Commissioned Sales

If you are interested in working in Sales, one of your best options is working straight-commission. Taking a sales job that pays by commission only is much like starting your own business. You have to find your own customers, sell them on the product or service, and then provide a great deal of customer service after the sale. It sounds like hard work, doesn't it? It can be, but the freedom and the ability to decide how much you are going to earn makes straight-commission sales very attractive.

Most salespeople who look at straight-commission sales think of traditional fields, such as Real Estate and the Insurance business. While these are traditionally fields where hard workers can earn a good part-time or full-time income, they aren't the only fields where you can earn high commissions. There are many other industries filled with companies actively seeking skilled and productive sales representatives. Home improvement companies offer commission work to salespeople who can market remodeling services, water purification/softening equipment, siding, roofing, swimming pool construction, insulation, decorative art, and many other residential products. Toy and gift companies are always looking for quality manufacturer's representatives to offer wholesale products to retail stores, regional chains, organizations seeking promotional products, etc.

No matter what type of sales you would like to do, consider the options. There are basically two types of sales; inside and outside sales. Inside sales is basically a sales job you can work from home or from a central office. You typically make sales calls to potential customers and try to complete a sale over the telephone. Inside sales representatives typically have lists of customers called leads that are more likely to purchase than say a list of names from a telephone directory. However, when leads are unavailable, sales representatives typically call business owners or homeowners at random trying to find interested clients. This is commonly called "cold calling" and can be very difficult, but can also be productive. Straight-commission inside sales is much more profitable for the sales representative because the inside sales company pays little or nothing for leads or office material as opposed to what is paid out for salaries salespeople.

Outside sales relies on some lead generation (phone calls, letters, emails), but mostly consists of meeting face-to-face with customers in an effort to sell goods or services. Typically an appointment is set with an interested party, a brief meeting takes place, and either a sale is made or a follow up appointment is scheduled. Outside salespeople often cover all their own costs so whatever commission structure they agree to is what they are paid. Again, when the company pays less overhead for the sales employee in a straight-commission arrangement, more commission is paid directly to the sales representative.

The best part of working commissioned sales is that you determine how much money you will make by your own efforts. Many people prefer not to work in this way and feel the lack of support and structure takes away from possible sales success. Others enjoy the freedom to work as much as possible and to generate as much income as possible. With straight-commission work, it's all up to you, but the sky is the limit on your earnings!

Michael Taylor is a professional freelance writer with experience in high-tech and the travel industry. See his blog at: http://everythingtheydidnttellyou.blogspot.com/

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