Paying Salespeople - Certified SoftWash Roof Cleaning

Doug G · Junior Member

Paying Salespeople

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

I pay a flat 15% on all sales - commission only.

Gregg Giordano · Sophmore Member

Same here.

Jeff Thompson · Junior Member

Have you guys hired an outside sales rep or do you keep someone in house?

Gregg Giordano · Sophmore Member

The guy I have has another job, he's trying to make the transition to us only.

Sales will tell!!!!

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

My guy is a full time employee. We affectionately call him "Mr. Clean", I even have it on the lapel on his shirts. It's a huge hit with all our customers and VERY memorable. Lucked out I guess. :)

His territory is exclusively Property Managers & Multi Family.

John Aloisio · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

I just hired a guy a month ago. He gets 15% on residential and 10% on commercial, commission only. When he hits 500k in sales then I get him a car.

Doug G · Junior Member

Are any of the sales people making good money for themselves yet?

John Aloisio · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

nothing here yet, just hired him and wha have ad nothing but snow and cold weather for the last two months

Doug G · Junior Member

John Aloisio wrote:
nothing here yet, just hired him and wha have ad nothing but snow and cold weather for the last two months

So.......you're using the snow and cold weather as an excuse?

(just kidding of course)

Jeff Thompson · Junior Member

Sales reps can make good money. I've been a rep for 20 years and made a very good living up until about four years ago......hence my entry into exterior cleaning. It is a good marriage for me. I live in Michigan so only have 5-6 good cleaning months. The sales job busy season is September - March......cleaning April - October. Only have a couple months that conflict a little.

I like this thread. I know from experience a good rep can definitely help out a company. I really think a rep would be an asset.

I assume your reps have guidelines as to how much he has to charge per job? Do you go back out for a final measurement? If he undersells a job would you be inclined to chargeback what he should have got in the first place?

Jason Mariano · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

I have a woman sales rep she is a closer! She is great and a lot of the people feel very comfortable with her. She gets 10% on residential and 15% on commercial. Commission only. This year she will be 15 15 she has a huge network in north Jersey and central. So I have no choice 15 15 lol . This year she was doing 1200 a week.

Woman love talking to woman it's a closed deal when she goes. Knock on wood I have yet to have someone say no thanks. This one guy told me dam that girl is good she sold the pants off of me. She went for a gutter cleaning, ended up roof cleaning, gutters,windows and house cleaning $2670 with a $500 deposit . biggrin

The one thing I liked about her was she wanted to work in the field for a month and understand everything . smile Huge BENEFIT !

Lee Kendall · Junior Member

people on commission for the most part don't hang around long. If there is any lul they are out of money and look for something else. Most people that are good, and work only on commission are going to be working for larger businesses with bigger bids, roofing contractors-flatwork etc..

You have to find something that will work to keep them there, but not break the bank if a lul comes along. This might just be the gas in the car or something like that. However you do need to set goals for them to match so they are not just driving around getting paid.. Its a tricky situation!

John Aloisio · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

I tend to disagree. I was a commission only sales rep for years in the flat roofing business and made a great living. I believe it is all about being up front and setting expectations. I think that everyone knows there can be a lull, but do that mean that during the busy time, we should pa them less commission?? As long as they know your expectations and what they might be paid, I think it is up to them. There is plenty of work out there, you just need to go get it. Just my opinion.

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

John Aloisio wrote:
I tend to disagree. I was a commission only sales rep for years in the flat roofing business and made a great living. I believe it is all about being up front and setting expectations. I think that everyone knows there can be a lull, but do that mean that during the busy time, we should pa them less commission?? As long as they know your expectations and what they might be paid, I think it is up to them. There is plenty of work out there, you just need to go get it. Just my opinion.

I agree with this 100%. Everyone one of us on here work on 100% commission. There are lots of people like us that thrive on it.

My guy loves being on commission and is very good at what he does.

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

Jeff Thompson wrote:

I assume your reps have guidelines as to how much he has to charge per job? Do you go back out for a final measurement? If he undersells a job would you be inclined to chargeback what he should have got in the first place?

I have a fairly extensive pricing guidebook that I put together along with ranges for different situations. I give him the ability to discount so much without needing to run it by me first, and there was only one job that he undersold during the learning curve, and he insisted on coming to help me for free on the 2 days that it took to finish it.

If it becomes a problem with consistent under selling, then I think you have a bigger problem. I don't think charge backs are necessary personally.

While I was on a cruise a couple weeks back, I came home to 6k in sales while I was gone. It's not even cleaning weather yet! He's selling jobs for the spring. :)

-- Edited by Brandon Vaughn on Thursday 13th of February 2014 12:06:51 AM

Tim Teed · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

the days of the salesman for a big company making big commissions are gone. Its been about 7 years since that has been the case. In home improvement sales it is common for the salesman to make less % on a sale if he goes below a certain price, that way they are encouraged to sell vs take an order. In my area one large remodeler that advertises roof cleaning uses roof shampoo to subcontract. The salesman sells based on footage and then the contractor gets an actual measurement, and the salesman is paid based on actual measure. Then it is the typical game of sales complaining about mis measures etc.

Jeff Thompson · Junior Member

Tim Teed wrote:
the days of the salesman for a big company making big commissions are gone. Its been about 7 years since that has been the case. In home improvement sales it is common for the salesman to make less % on a sale if he goes below a certain price, that way they are encouraged to sell vs take an order. In my area one large remodeler that advertises roof cleaning uses roof shampoo to subcontract. The salesman sells based on footage and then the contractor gets an actual measurement, and the salesman is paid based on actual measure. Then it is the typical game of sales complaining about mis measures etc.

You are right on target Tim. Reps in retail like myself have taken a huge hit in commissions Over the years companies struggling to make profits, and customers always on their backs for discounts, have resorted in slashing commissions in 1/2....sometimes they just bring the account in house and dump you totally. Even though the rep opens the account, builds the business up and sometimes protects them from their competitors .... It always comes back on the rep in the way of less money. Life in the big city I guess.

I think a rep in the construction business has the opportunity to work for a number of different contractors thus increasing his revenue stream. I am a multi line rep which means I rep for a number of companies but they all sell some sort of women's apparel. A rep in the home improvement arena could sell for a roofing guy, siding guy, landscaping guy and exterior cleaning guys. A focused rep could make a good deal of money.

Speaking from experience to the guys that have reps. If they are good treat them well. They are a source of revenue for you And when you fire or let them go he doesn't just quit the business.....he sells for someone else and will go out of the way to discredit the competition...which is now you since he no longer works for you.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Wow great thread!

AC

Josh Agadoni · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

Hey all, I'm reviving this old thread because I need some wisdom. I'm in talks with a younger guy (30) who I'd like to hire on as our first sales guy. He is currently working at a small family-owned used car lot making 25% commission on gross for his sales there. Business is slow at the car lot so he's trying to supplement with work in another industry, but he likes (and feels that he is very good at) sales.

Based on what I've read on this thread I offered him a starting commission of 10% of gross with the opportunity to increase up to 15% quickly if he proves to be effective. He countered saying that if he worked for 10% he'd be taking a big pay cut and would say yes if we matched the commission he's making now at the dealership. I don't know the first thing about sales in the auto industry and how it compares to what we do, and I'm still learning about the financial side of the SoftWash business, so I wonder if anyone can shed some light on this and maybe give me some ideas of how to respond to this person in a way that is constructive and persuasive. I like this guy and think he could be a good fit, but I want to make sure this can be a win-win situation from the start.

Thank you for any help or advice you can give me!

-- Edited by Josh Agadoni on Tuesday 28th of June 2016 10:38:31 PM

Steve Mazzuca · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

What you offered Josh is completely fair and reasonable and I call bs on 25% of gross as commission selling cars.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

WARNING ***** WARNING

1. Dont hire a car salesman to sell this product. Customers will reject car sales tactics.
2. 25% of gross might be on a used car lot....if..... the owners are running a poor business. Again what is worse than a car salesperson... a used car salesperson.
3. If a salesperson EVER asks for a salary or draw they are not a salesperson and just a lead runner.

GET OFF YOUR TRUCK AND YOU SELL!

No one will ever be able to sell your product as effectively as you would. The proper next step is to hire a GOOD RESPONSIBLE lead tech that will allow you to go out everyday and develop your business free of the daily cleaning responsibilities.

AC

Jeffrey Kirby · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

AC Lockyer wrote:
WARNING ***** WARNING

1. Dont hire a car salesman to sell this product. Customers will reject car sales tactics.
2. 25% of gross might be on a used car lot....if..... the owners are running a poor business. Again what is worse than a car salesperson... a used car salesperson.
3. If a salesperson EVER asks for a salary or draw they are not a salesperson and just a lead runner.

GET OFF YOUR TRUCK AND YOU SELL!

No one will ever be able to sell your product as effectively as you would. The proper next step is to hire a GOOD RESPONSIBLE lead tech that will allow you to go out everyday and develop your business free of the daily cleaning responsibilities.

AC

What he said...

Josh Agadoni · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

Steve, thank you for your thoughts and affirmation. It doesn't seem unreasonable at all to offer what I did, especially based on the consensus in this thread.

AC, point taken. From a quick web search it seems as though 25% commission is fairly normal in car sales, but I don't know how that 25% compares to the 10-15% that most SoftWash salespeople make. When you really look at the numbers (and I don't know what they are) it can't be twice as profitable to be a car salesperson. I guess the point is moot if I should be avoiding a car salesman as a rule, anyway.

To speak to your other point, I AM getting out there myself and doing sales almost full-time now, and we were looking for a good lead tech when we came across this guy. Since he had sales experience and really liked to do sales we thought we'd see what it could look like to have him share that role with me.

Jeff, way to be.

Still open to other thoughts from others...like now that I know car salesmen need not apply to be a SoftWash salesman for me, what kind of sales background have you guys seen transfers well into our industry?

Steve Mazzuca · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

Josh, at 25% commission, you should start selling cars too. Puretec Property Services & Used Cars. : )

Bob Riddick · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

Steve Mazzuca wrote:
Josh, at 25% commission, you should start selling cars too. Puretec Property Services & Used Cars. : )

You are so right, Steve!

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

We pay our salesguy 15% for residential jobs. He consistently sells an average of $7500 per week. Sometimes doing that in a day.

Set a quota and the expectation that he sell that much weekly. If he can't, then he is no good.

EXAMPLE : 7500 * 15% = $1,125 gross per week. With a company car, company phone and corporate credit card for incidentals - that is good pay in my book for a sales guy... Give real numbers like this to a salesperson.

$7500 / $800 average job size = 9 jobs sold per week. At a 50% closing ratio, that's 18 appointments per week. That's 3-4 appointments per day. It's EASY!!!

Jeffrey Kirby · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

The 25% commission rate must be on gross profit, not gross sales. so, it's far from an apples-to-apples comparison.

Bottom line--compare total compensation plan, at plan, and above plan.

Any salesman who is not comparing numbers above plan is not worth considering. If their expectations of themselves is to scrape, scratch and crawl their way to quota, not above, then they will rarely make quota.

had an initial interview (phone screening) with a candidate yesterday. ME: "What are you looking for in a job that you do not have now?" HIM: "A salary." ME: "You dialed the wrong phone number."

Josh Agadoni · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

Thank you Brandon and Jeff for the additional thoughts and details. It's all very helpful information.

Jeff, I came to the same conclusion as I thought through the 25% thing. It's got to be off gross profit. As for the comparison of "total compensation plan, at plan, and above plan"...I think I need you to explain that in layman's terms if you would. I don't know the lingo.

Jeffrey Kirby · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

At plan--the total compensation that one would receive for achieving exactly 100% of quota each month--no more, no less

The compensation plan should be written / calculated so that the allowable margin for compensation is achieved when that person sells quota. When they achieve more than that, there are some options:

1) pay them the same %

2) pay them a higher percentage, called an accelerated compensation plan. If each salesperson sells more than plan, then the additional revenue should be at a higher margin, i.e. fixed costs are accounted for under the comp plan, but additional revenue coves only variable costs (costs of goods sold, including labor, now in overtime).

A worthwhile salesman will want a commission only plan, with an accelerator, i.e. higher % for exceeding quota.

Exceeding quota by 1-5% should not merit an accelerator.

And if you use an accelerator, there should also be a penalty on the short end--under 90% of quota might receive only 10 or 12% commission

Robert Baxter · Freshmen Member

Brandon:

I was reading this thread and saw your comment about having a very detailed sales book.

I know what it's like to put a lot of time and energy into something like that. Is there anything you don't mind sharing with me?

If not I would certain understand.

Thanks,

Bob Baxter

712-560-5441

John Aloisio · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

josh,

All have made great points here and I just wanted to chime in. Once you find a sales person, besides the SWS training, you need to make it mandatory for them to spend a full week on the trucks working. They need to do what they sell before they sell it. They need to see the issues your crews run into on jobs daily.....bad water pressure, one hose bib, pesky stains on stucco, lots of dormers in a roof wash, etc..... It will help them bid jobs in the future. It will also give them a relationship and a certain level of respect with you techs.

Josh Agadoni · SoftWash Systems Authorized Professional

John, thank you so much for adding your wisdom to this conversation. Those are really good points to factor in and implement when the time comes. I think all of this will help to make for a good relationship between the sales side and the service side.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Josh Agadoni wrote:
John, thank you so much for adding your wisdom to this conversation. Those are really good points to factor in and implement when the time comes. I think all of this will help to make for a good relationship between the sales side and the service side.

I was just talking today to someone about the constant war between the sales and service side of the business. The blame game and such. Always keep thgings in perspective and remember human nature is for one to over state or over react to reenforce their argument. Often times service techs or sales persons will make a small thing seem huge to leverage their agenda or defend their actions or lack of sales and vice versa.

AC

Hayden Simonis · Freshmen Member

Hey Guys,

Thought that I would chime in on a point regarding the car sales guy. I will agree with AC to an extent about car sales tactics not working in this industry. The reason being.... I sold cars for about a year and have some experience in the car world to include all of the hot air they feed you. For the small dealership that I worked at, 10 cars/month was the benchmark for a bonus and I was able to put together 8-9 deals/month on average. So I wouldn't say that I am a pro, but jumping into it from nothing, I felt that I did ok. Back to my point, there are tactics that I use, subtly anyway, that I did learn in the car sales industry to close deals in my softwashing business.

First, if you get an appointment in person, you can close the deal a lot easier. I have not been able to sell a house wash very successfully over the phone and I've learned very quickly that discussing pricing via phone is not effective for closing but rather leads to price shoppers. So I know that when I get a call the primary goal is to set a time that I can come by and look at their house to verify measurements and see what kind of issues that I will run into and then discuss the quote, my process, and sell myself/company.

Second, follow-up. I was never the "call them everyday until they buy" type sales guy. I actually hated that which is why I was pushed out of the dealership strategically by management which is a story for later. Calling someone everyday about getting their house cleaned is not effective, but you will not land a job if you do not follow up at all and ask for the business. Each situation is different but I usually do a few days between follow up calls. Allows time for the "I have to discuss it with my spouse" and the "let me make sure I can financially commit to this" to happen and hopefully there is an answer for you.

The last point that I have been able to take from that bad job is the ability to talk through uncomfortable situations without having a direct answer. I like to call this the classic "dance around an answer" that most sales people use when they sell anything and especially cars. I use this when people ask me about how long I have been in business and if I can provide references. I have only officially been in business for about a month and a half and i haven't been able to get any reviews quite yet however I do have about 25 jobs under my belt to show before and after pics. Just an example.

I'll end this by saying that I am in no way as experienced as a lot of you guys are within this industry and sales, but coming from a sales role with a car dealership and knowing people still in the car industry, there are guys that are good with sales and then there are the slimeballs out there that I would not want to work for me.

Oh, and the 25% commission is gross on each deal with a minimum amount earned if there is no commission on the deal. So the sales guy makes 25% of whatever gross profit is made on the deal and if the deal makes $0, the sales guy still makes something, or a mini, which varies dealership to dealership. I worked with guys that had a $100 mini at other dealerships and the place I worked had a $200 mini.