I think it is a mistake for reps to feel like they need to make money on every deal or they won't do the deal. Every month or two there is a sale that I make that I don't make a dime. It may be a charity I believe in. It may be an account I want to penetrate. I may give up my GP by throwing in a printer in the hope that I get future printer business. There are any number of reasons but it happens pretty regularly.
Let me preface my next statement by saying that I have been known as somewhat of a terrorist when it comes to traditional thought.
Here it comes...We are not paid to sell stuff, to do the paperwork I mean. It has to be done and we only get paid when we do. It is when we are paid but if that was all there was, we would have to say then that we get paid nothing for customer service and we get paid nothing to cold call, and we get paid nothing to handle incorrect invoices, etc. When a tech suggests that he deserves part of my commission because the sale was a slam dunk thanks to him I ask him if I deserve part of his paycheck every time I am able to clear a misfeed or in some other way eliminate a service call? That would be ludicrous but so should the notion that we are only paid "because of" the deal. Don't get me wrong, I hand out a lot of gift cards and buy a lot of lunches for techs and support staff but seldom is it because of any one deal.
We are not paid to make a sale...WE ARE PAID TO SERVE AND GROW THE TERRITORY. What we are paid is based on how good a job we do. I understand that is quantified by the sales that we make and our income is directly related to the amount of those sales but that is really not what it is about. Those that do nothing that they aren't directly paid for will sooner or later fail or get fired. 30 years in this business has paid me a lot of money, allowed for a stay-at-home wife, private school for my kids, 5 figure charitable donations every year... However, I contend that the sales I didn't make a dime on were as important as the ones that paid well. As Zig Ziglar says, "You can get anything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want."
That's my word, what's yours?
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