Commission Based Positions

[JPolen01]

I've recently started interviewing for jobs in sales. Industries I'm looking at currently are technology, insurance, and a little bit of staffing agency type work. Today I had a great interview with a big name life insurance/retirement planning firm. On the spot my interviewer (managing partner of the Baltimore office) set me up an appointment with their head of training and another appointment with himself. I'm excited about moving forward and the potential opportunity with this company, but it is a 100% commission based sales position. No draw, no base. Does anyone have experience in a 100% commission position? How much does it suck (or not)? The position is uncapped. Am I crazy for entertaining the thought of a position like this right out of school?

[davej]

no personal experience in something like that, but curious if they offer benefits like health insurance/retirement matching/etc?
i'm sure there are people that are successful at those positions, but of my friends which did insurance sales it was like 99% call your family up and try to generate leads.

[Goodspeed]

I'd be very, very cautious. How did you find this company/they find you? There are tons of sales-type companies out there that have been having a field day these past few years preying (there's really no other word for it) on recent college grads looking for work in this economy. I'd read the fine print in great detail about earning expectations - do they have quotas? If so, what concrete expectations do they have that you would have to meet to be able to keep your job?

I'd be realistic about potential income - they may have told you about people who made mega bucks in the position you're interviewing for, but as with any sales role, that comes with a certain amount of skill and a good amount of luck. Starting out, you need to build up a base of contacts, get familiar with the products and your presentation, etc etc. So take whatever ballpark figure they gave you and cut it in half.

How much it sucks or doesn't suck depends on so many external factors. Beyond your coworkers, boss(es), etc. sales is a very fluid environment. A lot is out of your hands - the season (are people buying right now? Do they have any money?), the product, the customers you interact with, the list goes on. It'll also depend on how good of a salesperson you are (up to an including how shady you are comfortable being). You might kill it or you might burn out after 4 weeks.

I worked in a somewhat similar role for a short time and it was not my thing, so I left. If I were you I probably wouldn't, but I'm not you so - I'd treat this as an opportunity to be safely pessimistic so that you have a somewhat honest expectation of whats ahead if you take the job.

Oh, and read Indeed/Glassdoor reviews and weed out the ones obviously written by HR.

[SlimKlim]

I'd be very, very cautious. How did you find this company/they find you? There are tons of sales-type companies out there that have been having a field day these past few years preying (there's really no other word for it) on recent college grads looking for work in this economy. I'd read the fine print in great detail about earning expectations - do they have quotas? If so, what concrete expectations do they have that you would have to meet to be able to keep your job?

Quoting because it's worth reading twice. Tread lightly. I'm sure there are still some legitimate sales jobs out there, but I think the era of the high-income salesman is all but gone and replaced with lots and lots of bullshit. When I was out of work this summer I waded through dozens and dozens of entry level sales position listings.

The problem with 100% commission is you have no baseline to form a budget. You might make $5k/mo all summer, then winter rolls around and all of a sudden you can't make rent/loan/car payments on time. At least with a base salary you know where you'd be on a tight month.

[Jake]

Sounds like something to run away from. What was your major and why are you seeking a sales position in particular?

[Evan]

It COULD be a good opportunity (depending on what other opportunities you have) and it could be almost a scam. Depends on how the company supports you. Realize that the company is assuming ZERO risk by hiring you, which means they can hire LOTS of you, and throw you in the trash if you dont 'work out'.
Some of these sales jobs are essentially the same as the cutco knife jobs. They are hiring you for your network of family and friends for you to hock their product to.
After that, its a long list of leads and a lot of cold calling.

IF they set you up with lots of training and a good support structure it might work out if you have aspirations to go into sales. But I wouldnt touch it unless you had close to zero expenses (living with parents etc) for at least the first 6-8 months.

[JPolen01]

Ok, let me give a little more background now that I am on my computer.

I interviewed with the managing partner of the Baltimore division of a LARGE life insurance/retirement planning company based out of New York. Figure it out. Anyway, I was referred to this gentlemen by a guy on the advisory board of the finance program I took in high school. This company has the highest financial ratings you can get: S&P AA+, A.M. A++, Moody's Aaa, Fitch AAA. So it's not some hackjob marketing company I found on craigslist.

They do provide benefits including: medical, dental, group term life insurance, long term disability, 401k with matching, and a pension fully funded by the company. They will pay for insurance licensing as well as financial planning licensing (series 6/7 exams). First year average earnings of 2012 was around $53k. Of course I got hit with other grand numbers but that was the most realistic number.

I asked a lot of questions about the training program because this is all new to me. Insurance is new and I have limited training in sales. First off, their head of training has won the award for best trainer in the entire company for the past 3 years. Nation wide, 12k employees. So that must say something. Also their managers do just that. The managers manage their teams -- they do not sell. They are there strictly to coach their new hires which I think is a very good thing. They hold classes for training and approximately 6-8 hrs a week are mandatory trainings/meetings.

I'm hesitant because of the expenses portion. I will be moving out of my parents and into an apartment with my girlfriend after graduation. She has a full time job, but can't afford to support both of us. On the other hand, the gentlemen I interviewed with today said because I am coming to him so early before graduation that I can possibly accomplish the training/licensing while still in school. This would allow me to hit the ground running day 1 of work, which would give me the ability to start working my ass off and landing contracts.

Obviously, I have more research to do on the company as well as check out some reviews of people who have worked in that position berfore. I'll also get a feel for the company on Wednesday when I meet the head of training. If anyone knows someone in the insurance industry working on 100% commission I'd love to talk to them if possible.

*EDIT*
Reading lots of reviews. Pretty much echoes what is in this thread. Lot's of unhappy people and odd sounding practices. Reports of paying to rent a cube, to use the phone/internet, and to make copies. I will probably cancel upcoming meetings.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Sounds like something to run away from. What was your major and why are you seeking a sales position in particular?

[WRXtranceformed]

I can post up some thoughts after I wake up as I have spent years as both a 1099'd and W2 sales person. Pretty much a lot of what was said already though, especially in the life / health insurance sector.

[D_Eclipse9916]

*EDIT*
Reading lots of reviews. Pretty much echoes what is in this thread. Lot's of unhappy people and odd sounding practices. Reports of paying to rent a cube, to use the phone/internet, and to make copies. I will probably cancel upcoming meetings.

Yuuup. I accidently (didnt research this one) interviewed during school at one of these places. I walked out during the interview because as I walked through to the "interviewer's office", I saw the workers...sitting there...in miserable half-cubes...cold calling.

[WRXtranceformed]

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any specific questions but I will say for 98% of people out there a 100% commission job with little to no sales experience is not going to be a fun way to start your sales career. Especially if it is in health & life insurance. As was said earlier, it is a really difficult market, usually those people are hitting up their friends & family trying to scrape by. It is a saturated market with a LOT of players. I honestly don't know that Obamanationcare is going to help their case either since anyone with access to a public computer can sign up for insurance online.

If you are hungry enough you can certainly succeed in a 100% commission situation. I did it for several years and made a lot of money. My brother has been successful with it as well because he is good at what he does. The challenge is that you carry a LOT of your own expenses that eat into your take home pay significantly and that have signficant tax implications. Benefits and retirement savings are all on you. Make sure you are very good at tracking each and every business expense and in my opinion hire a good accountant. I hired and trained a rep at the company I helped to found here in Charlotte that went from making minimum wage somewhere to now running their entire Atlanta region. Real estate is another market in which you can absolutely kill it if you are good at what you do and work really hard. One of my friends down here never went to college and has been an independent broker for years focusing on the short sale / high end foreclosure market. He recently made $165,000 before taxes / expenses for a weekend's worth of work. Some new homebuilders will give you a ramp period of salary and then work you onto commission once your sales start coming in. The same is true for some med device jobs.

The honest truth is that there are very few people that have the work ethic and ability to overcome being told "no" a lot which is why there is so much fallout in really any sales position. If you are just getting your feet wet into sales and the workforce in general, I would recommend looking for a job with a reasonable starting base salary plus commission structure that would be willing to train you. If you like the idea of working in insurance, I would look toward commercial accounts (P&C, umbrella, etc.) as they usually give you a healthy base to start with. There is certainly a ton of money to make in the life & health insurance world but usually the guys making it are the managers above you. With interest rates so low and the housing market normalizing real estate reps down here are killing it so you could look into that as well. Usually entry level reps have a base salary.

Like I said PM me with any specific questions you might have I am happy to help. I am mentoring two young reps in Chicago in our small business unit and it is helpful to get advice from someone who has pretty much seen it all.

[Jake]

Lee speaks the troof. My dad is a realtor and when he has a good month, he can make my salary by selling one or two homes. If he has a slow month, he earns exactly $0. You gotta be really good at budgeting and planning ahead.

Although you'd have to buy some watches if you really made it big

[.RJ]

Although you'd have to buy some watches if you really made it big

I had a lol

[WRXtranceformed]

Lee speaks the troof. My dad is a realtor and when he has a good month, he can make my salary by selling one or two homes. If he has a slow month, he earns exactly $0. You gotta be really good at budgeting and planning ahead.

Although you'd have to buy some watches if you really made it big

That is another good point is budgeting. It can be really hard to manage a household budget when you get a huge paycheck one week and $0.00 the next few weeks.

Also recommend spending play money on watches instead of coke like a lot of young salespeople I have seen :lol:

[ScottyB]

The same is true for some med device jobs.

this is a good one too. my sister in law is a DC region rep for a medical devices company, having worked her way up to that position from the trenches and does very well for herself. she come out of college with something like a generic business degree.

again though, she succeeds and is at the top of her company's national rep rankings because she works tirelessly and has a passion for it. it doesn't hurt either that she is a good looking person and super nice. however, devices are always going to be a commodity in demand as our population turns into a bunch of diseased blobs sitting behind computer screens.

bide your time, don't be too eager. the stuff that sounds the most golden is usually marketed that way...its too good to be true. if you need resume help i can point you to another MM'er that has that can give you some solid info.

[.RJ]

Who does your sister work for?

[JPolen01]

Who does your sister work for?

Yeah, ask her if she wants to take on a new guy!

[CaptainHenreh]

This whole thread.

[WRXtranceformed]

This whole thread.

More like this....

:lol: