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Has anyone sold at IQVIA? What’s comp like?
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In my experience, most commission-only jobs are churn and burn. The company isn’t really invested in its salespeople, so they have constant turnover. They also give you a lot of pie in the sky, tell you you’ll make six figures, but most people end up failing. Salary + commission companies are a lot more professional and more likely to support you to succeed. The only way I would take a commission-only job at this point would be as a side gig.
100% agree with you. If the company does not have an investment in you, then they have no incentive to see you succeed. Salespeople are not interchangeable! 2-way street is best for both parties.
There is no chance to work just for commissions! Base it’s extremely needed for sure. It’s the normal for good companies…
It depends, I have been 100% commission for 35 years. It’s great in boom years and awful in bad, such as Covid. I’ve had losses of 70% of my commission in times like that. If you go with straight commission, be sure to live below your means, especially in boom years, and put money away. You’ll feel less stressed during down years. I would work no other way, it’s very profitable if you’re good at what you do and like the product(s). Then again, I’m at the end of my working years. Times change…
Salary + Commission!!
I like salary+commission till they keep moving the goalpost
I've worked in B2B sales since 2016 and have only ever received base + commission. I couldn't imagine not having a guaranteed income.
*This may be a long read, so feel free to read in chunks;)*
Commission-only broadly works primarily for those who already have the industry-specific expertise (or at least get a ton of continuing training in such, whether from the employer providing said paid training or from one's own upskilling/networking efforts) and one's own relatively deep & wide bench of relationships from which one can get new, repeat, upsell, & referral business, ideally coupled with solid support from the company one is selling for (ex. Company has decent marketing/advertising budget; reimburses for mileage and other reasonable work-related expenses; there truly is a competitive product-market fit so that the price as well as the customer service provided yields sustainable relationships vs. Being fly-by-night, will crash-and-burn-in- bankruptcy-&/or lawsuits type employers).
FYI there are some employers out there who set up commission-only sales roles that provide little to no training, almost non-existent marketing/advertising support, &/or have substandard customer service/retention &/or product/service innovation efforts - these types of employers just want credible-sounding faces, voices, & bodies to sell what they can . . . all while the entire business ship might already be sinking from previously accumulated business debts, or just suffering from plainly incompetent or corrupt management that pockets all the profits while leaving frontline commission-only salespeople to bite the dust, so to speak.
This is why, for the most part, most businesses that are serious about adaptively staying in business for a long time tend to at least have a modest base with commissions or draw/advance against commissions structure.
Responsible employers set up clear (hopefully pragmatically attainable, but again goalposts do get moved across time;) quota ranges of how much a salesperson ideally should be within reach of in terms of revenue acquired for the employer in a given time frame like a week, month, quarter, or year to keep their roles going in their assigned markets or territories or product/service category type; under-performers are either given help to improve, or are laterally moved to other business departments, or are constructively terminated so other possibly better suited sales pros can take their place.
Salespeople in general at times are unjustly viewed as scapegoats when a company might actually be lacking that competitive product-market fit, etc.
That said, irresponsible employers who insist on pure commission only sales pros while not really fixing other vital parts of their enterprise may very well have economically desperate salespeople end up overpromising, lying, & under-delivering to clients just to make that commission income before they quit, get fired, or move on elsewhere (either another industry or geographic region where their negative work experience hopefully does not precede them).
At the very least, most employers nowadays should ideally provide paid training then offer modest base + commissions or draw/advance against commissions to sales professionals, instead of just fantasizing some super-connected, extremely knowledgeable sales geniuses will just magically appear to work on pure commission only;)*
I keep things simple if you are commission only you may not be offered benefits in the company's mind you are a contractor and does not reflect on the subject of salary kills hunger that is old-school. I am one to say that give me a salary with benefits and I will prove to you with my sales performance with commission I am worth more.
Pro
Some people are really good at commission only, but because I have a family I couldn’t do it myself - way too much stress!
I'm 100% commission and it's great. I get to do literally whatever I want as long as I make money.
commissions are great but the issue is when the company does everything they can to ensure you do not hit your targets ie, I worked for a company that was small base and commission that worked on automatic diallers, the sales target was to hit 20 sales and then anything after that you got paid a decent commission on, well monday I hit 16 sales by 1pm, at that time the manager returned from a meeting and all of a sudden nothing, it was as clear as day i had been given shelved data that was literally 20+years old for the next 4 days i got 2 sales total, not to blow my own horn but I am exceptional at sales I have never not been the top sales guy no matter what I am selling and I have also been around long enough to know when underhand things are being done, that along with the "finish early on friday" nonsense to further ensure the base pay NPC`s are happy but the money hungry people are not by forcing them to finish early saying "oh you still get paid for the full day.
I worked out that due to these practices over just 10 competent money hungry sales guys on my team out of 30 just those 10 people being hampered in such a way actually cost the company 1.6 million pounds a year in lost sales but to them it was worth it because they didnt have to pay out the commissions, it makes zero logical sense, you shall usually find this practice in companies that have high staff turn overs as people start to question their sales abilities when the reality is i have seen some of the best sales guys naturally gifted and just a pleasure to be around as a wealth of knowledge quit the industry due to losing faith in themselves all because the company doesnt want to pay the promised commissions and screwing with their leads/data/territory/working hours
I have yet to come across a company willing to pay high enough commissions to make selling their products worth while. If I am all commission you have no skin in the game as a company. I carry all the burden and exposure. In order to shoulder this exposure I demand a high rate of return that nobody seems to want to pay. Maybe they did decades ago but I haven’t seen it in my 25 years of sales experience.
I have always received a salary + annual bonus rather than commission. As a sales person I require a certain amount of return for my efforts. Regardless of performance I still worked and require that return for my time. This is no different than any other type of job. if I perform better than expected then I get a bonus. If I don’t then I don’t get the bonus. At the end of the day I have an expectation on what my compensation has to be and my base salary should fill that need. A bonus is just extra.
I get 33% of margin after a 4% fee and a $55 order charge.
I'm 100% commission and the freedom is invaluable. I make my own goals. I don't have to sit in an office making phone calls after hours if I don't want to. I don't have a sales manager breathing down my neck. Salary comes with too many strings.
Preneed Sales, what company do you work at?
I've been in the position to have had both. I've had and I'm currently working 100% commission. Depending on what you're selling and the rate at which you're paid, 100% commission is great. But it's also terrible when things go wrong, ie chargebacks and slow seasons. If you put away a portion of your earnings, that can hopefully cover those times. I personally, prefer salary+commission
The base is compensation for the value you bring as a skilled salesperson, to gain access where you need to and present the product to the decisionmakers. The bonus is the drive to exceed quota.
A company that does not offer base does not value your skills as a salesperson.
Commission only is just a way for the company to not have to commit to you but want commitment from you. These jobs typically have huge turnover rates and the company knows 85%+ of people will fail.
Your base salary should be enough to live on. If it is not, don’t take the job
I found a great company with a product I really believed in and worked straight commission for 25 yrs. Passed up multiple offers for management because I always made more than any salary all the way to the top. Retired at 55 with millions. If youre a great salesperson, it can happen!
Rising Star
Both serve its own purpose in motivation!
All options may work, depending on the individual's current situation; if the person doesn't have a job or income, all options for him are the same cream cake.
I see it as 100% commission jobs expect you to fail. That's why there are such high turnover rates. Base+commission are confident enough in their processes/leads to KNOW you will make them money. That said... you can likely make more with 100% commission, but gain benefits and stability with the other. For me it's much more company/job specific.