Startups Anonymous Est. 2013 · Read-only archive
Questions

Any ideas for attracting great commission only sales people??

2 answers from the community

AAnonymous· Mar 13, 2014

Great sales people don't need to work commission-only. Find a way to pay base or you'll only get the dregs.

AAnonymous· Mar 13, 2014

Above comment is totally accurate.

Also, you may consider expanding your view of the value of great salespeople beyond just revenue.

Commission only sales has only ever 'worked' in two industries: Manufacturer's reps, real estate (there are others, but turnover rates seam hiring and training costs unsustainable and stipends have been out in place).

Other names for salespeople:
-your primary contact with your market
-the best informers of product features, based on customer feedback, not whiteboards (and sometimes strategy)
-owners of the single most important metric on which both future fundraising attempts and the success of your company will be judged.

So - are you really the type of CEO who thinks the role of a sales team has ZERO value outside of revenue? Hopefully not.