Ways to Pay Salespeople?

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Leonard Parsons

Hello,

I want get some sales people that I know of for appointment setting. What would be the best type of arrangement? I really can't afford to pay them hourly, but would there be a way that I can pay them a gross amount over a minimum, both up front and then monthly if it's set up that way? Residuals, in other words?

Say like if the sale is for $300 year minimum, they keep $500 if they're able to get it or if the minimum is $30 per month, they keep $10 as a residual of they can get $40?

Also, IF I DON'T HAVE LOT OF MONEY WOULD THIS BE A GOOD WAY TO GET A BUSINESS GOING QUICKLY?

Thanks!

Hi Leonard,

Should that be "sale is for $3000 per year minimum"? Just wondering if there's a typo.

You could take a leaf from Joe Girard's book. He was the "World's No. 1 Salesperson" according to the Guiness Book of World Records.

If you grab a copy of his book "How To Sell Anything To Anybody" he reveals how he used the "bird dogging" technique to sell cars.

It essentially means you can ratchet up sales by paying your own customers a commission for bringing more customers to you. In "internet-speak", he was using an "affiliate program" before the internet was a light bulb in anyone's brain. He did it "offline".

The system he used to "sizzle" up his sales was he agreed to pay a certain amount to anyone who recommended someone to him, who ended up buying a car. I forgot what the amount was right now (I'd have to look it up).

For every sale he'd make, he'd explain his system to the customer. He'd hand the customer a stack of his business cards, and ask the customer to write his/her own name on the back, and distribute them to his/her friends.

For example, if Amy came in and bought a car, and she had Frank's name written on the back of Joe Girard's business card she had with her, then Joe would pay Frank a set "finder's fee" or "bird dogging fee" for the sale he made to Amy. He just paid a flat rate per sale (not a percentage).

Anyhow, you can steal this idea out of Joe's playbook and make it your own.

The key is, you have to have a way of tracking who each person "came from", so you can track who you should pay a "bird dogging fee" to.

Secondly, you should always pay the fee. When you reward people for bringing you a customer, they'll go away and bring you some more.

The effect could be like adding growth fertilizer to your business garden - then sitting back and watching it grow. That's because you don't pay until you've already made a sale - and have already made a profit.

Hope that helps!

- Dien