When searching for a sales career, salary and pay structure is an important factor to consider when selecting a sales job. There are many different pay structures for different sales jobs. Be sure to understand how you will be paid and how this fits in your sales career goals. The differences in pay structures really make the salary negotiations different than other career choices because a career in sales also include incentive pay that could be as high as 80% of your total income or could be as low as 20%.
The majority of sales career positions aim to reward the sales professional with monetary incentives for selling. The more you sell, the more you can make. Most of the time you are given a target total payout if you reach 100% to goal. In knowing this, you will want to ask how the goals are set up and to understand how achievable the goals are to decide if the sales career opportunity is something that makes financial sense to you.
Some companies pay a higher base salary and also add an incentive compensation package for sales goal attainment. It is thought that in paying a higher base pay, the incentive to motivate sales professionals to sell is counterproductive because the sales professional is paid for just being there versus making sales. The other side of this school of thought is that, sales professionals with a high base salary fight to keep their sales career because they are guaranteed a set salary without worrying about making enough money each year.
SALES CAREER: PAYOUT STRUCTURE
A common payout structure is a 30% base with a 70% commission payout. To keep the math easy, lets say your target yearly payout is at $100,000.00: so $30k will be a guaranteed base, and $70k is earned as your reach your sales goals and targets. If you are new in your sales career, you will have less leverage to demand a higher base pay versus the tenured and more experienced reps that can negotiate for a higher base. The 30/70 mix of pay is usually seen in organizations that are looking to make an aggressive push to move sales and is usually seen with new companies or products to maximize sales. The more established sales career organizations have more of a 50/50 mix to a 70/30 mix to keep polished and skilled sales consultants in an established environment.
During the sales career interview, you will also want to ask about the salary cap and how much the top sales reps make in the organization. Some organizations have 1099 sales professionals that work on 100% commission. A 1099 sales professional basically a contracted sales gun for hire, and contract their sales services. The 1099 sales rep is not an employee of the company, but an independent contractor.
Be sure to ask about the pay structure and mix when the salary discussion starts and to make sure it fits in your sales career goals. Learn more and view and research: sales career salaries.
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