Dear SaaStr: Where can I find commission-only salespeople online to sell B2B software?
Don’t.
While there may be exceptions, I’ve never seen “1099 reps”, i.e. commission-only, work in B2B and SaaS.
There are just too many vendors, too much competition, and it’s too much work for someone with little incentive if they can’t close instantly to … pull off a deal.
You are better off:
- selling yourself first; and
- making sure every single lead is treated like a king; and
- building up to being just big enough to support 1–2 reps to start. if you’re on a tight budget, look for reps with slightly nonstandard backgrounds that can still sell your product.
Remember, done right, sales professionals aren’t that expensive, once you have a tiny bit of an engine going.
Why not?
- First, base salary “vests” — because it’s paid out monthly. So even if they have, say a $60k base, that’s only $5k a month.
- Second, bonuses are earned. Even if they have say a $120k “OTE” (On Target Earnings”), of say a $60k base and a $60k bonus, you only pay that bonus out when deals close.
Later, when you have 100 reps, and a bunch aren’t performing, and you need a lot of management and training, sales is expensive. More on that here: Why Your Cost of Sales Generally Doubles As You Scale | SaaStr
But from say $0.1m-$3m in revenue, sales doesn’t have to be.
And in fact, done right, sales should be cheaper with better reps who aren’t on 100% commission. Because those 100% commission reps will probably waste your precious leads. Better to give them to someone better that can at least close some of them.
(commission image from here)
