commission and sales

[Prestige Landscaping]

I am looking for the average salary and commission scale for a landscape sales guy/ business developer... Just want to see how fair we are. Also what should the quotas be for this position and how much can one sales guy sell. Thanks!!!

Jonah

[merrimacmill]

I'll be interested to hear what people have to say on this.

I'd really like this to be my next goal, as selling is my least favorite part of business. But of course, the most essencial.

It sounds like you already have someone in this position? Was that a positive addition to your company, and was it difficult to integrate?

[Prestige Landscaping]

We do have someone here already and currently am looking for a another. Just was curious to what the regular pay was and how it was broken down. It is a good idea if the revenue is there and you can afford. be careful who you hire and set goals for them.

[lazor-cut]

I have never hired a Designated sales person..

I preach to my workers that If they get me the lead into an account i will give them a 5% commission on what i take in on the account..(after material). So all i have to do is price it all out then turn it in. I have never put a limit on the amount of commission that i'll give them other than 5% PER account. Commission on accounts only last for the FIRST year of service. If we renew the contract you're done with commission on that account. This leads them to get more accounts.

This is completely optional and open to all of my workers. Whether they take that opportunity or not is up to them. But for the guys who do take the opportunity, they make their hourly/salary plus an extra $XX Bucks per billing cycle.

[Bunton Guy]

Prestige...what area do you work in? Years ago I remember racing motocross in Sanford @ Devil's Ridge. I don't remember there being a heck of a lot to do in that area. Most of the time motocross track are located way out in the sticks.. Maybe things have built up in the last 10 years?

Best of luck

[quietone]

It all depends on what kind of sales they are doing. Design and installation/Construction sales 6-8% of the total sale, goal would be 1.5 million a year if they are REALLY good.
Maintenance 10%-12% goal would be 800k to a million again if they are REALLY good.
Hope that helps. There is also something call a "draw system" which could be a good way to pay sales people.

www.quietvillagelandscaping.com

[EgansCountryGardens]

Negotiating with a sales guy right now for this season He's a registered landscape architect as well. He's working 3 days a week for $725/wk plus a 20% commission on the PROFIT of the job after all materials, labor, and overhead including office staff. His goal this season is going to be a million to start. His commission is based off of profit so he is accountable for following the job through to completion including supervising.

[Prestige Landscaping]

@ Lazor-cut I don't think you understand production landscaping and if you have time to do all sales then more power to you. @eganscountrygardens I think your a little high on percentages but look pretty good on goals. I do think that if your %'s are that high that your gonna have to incorporate that into your pricing system @ quietone I also think your high. And will fail with the %'s that high 7% of one million would be 70 thousand a year the only way would be able to do that is to build into your pricing and then with the market being as competitive as it is then your will NOT win any bids

[PaperCutter]

Originally Posted by Prestige Landscaping

@ Lazor-cut I don't think you understand production landscaping and if you have time to do all sales then more power to you. @eganscountrygardens I think your a little high on percentages but look pretty good on goals. I do think that if your %'s are that high that your gonna have to incorporate that into your pricing system @ quietone I also think your high. And will fail with the %'s that high 7% of one million would be 70 thousand a year the only way would be able to do that is to build into your pricing and then with the market being as competitive as it is then your will NOT win any bids

I don't know anything about maintenance sales, but for installs 7% is the lowest I've worked for, 10% is standard, and I've gotten 15% (gross cost, not profit). At this point in my career if I went back to work for someone 10% would be the minimum I'd take.

I would think that if you're established enough to hire a full time sales pro and you're sending him on leads where you're competing against low overhead, one truck operations, your targeting is off.

[aaronmg]

I'm just a stupid tech..... but the question that I pose is if a salesperson could sell and most importantly bill 1.5 million worth of work a year, being maintenance or hardscaping, why would a salesperson not have there own lco in that situation? Please educate me if i'm wrong?