Dear SaaStr: How Do I Motivate a Sales Team Working Commission Only?
It is really, really tough.
While I am sure there are examples of “1099 reps” that have done extremely well, I haven’t seen it work in SaaS.
Pay the reps at least a small base salary, with a large commission. It’s what folks are used to. Otherwise, they sort of drift off when they don’t get a big commission check the first week or two …
The reality is, almost anyone working “commission only” basically tries a few times, and if it’s too hard, gives up and moves on. They just don’t see the money coming after that.
If you’ve ever worked with a contingent recruiter, you’ll see this. They’ll get you 8-10 candidates fairly quickly. But if you don’t want to hire any of them, they drift away.
