Outside salesWhat is the deal with outside sales, I went on an interview for one and was told be my piers to stay away from outside sales because of the the pay being solely commission. The employer made it sound like I could be making great money, so I was disappointed to get a bad response from my Friends. Its also funny how the area of sales in which I'm interested and have experience(remodels), the sales positions are always commission based? Is any one in outside sales that can give me some feedback. Would just like to add, I just left an construction employer as a Foreman in carpentry, the area manager became very interfering and could not communicate without raising his voice, even when the problem was not my fault or he did not know the full circumstances. Could not work there any more and walked one day after a session of belittling banter from him once again. I was currently studding for my contractors license and as of Dec. 26th I passed, but I haven't worked in a month and have to much time to think and I don't know if I want to be a contractor...carrying around a truck full of tools until I'm 60??? Go back to school at 37 or go into sales?? A hundred years or so ago, I spent a month selling vacuum cleaners door to door. Actually, there were three people who called others and told them that they "won" a free one room carpet cleaning. Once there, it was the responsibility of the person doing the "free cleaning" to persuade the home owner to either purchase the vacuum/carpet cleaner with all attachments or sign a contract to come in regularly to clean other areas of the home. The "cleaner" at that time will still try to persuade the home owner to buy. Anyway, I left after a month for many reasons. I sold one vacuum and should have gotten a commission check of $130. (The cleaning system costing almost $2000 with all attachments). I never got that check so actually wasted one month of my life, worked my ass off, with nothing to show for it. The people on the phone were paid hourly. The difference, I was told, between hourly and commission "sales" is that the people on the phone don't get the opportunity to "sell" the product, therefore, they don't get the opportunity to make money any other way except hourly. The people risking their lives going into strangers homes and working their buttocks off to get $130 per sale have the opportunity to make more than the hourly workers on just one sale per day. Trouble with that bit of thinking is -- it doesn't work out that way. I think it was unfair of your friends to make a stereotypical blanket statement about outside sales being solely commissioned. The salary structure depends largely on the industry, the product or service, and ultimately the company. It' s possible your friends have been in commissioned-based jobs and didn' t enjoy success, so you can see where they might develop that feeling. Most sales jobs have some commission as part of the compensation structure. Some are 100%, and some are a great deal less. Employers always make it sound like you could be making great money, because the potential is usually there to do so. It doesn' t mean it will be easy work to make that happen. Commission based salaries exist to provide a mechanism for employees to produce as much as they can, but when combined with the right company, they can act like tips do in the food service industry do as incentives to ensure good service, ethics, honesty, provide motivation, etc. If you think you can be successful in a sales role, and will represent a good company, then the commission structure should be irrelevant, whether it' s 10% or 100%. Regardless of the compensation structure, with a product or service you believe in, the right company and tools to do the job, sales can be very rewarding both financially and otherwise. Having said all that, if you enjoy the construction industry, you shouldn' t feel like you have to lug a truck full of tools around until you' re 60. There are lots of jobs that you can grow into such as estimating and project management, that can provide both some inside and outside work, and get you out from behind the hammer. If you think you might want to go back to school, although it sounds cliché, it really never is too late. At 37, you' ve got a lot of working years left, and school can pay off for you in a lot of ways. Being a returning adult student myself was one of the best and most enjoyable things I' ve done. Nothing says you can' t do both, either. Most outside sales jobs have fairly flexible schedules. If you' re going into consumer/residential remodeling sales, you' ll likely be meeting with clients at their convenience, which is often evenings and weekends, which might give you some time during the day for school. And, with schools offering night classes and online coursework, I would think you' d be able to fit it in somewhere as a part-time student. Good luck with whichever path you choose. | |
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