From: Michael
Great Blog…..just wondering if you have any access to a basic sales compensation or commission plan you can share or direct me to.
Response from Buzz
Thanks, Michael!
For basic compensation information, I really like the Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov. Specifically, the site, http://www.bls.gov/bls/wages.htm is a wealth of information on wages (be prepared for plenty of clicking… I'm not sure what your industry is so I just provided a general site and you'll have to “drill down” yourself). If you click on “Earnings by Industry” you'll get to a map (currently on the bottom right of the page) that allows you to select your state and view a variety of information. Very specific wage plans for sales staff can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b41-0000.
As for commission, that's a little more difficult… it seems like everyone keeps their commission a secret even within organizations. My advice would be to:
- Hit a site like www.monster.com and look for similar jobs and see what they are paying.
- If possible, call them up as an interested candidate for employment and ask them some basic commission questions.
- Ask them how many staff are reaching those goals… then trust your gut; your instincts rarely guide you wrong. The economy is fairly strong and there are many jobs out there.
- If it's a fairly major company, type in the business name and the word “hate” or “sucks” into Google and you'll find out if employees have set up “hate sites” on the company which could outline potential problems in wages (among other things).
