It depends on who you want to attract to sell your items. I was a manufacturers rep for years.

The all stars were working commission-only but in a high-commission, usually stable industrial market with very high priced products. They are generally smarter than you and can sniff out in a heartbeat whether your product(s) are going to make them big bucks. Generally, they get work by networking and do not respond to ads or other nonsense. They jump around a lot and are predatory about big paychecks. If you are not paying, are weak in any way, or offering unrealistic numbers, they are gone.

The other group work salary plus commission. They are much more stable, there are more of them, and they are your average sales reps. The good ones expect a decent salary AND an aggressive commission. If they travel by plane or many overnighters, salary expectation goes up a lot. They are generally more corporate guys used to dealing with expense accounts, company cars and the like. They are good with realistic sales goals, weekly reports, notebook computers, and moderate overall achievement. These guys usually network within their respective industry for work but they do respond to ads (newspaper, career builder, monster, etc.).

The third group that I have seen are the ones that are not meant for sales. They respond to ads that say "potentially make 40k your first month!!!". They think they can sell but both they and their "employer" are disillusioned. They go sell cars, insurance, cellular plans and other such stuff that the real sales guys tend to stay away from.

There is a fourth group, but I haven't seen them around in a while. They are the old school guys. They have a binder and run all over creation in their Ford Taurus. They represent several companies at once and are not committed to any although when they are selling you, you would think they are. They talk a lot and work on building relationships. They sell enough to get by but not much more. I don't know where you find these guys anymore.



It is very hard to find good salesmen. The hot-shot/top-gun ones are working and do not need your bs piddly commissions. The 2nd group is your optimum group and there might be quite a few out there now that the market is diving. You could get them for a song now, I would imagine. The third group you should avoid.

That's my take.

Darren