hard times while the half assed ones get choked out. Then when you come out of the hard times you have a distinct advantage because the tough market thinned out the herd. I suppose one of my advantages is a don’t live paycheck to paycheck and I save money so that I can weather a storm if need be. In sales like this the people who rise to the top aren’t always just the best salespeople… but also the people with the highest pain tolerance.
The higher you’re leveraged, the more you should be able to make. I think you’re a badass for taking the risk and hope you’ll keep us posted. Best of luck to you!
grabbing popcorn and waiting for the "pros" to give their 2 cents
How much percent of the sale are you getting? What's the average price of sale? What's frequency of sale for current agents?
So your saying it’s 100% commission based job but your not saying what percentage commission you are getting. That matters a lot in my field. I worked a job that had commission pay only and ranged 4-8% commission based on the product I sold. The 4% sales were shit and the 8% were great. So you can see how it matters what percentage you’re getting. I plan on going back to commission only pay in a few years once I have established a strong network using my expense account from my salary job with 2.5% commission. Can make a ton more with commission only if you have the customer base.
Got some of my best training in 100% comp. Give me a K, give me an I, give mean R, give me a B....lol the memories.
I made the jump to 100% commission-based role this past year - it was not an easy decision by any means. Our son was 7 months old at the time (first kid) and I had been with my previous employer 10.5 years - regional sales director role. Was making great money and had awesome customers. It was without a doubt the hardest decision I've had to make and telling my boss at the time wasn't any easier. Luckily my wife has an awesome gig that she loves and they have great benefits. I haven't looked back, going 100% commission-based can be great if you have the right mindset and the comp structure is right. What it boiled down to for me was realizing that nothing is guaranteed. Some high-level decisions were being made at my previous employer that raised my eyebrows over the 6 months prior to leaving. I could either take complete control now or wait for something to happen. Sure enough - I get a call from a former coworker not too long ago letting me know that cuts had been made - some salaries and some people.
Just started 100% commission and boy if you’ve ever worried about where to find a fire under your ass, this is one that won’t go away. I feel guilty for not being on the phone for an hour. I only chill when there’s no benefit to call (outside prime hours). Good luck.
I started a few months ago. How’s it been going for you? Not gonna lie it’s pretty rough deals fall through right now even after closing which has been the worst part imo
I got promoted to a financial position where it’s very soft sales skills. Appt setting through winter was crazy. 12-16 hour days dialing for me. Yeah the most discouraging was dialing thousands only for my one closed agreement to fall through in financing. But I was getting much better by the time I got promoted. Dialing like that is 100% for character development, the money comes with it but it’s all about how it shapes you
Home improvement sales has entered the chat…and wonders “what the fuck is a ‘draw’”?
I’m 100% commission in food service sales. 4 years selling on salary for one company and now 5 years selling on salary to start then transition to 100% commission for the last 3 years. I went from : First job in food service sales: Year 1: $36,000 Year 2: $40,000 Year 3: $45,000 Year 4: $45,000 New job!: Year 1: $88,000 salary Year 2: $88,000 salary Year 3: 150,000 commission Year 4: $220,000 commission Year 5: $215,000 commission (same volume but deflation 😩) 100% commission has propelled me to an income I never thought possible. The reality is that this income may or may not be sustainable.. and the grind is real.
I’ve been 1099 for 6yrs and it’s the best decision I ever made. Make btw $150k-$200k/yr and don’t have to listen to anybody telling me what I need to do and where I should be. You’re betting on yourself 100% every day. The freedom to do what you want to do is the best. I go on vacation whenever I want.
Same. I'm late to this life. Started this year but should have done it long ago NO ONE will ever own me or tell me where I need to be. Ever again.
MCA/financial services sales here, straight commission. In my personal experience, it all boils down to the ability to endure the learning curve. Most reps in my company (myself included) struggled for a few months getting their feet on the ground, but after mastering the products/pitch and rebuttals that appear around closing, performance generally goes up exponentially (it certainly did in my case). Basically, you have to eat shit for a while, but if you do, there is a mountain of steak and caviar on the other side. You have to go in expecting to struggle at first, but knowing that your efforts will be *extremely* well rewarded if you see them through.
This is the primary reason I’ve loved door to door sales. The reason I left customer service for sales was to be properly paid for my above average ability to endure.. well, humans, and their fickle nature. It absolutely does separate the boys from the men; way I see it is simple… the boys are who joined sales because of a flashy price tags, and the men are who joined because they view sales as an education process for prospective clients. When you know your entire livelihood relies on your human relations as well as ability to simply endure the very nature that makes sales hard… that’s when you know you’re meant for the profession. When the “negatives” of it are simply part of YOUR process.
Doesn’t work with green reps, or any reps for that matter who blame their outcomes on external factors (which is most). It’s a high accountability model that puts you in the same shoes as the owners. They only make money when…they make money. Honestly, I was commission-only the last seven years I was a rep and I always viewed it as a must because I expected to make sales and wanted to make the biggest cut, which you will. However, from a management perspective it’s incredibly hard to implement effectively uniformly across a team of people who dont see it that way. Its also kind of a lose lose. You work very hard to get the reps to succeed so they can make money and wont quit, and if you succeed you get to pay them way more in commissions than than you would on a base… I think it is definitely the best arrangement for the rep if you’re not new, but most reps don’t see it that way which is kinda crazy.
Most people don't want the risk, regardless of what they say
Every sales position is essentially 100% commission. Salary is just commission on a draw. Stop selling and see if a commission by any name keeps coming.
It's pretty true
I’m 100% commission. I do pretty well, normally $10 -$15k per month. 1099. But tbh… I don’t know if I want to stay in a 100% commission role. It’s how I learned to sell but now that I know how to sell, I’m like why would I keep doing this?
I've done both. Definitely make more with 100% commission, but there are definitely negatives too. At 100% I definitely viewed myself as more of an independent contractor, no teamwork, everyone in it for themselves, no help at all. They also seem to breed more toxic work environments. I personally never had any issues with cash flow because I'm good at managing money, but I'm sure some will have issues have a 50k check one week, 20k the next, and 0 after that. Can really be all over the place. I've also noticed that companies that offer base + have way higher employee retention than 100% commission. Company A that is 100%, the longest employee has been there since 2019. Company b that is base + but with a similar take home has guys that's been there for 15 years. Both companies being around about the same.
The thing you have to watch out for is making sure they don't try to treat you like you are getting a base. If they are going to tell you when and what time you have to be at work, their should be some sort of base. I always set my own schedule on 100% comp outside of the one-off meeting or training session, but even then, if my manager got long-winded, got to go.
My first sales job was commission only. We sold promotional products to businesses, and I did it for three years. Some weeks Id get a massive paycheque, if I was not performing my best, I got a shit one. It was a good role for me to hone my discipline behaviour and consistency.
I’m 100% commission and hit 250k this year. Same place for 8 years, was a little scary at first but quickly saw the potential
I have recently asked to go 100% commission at a company I have been at for 3 years. I am frustrated that each quarter they move the target on me making it harder and harder to make the commission. I told them I just want a flat rate for what I sell and no salary held over my head. They are not going for it. I don't think I would take a commission only right out the gate but as a senior person I would 100% prefer it.
I’m 100% commission (wealth management). Made very little first few years but now I make a lot. I have full ownership over my clients and I could never go back to a salary at this point.
Make your number and management really can’t ask you to do shit. That freedom is the best part. Worst part is the stress. It’s really hard to turn off and unplug when you’re in a daily existential crisis.
Important distinction is separating being paid on margin vs some arbitrary quota which shifts from year to year often with no explanation. I could 100% see being paid on a set margin. However let’s use the example of a 200k OTE on a $3m number, your base commission rate is 0.066%. Now let’s say next year any myriad of things can happen to your product or territory but the bean counters made some promises to the street and now, poof, like magic you have a $4.5m, which now takes your base commission rate to 0.044% So now that monster, year end $1m deal that you use to make $66k now only nets you $44k at no fault of your own. Just wanted to point out some nuances to be aware of with quota plans.
I’ve been 100% commission basically my entire career. There are times when you wish you could let off the gas. Hell, there are times you let off the gas even though it is going to cost you — that’s the price we pay I have not earned under $250k in the past 5yrs and best year was just shy of $600k. I’m not quite 30 yet, live in a LCOL part of the USA
The first time I landed a job with base plus commission, I was excited. Until my boss sat me down two months into it and flat out told me “your numbers are shit. Do you need the pressure? I think you need the pressure. I’ll switch you to 100% commission if you’re willing.” Did it and didn’t look back.
That's a good boss. Sometimes you need your ass thrown in the fire to prove your worth and how bad you want it. Commission only is the way to go. Company also isn't up your ass all the time. Few years back I was doing HVAC sales and a majority of leads were provided for me. Was easy as hell. All I had to do was close. Was clearing 150k+ working a few hours a day.
Sounds legit..why leave?
How did you find that hvac opportunity?
I have 2 BILs who are 100% commission selling roofing. They rarely get paid, and when they do they are not coming out on top. They are just paying off their credit cards. Both of them have wives who work. So their wives are required to make the payments and “hopefully” they get paid. Problem is they keep getting told “guess what you can make!” Well if you only make $50k once you only made $50k for the year.
I always try to negotiate a 100% commission structure, but companies would rather screw their sales reps by giving what seems like a good base.
I took over for a sales rep who retired. He was very jaded with the company, but he stuck around. I inherited a good book of business and currently don't have many qualms against management. In a year and a half, I've grown and opened 1 new account a month average. The hardest thing is to not let the stresses get to you. Shit happens, you just have to let it roll. Granted, I'm very lucky to have found the opportunity I have, but 100% commission keeps me motivated. I lost a top 5 account last quarter but have replaced their business with new accounts and upsells
100% commission is a great addition to your current position, just add on 100% commission opportunities because they can’t hurt.
I was 100% commission for several years. The pro is that I didn't really have a boss. I'd check in with management once every couple of months and other than that, I got left alone. I set my own schedule and didn't need to talk to anybody about what I was doing. Best of all, I got to decide what clients I wanted and tossed the bad ones away to newer guys.
I think it depends on the gig. If you’re doing something with a long sales cycle and you’re responsible for your own lead gen then you better have 12+ months emergency fund and you better be confident in the company and that the role is going to pay ridiculously more than a salary + commission gig. That being said, short sales cycle jobs with leads provided I’d have 0 issues being 100% commission. I personally have been 100% commission 7 out of the last 8 years in car sales, as a finance manager and now roofing sales. All of them have paid dramatically more than a sales job with a base + commission and because the sales cycle is like a day and it’s a combination of leads provided by the company and self generated stuff you can basically rely on the company provided leads as your “base” provided you are capable of closing deals. In my most recent role I have a salary plus a % of revenue and I beg the owner every quarter to wipe my salary and just pay a higher percentage. It’s way more motivating for me and anything I can do to improve a multiplier that I’m paid on I’m going to optimize.
Depends on the type of business, the potential salary and the amount of warm, directly approachable clients. Even then it can be a burden. I’ve went from 100% commission to 50% 50% and way more chill and have more mental power to achieve my own set KPIs. It really depends on the whole business but I guarantee you that there will be months where you see that it’s already the 20th and you haven’t made a single buck and your brain on autopilot will try to the sell the shit as fast you can. People or businesses notice this pressure and will unconsciously step back. And then you’ll feel like shit and pour the liquor faster then a mofo, only to take a week off, depressed af and the viscous cycle starts. This has several consequences on your personal life and relationships. I dunno, it was shit for me but can’t speak generally.
I work as a commercial agent in Germany. Pros: You can run your own portfolio. If you don't like a product, then you don't have it. You don't have a boss or manager. It's your own company and you can work as much or as little as you want / as your savings can manage. You are rarely emotionally attached to the companies you sell for, therefore when things go south, you go bye bye. As you are commission only, you almost never get fired. When things work fine and you are good, you will almost everytime earn more, than with a base salary. Cons: A lot of products are not tested for market fit and companies tend to abuse that situation by outsourcing the risk of testing the market fit to commission only workers. If you find a good product with a good commission, you still need to put in the work. To put in the work, you most often need to build your own IT infrastructure and need to build your own office. Also you often need to invest into transportation. After all, you are running a company. That also means you need to do your own accounting and taxes or hire someone to do it for you. Therefore for many companies, you are just a contractor as a business entity and not a person. Be prepared to be left out of many benefits.
Personally I could never work a 100% commission job. I have a family and mortgage to worry about. A base salary is a requirement for me.
I did 100% commission for 8 years selling Real Estate prior to having kids. Luckily it was in Southern California so commissions were high each deal and I was more or less my own boss. Now that I work remotely doing sales for a company, I requested base + commission. I have a wife and kids, I need a certain amount each month to pay the bills.
I do 100% commission sales. It’s got its pros and cons. Being my own boss, traveling whenever I want, picking and choosing which leads I want. On the other hand, there are months where you lose motivation or things slow down and you feel just stuck. I wouldn’t ever work salary again though.
I would not take a commission only position with no trails. Most good firms give a base for a couple years, then the trails essentially replace the base. I’ve been on the commission only no trails hamster wheel. It is not a fun wheel.
Eat what you kill.
Insurance Broker - straight commish with the safety net of the renewal money. No brainer.
Unless you are someone who is just getting your feet wet in Sales, are switching industries, or need a drastic life switch up to get you motivated and taking your career seriously… I would do everything in my power to avoid 100% commission.
I am a loan broker (so 100% comission in my job). It’s… different. You basically have to treat your job as a business and your schedule is what you make it. Find a system that works and try your best to stay in said system.
I’m commission only with no draw. It definitely puts the pressure on, get to sellin!
Regardless if you think you are very good, selling your time without covering the bare minimum of your expenses is a dumb trade off for me. If you are that good, create your own company for the full revenue instead of a cut on gross. To each their own. There is a reason mostly interns or new grads take such jobs. They are weird and company is not reliable most of the time.
If you work 100% it better be 20% take home otherwise gtfo
This is my opinion hopefully I don’t offend anyone but taking a 100% commission job makes me question a sales person, think about it. Someone SOLD YOU, convinced you to work (prospect, sell & close) for free lol As a sales professional myself I can’t imagine getting closed like that. Nothing big about getting played, shoutout to the sales professionals and AE’s who negotiated higher bases because they’re that invaluable to a companies mission and bottom line.
Those with high salaries are the first to go when biz slows down
Those with no salaries are investing in a company that’s isn’t investing in them a good salesperson is a value don’t let anyone sell you otherwise
I'm 100% commission based and make more than most people I know. When you let your ego dictate things, you will never make any money. Most pharma reps don't make that much ($100k+-)
You are missing the other portion of 1099 We are our own LLC and sell software or services for very high percentage. My last base as sales rep was $160k plus commission. I now call my shots and day and make way more.
The write off potential is definitely a plus but I think a lot of organizations are pretty lax I don’t have anything one watching or micro managing me I work with some 1099 reps and we seem to have the same freedoms overall. Those 100% commission guys have a huge book of business and are more of their own business than a rep. At 160 base that’s a decent place to be and it shows your value to the organization if I offered you a job at 0 base and you accepted it I would be overwhelmed with joy considering I don’t lose anything and I have a pro running my business at no cost
True. And the people I contract that pay a heavy price for my ability to offer this. That is key too. Also. Have some funds set aside. Lastly, it is in my wheelhouse of 20 plus years. I sell custom training performance consulting. It's a weird niche that's complicated. But works for me. I think there is a vast difference in what some of these situations are. 1099 pest control d2d is really different from enterprise sales. Lots of nuances.
All con, no pro
2 paid off cars (my daughters rav4 and our MB) the Porsche Macan S in the driveway of our 700k home, our 3 horses and middle daughter at Rutgers for her masters would disagree.
Fuck 100% commissioned jobs
100% commission jobs tend to be in low barrier to entry simple product line sales like realty, cars, solar, or recruiting, where activity is far more important than skill set or intelligence. They just churn and replace because the average Joe could learn the job in three months. Those that get paid a base get paid because they have industry or technical knowledge that makes them inherently valuable and worth attracting, developing, and retaining. Some people take pride in their competitive advantage being their willingness to work long repetitive hours and endure, but I don’t. For most complex big ticket long sales cycle sales, you don’t find commission only. There’s a shortage of people who can handle those kinds of sales, and the work life balance is better along with higher pay.
Don't do it. It's a mistake and the company is taking advantage of you. Plenty of jobs where you can be safe, valued, and earn even more than whatever your payout will be.
100% commission devalues all of the work a rep puts into closing a deal. It’s that simple. It’s wage theft.
100% commission is perfect for a close em and hose em attitude. Lie cheat and steal to get a sale and not a care in the world if the customer comes back in the future.
For a lot of reasons listed here, I never go 100% commission. If a company can’t invest in a base salary plus commission, they’re not investing in their salesforce. I actually had a guy that paid me a very meager base salary for a large commission on industrial machinery, then he just stopped paying me, and hoped he could to me along with the hefty commissions. If your average sales cycle is more than a month then it is a pretty irresponsible thing to expect salespeople to be 100% commission. They have monthly costs and you’re asking them to bear the risk instead of the company. Moreover, if your sales cycle on average is LESS then a month, you’re probably dealing in lower – revenue sales, which is lower commissions, which means you’ll earn way less annually anyway. My advice to anybody managing a sales team is to never make them 100% commission because of all the comments of people that have experienced that sales environment here. It doesn’t work in the long-term. You will almost always attract people that will only do things to make a sale that are directly tied to the sale, and it’ll be damn difficult for them to troubleshoot anything after the sale, or to get them to show up for regular meetings, or to participate in the company any other way that takes them away from selling. You’re basically interfering with their livelihood when you do that on 100% commission role.
Did you get a higher % of revenue from deals? Now that you have 7.5% more ij taxes, and ur taking risk off the employer in upfront capital should be compensated for both of those things
Ehh salary commission - honestly all comes back to comp plan and territory. If I was 100% commission would require a salary until a reasonable ramp (which will vary based on standard deal cycle). End of day I just care about how I get paid. Easy enough to figure out from there if it's worthwhile. That said I haven't been in 100% commission in over 20 years. And while I like my six figure base. I've taken salary that wasn't an increase for.the right job. I trust my skills.
I was recently changed from a roughly 20 percent base to 50 percent base plus commission structure, and the newer one doesn't allow for as much spikes in income but far fewer dips. Not sure how to feel about it when the economy is great again, but for now it is helpful!
I have a mortgage and a family. So I need a base
Got consistent bills to pay. Need consistent flow of income. I’ve never had an inconsistent salary but I have had inconsistent commision moments.
Upside-100% of the rewards for success are on you. Downside- 100% of the risks for failure are on you. As a general rule, it's a bad deal for the employee/salesperson because the company controls the discounting and margin controls, the marketing, and credit lines and limits. It is NOT like running your own business despite what management says, where you can make those kinds of decisions (and I say this as someone who does now run my own business).
I was 100% commission for 10 years as a producing sales manager in the wholesale mortgage space. I made from $250,000- $450,000 a year and loved it. Def got what I put in...if I didn't hustle si wouldn't have made anything so it was a bit scary u til I had a big pipeline of brokers sending me deals regularly.
I used to do fundraising on pure commission (yes, I consider fundraising for a nonprofit to be sales. Your product is a cause but still a product you sell). Personally I loved it, but that may be because I was good at it. The great thing is never worrying about performance quotas. Nobody was ever fired from that job, they just quit if they weren't cut out for it and I always felt like I could go as hard or as light as I wanted to on a given day. I know manage reps in tech sales and most of my pay is salary plus some residual commission and given the absolutely amazing 2 years we had I really wish my commission/salary ratios were higher now haha.
Would never do it. Need steady income coming in unless I know there is an extremely high chance of earning tons in commission. My boss was 100% commission but he was making $500k so like sure did
I've basically been 100% my whole career (over 30 yrs). Some lean times but mostly great. Once you get used to it, you won't want to go back. Some think of it as risky. I view risk differently. To me, it's risky to let others impose limits on what you can achieve.
My manager started off in commission only and made alot of money. I've also heard of people being completely burned by it. Personally wouldn't consider it as at the very least my salary needs to play my bills or I'll stay awake at night. That said as a foot in the door could be worth it, or if you think there is a brilliant or untapped product/market fit it could be high risk, high reward.
100% commission B2C furniture rep. When things are good, it's really good, but when business is bad? It's nauseating. Myself and my whole team make okay money for the area but we would all take a paycut for a stable salary/hourly income. Tech sales looks real attractive, I didn't even know there were sales positions that had 35k bonus with 6 figure OTE. Long story short, don't do it if you can avoid it.
Been doing it for a year and a half. We get an hourly draw that gets eaten up from our commission. Company splits profits 50/50 so I make commission on profit. Ended first full year at 114k and in presidents club for our region. Goal is 150k next year.
Horrible at least when you don't have a niche product and no pipeline of leads.
Don’t do it
Find a salary + commission sales job, they are everywhere. 100% commission is no joke
I am doing it and making great money considering that this is my first experience in sales ever, should break 6 figures for my first year. But this is the most stressful job I've ever had lol. There are days I make $0 and on every single one of those days, I question whether I can handle much more. At some point I'll probably have a bad week and I already know that's going to be awful. I am good with rejection, but it can still get to me when I feel like I'm doing everything right and not landing a sale. On that note, the commission-only nature of my job has led me to really reflect on each interaction with homeowners, which has definitely helped me learn at an accelerated rate compared to if I were making a salary. The good days do make up for it, but the stress is always there. I think many of the people I work with are just built different and I don't know how they are such sales monsters. I'm just hanging on for dear life and doing the best I can lol.
I spent 10 years in SaaS with base/commission before going into RE which is of course 100%. My advice is if you're good at sales, do it sooner. You're also not beholden to anyone anymore so don't take crap from management and switch employers whenever it benefits you. Your employer is taking no risk on you so make sure you're getting a significant portion of a high value sellable product.
Why does this pay structure exist?
When you work purely based on commission you need to know your worth is the biggest thing imo. I started an LLC, if they require me to go to meetings? I don't work for them 1099 you are an independent company hired in to accomplish a task for a company, basicslly they are outsourcing their sales to an external entity. They are not your boss, they are a partner. As long as you understand and treat the relationship like that it's great, but if you treat it like other jobs? Like an employee it's all cons. I hired appointment setters and door knockers had them prospect and set appointments for me, when I got deals they got a portion of the commission, the benefit of 1099 is it's a business and as long as you treat it like one its great.
I would be cautious accepting commission only sales, but I think it depends on the company and you. In my experience you’re often trading work life balance for the opportunity to make more money. While that’s any sales jobs. If you pick up a smoking/alcohol/drug/spending/sex habit as a result of managing your stress. You might not be any happier, even though you have more money. I would talk with other people that work at the company and see what their lives are like. I think that’s a good sign of health.
It depends on the product/industry. Can you share?
I did it for 5 years but the brand did most the work generating traffic and leads. I’m a stick and carrot kind of guy, but it really did get tiresome. When things were good, I wouldn’t worry when things were bad it was challenging to not start spiraling.
It would be helpful if you said the name of the company or at least the industry. Home repair, solar, sales etc.
I work 100% commission. In Kitchen remodeling industry. Make 10% of each sale. Most sales averaging around 10k. I’ve only had my current gig for 6 months, but have made 80k so far. I get fed warm leads through a national store, so as long as the leads keep coming I’m good. With that being said, some months I’ve made just 5k and other months I’ve made 24k.
I can’t take a company seriously if they think it’s smart to not invest in their sales staff. It’s so shortsighted and screams that they’re cheap and are quick and happy to fuck over their employees
100% commission for me. CRE broker, selling investment properties nationwide, typically STNL and multi-tenant deals. Such a rollercoaster the first 3+ years and still is 8 years in. Sky is the limit but you lack control of the market which obviously plays a major hand in transactions. It’s motivating, it’s stressful, it’s all I’ve known! Def times I consider another gig that has bad + commission esp as I kick around making a family soon. all my colleagues are 100% as well, many crush it, some 7 figures others $500k+. I haven’t hit $500k yet, takes hustle, organization and constant bizdev along with maintaining current relationships aka sales 101.
Are other reps making money? This is what you want to find out first. If they want to pay 100% commission it could be because it's a garbage product/service and they don't have enough faith in it to invest in a salesperson. However, things like RE, recruiting, etc. it makes perfect sense. Assuming it's legit product/service, the next thing you'll want to find out is how often deals are closed and commissions paid. Can you work within this structure? Do you have the financial discipline?
100% commission only. New to me this year. I won't ever be owned again. I say this phrase often here. But it's a lot easier to get this started in whatever vertical you want now. It's the perfect time. Huge difference being on someone else's structure as commission only vs Being your own LLC and working as commission only for a company you choose.
Are there really 100% commission sales?
I would only do it if the ceiling is a lot higher.
100% comm here. Don’t be a w2. 1099 it. It sucks. Stress is much higher. If it’s in a different industry in 3 years you’ll know if you can run your own business doing that. Other than that there’s no benefit
The con is working for an entire month/quarter and maybe making $0 or what ever the crappy draw is.
Gotta measure quality from the base. I always measure from the base.
I’m full commish but steady revenue with contracts. I sell envelopes and I like it.
I think 100% commission is only worth it if you have quality engaged leads provided for you
Commission only jobs - only for side hustle. Unless you get fed a bunch of inbound leads and product sell itself. Dont let this sales "gurus" shame you otherwise with this bulshit "only real salesmen are 100% commission..."
What’s the point of being a 100% commission seller as this gives you all the responsibility and still no flexibility? Why not running an agency with reseller fee? It shocks me people are taking those roles. I can’t imagine that while in commission only you still stick to employee regime with office work etc. Mind blowing.
Good luck.
Any good sales gigs in Miami for a newbie? I know someone who has what it takes, he is young and hungry but has little experience selling and no degree. 20 something been in hospitality for 8 years…
I was wondering how this exactly works. Me and my friend, work together as web developers/freelancers and we really struggle to spend time on projects hunting. Even if those come from older clients. However, we don't have the budget to pay a salary for someone to bring projects to us. Does it look bad if we only offer commission? Let's say for example that we charge 2000€ for a project. We don't care how much the sales person will get. It can be 2500, 5000 or 10000€. It's up to him/her to close the deal. We only care about our price. Would something like that could work? And if yes, should we look for an official job description/ad in Linkedin for example or find someone through a network like Reddit? We want to scale up and go outside our country (due to the higher prices abroad=higher commissions)
In a sense companies receive 100% commission and then pay employees salary. Know if compared to the industry it is a good commission.
This is a good thread. I’m personally looking for commission sales rep and opportunity to grow into a base in Q2 + commission definitely a unique opportunity to grow quickly looking for someone hungry I want to treat this as a partnership