As a sales person I was always paid between 25-50% of a job's profit. I had to do everything from finding the client, working with the artist, scheduling the job etc..
My price list from the shop was usually set at what was offered as trade pricing to other shops. That was why I got paid a higher percentage of the profits as the shop was already making a fair amount. I was also given leads to chase after. The reason being the shop owner felt it was his job to run the shop not to do sales. If someone walked in then they were the houses job and that was that. Unless, I had already registered the lead with the shop. Showing that I was already actively working the potential sale.
I got 25% on repeat orders that came into the shop from sales I produced previously if I didn't bring the order in myself. For example, if a returning customer stopped into the shop and wanted another set of signs we just produced and found it easier to just pop in person. If I brought in the repeat order I got my full percentage. Now, if the client walked in with a brand new order that was the shops and not mine. I still kept the client just lost the commission on that particular job. Usually the owner would flip me a gift card or some cash though depending on the size and his mood that day. Not that he had to he was just a good guy like that.
I was also given an expense account for trade shows, luncheons, networking groups, and lunches with clients. I had to justify every expense in detail. I also got a stipend for Gas and my Phone. Not the entire amount I used or needed each month but, enough to offset the costs so I didn't run out of gas or get my phone turned off so I could still do my job on a slow month. I had to submit mileage logs and show the phone bill each month to get that.
I was usually paid 15 days after the final sale and final payment was received. That allowed the shop to make sure everything was right before they paid me. Just in case something came back with issues or a check didn't clear.
I was allowed to work in the shop in the back at my desk if I wanted to none of that "no more than 35% of the time" garbage. I had to a quarterly quota I had to maintain to keep my expense account and stipends. If I didn't mean that quota I had to pay the money back in the next quarter for the stipends and my expense account was cut according to the % of the quota I failed to meet.
So, the shop owners usually didn't monitor me. They knew I had a quota to meet and I knew I had to make that quota or I was gonna be paying money back. The agreement we had was if I missed my quota 2 quarters in a row I was out on my *** no second chances.
My quotas were fairly reasonable usually only about $30k in sales a quarter. It was set at enough to make a fair profit for the shop and cover the expense of maintaining me. I also wasn't an employee. I was a 10-99 subcontractor.
Which if your not familiar with IRS rules you can't tell subcontractors when to work or not work, or they become employees and it's a whole other set of rules regarding taxes withholding etc...
I had an agreement that if I quit or was fired. Any work from those clients belonged 100% to the shop and I had no claim for any future commissions whatsoever. All artwork created by the shop stayed with the shop and the clients were the shops.
Now, this was fairly standard arrangement at every print shop and sign shop I worked at. I had heard rumors about other shops that didn't pay as well. I noticed those shops usually didn't keep sales people for long as well the sales guys starved to death or jumped ship into other sales venues that actually paid enough to keep a roof over your head.
The thing to remember a salesman is only as loyal to your business as you are to them. If you don't take care of them they won't take care of you. If they are making less than your operation guys you can count on that salesman just not showing back up to work one day.
