So, you’ve made the bold decision to recruit some self-employed commission-only sales agents. And naturally you want to know how to get the cream of the crop.
Here’s our handy checklist for hiring commission only sales reps:
- Dangle the right carrot. Think in terms of what’s in it for the sales agent, rather than what’s in it for yourself!
- Go to the right source: use an established reputable sales agent register (such as AgentBase). Not social media. Not recruitment consultants. And not online job sites like Indeed, Monster, etc. Commission only sales agents are not looking for jobs!
- Mention the right things in your sales agent advert:
-
- TARGET MARKETS – What market sectors, customer types, industrial sectors are your commission only sales reps to call on?
- AREAS – What geographical areas are you looking for commission only sales people to fill?
- PRODUCT INFORMATION – What are your new commission only sales agents to sell?
- CONTACT DETAILS – How should commission only sales reps contact you?
- Don’t try to recruit commission only sales reps in the way you would recruit employed Use the right language. Don’t use words such as ‘job’, ‘employment’, ‘recruit’, ‘interview’ etc.
- Don’t try to manage and motivate commission only sales reps like you would employed reps. Avoid turn off terms such as ‘targets’, ‘reporting’ etc.
- Avoid the main pitfalls:
-
- Not understanding the sales agent’s role, risks, strengths, & limitations
- Unrealistic performance expectations
- Unrealistic level of control expected / required
- Over-estimating your position in the relationship
- Over-managing sales agents
- Under-managing sales agents!
- Complicating things
- Getting the legals wrong
This is just a quick overview. AgentBase exists purely to help companies to hire the best commission only salespeople, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience (since 1993). Contact us today to find out how we can help you further.