Reps Don't Want Potential. They Want Certainty.

overhauled the entire sales department right before getting ready to bring in more talent.

Went from a closer-only setup (running with 2 guys successfully for over 2 years) to a hybrid model.

To be fair, there WAS money being left on the table for everyone, including the closers who wouldn't engage with any of the leads that weren't the hottest.

They didn't though mainly because there was no incentive to do so built into the current comp plan.

My initial recommendation before we started recruiting was to leave everything the way it was, because it was working.

Bring in ONE new hybrid guy to validate the role with him... BUT do so in a way that offsets the very real risk that rep would have by being the "guinea pig."

An easy fix with a nice [temporary/ramp] base pay or non-recoverable draw.

Easy.

But...

He didn't take my advice.

Changed everything, including the 2 current closers' structure to hybrid.

The new hybrid comp plan was not bad at all. It was very fair and properly rewards for self-sets.

BUT its achilles heel was it was STILL commission only.

A few interviews and trial hires later he asks me why we can't get someone to stick and why good people he wants don't want him.

I told him what I already told him. He didn't listen to my advice.

He fixed something that wasn't actually broken, and did it WAY too quickly.

He increased the risk profile of this entire opportunity to the n'th degree.

And at the same time DECREASED the certainty that the rep would have in what the company offers.

Reps do NOT want to gamble with their very precious time on "potential," however real it may be, that can't be proven [yet].

There are plenty of good reps who do not have a problem with hybrid roles. I am one of those guys.

But what has happened here is too many unknowns were introduced.

Everything is new.

So naturally, reps are going to be hesitant to essentially roll the dice with their time on a commission-only role that has not been validated and has not been proven.

That is what companies battle against... CERTAINTY.

The same thing we say a buyer needs to feel good about doing business with us.

Companies can believe in what they say all day long.

But words are simply talk.

Numbers scream so much louder.

Numbers are also real.

If a company cannot prove with historical data that the potential they are pitching to new reps actually translates into real dollars into their bank account...

they will not get great buy in, and any reps that do give them a shot are already lining up their exit at the first sign of trouble.

They're going to get people that are half in, half out.

If they're asking the rep to give them their time they cannot get back,

and they can't verify that their time (should they do things correctly)

will translate to a positive ROI, they aren't protecting their downside enough.

The equation is lopsided.

And I hate to say it this way, but the way reps are going to perceive it is that their time is being devalued.

That is why they are getting resistance.

Reps are looking at it and saying, "I'm not going to be the guinea pig for this."

That is ultimately what it comes down to.

Companies wanting to hire [and keep] great talent have to increase certainty in the role because it IS commission only.

And in order to do that, they have to give the rep something that shows,

"I believe in what I am telling you so much that I am willing to give you something 'extra' to make up for the difference."

Obviously, with commission-only roles, nothing is ever fully guaranteed.

But the point is, right now they do not have a way to prove that what they are saying is going to be true... because the role is brand new and the structure is entirely new.

And that is why the role needs more certainty, not more potential.

Potential does not pay someone's bills.

If they don't have proof, they need to offset the risk until they do.

If they want great hires, it's ALL about knowing where their leverage lies.

It is their business, they are the one INVESTING in it with a hire, treat the investment well and watch what happens.

No need to overcomplicate anything.

Just pay reps more money LOL.

That's it. That's the whole strategy.

Stay Humble, Hustle Hard.