Ask any sales compensation expert:  companies that advertise to fill sales positions without significant billings, by offering straight commission and/or low base compensation, face a future distracted by higher than average turnover, and huge opportunity costs because the seller is too busy scrambling for short term, "must make budget this month" dollars rather than long term "must make budget ahead of quarter" revenue.

Think of the well-known, owner managed company with stations in Toronto that advertises for rookies to work on straight commission - and this broadcaster is not alone (apart from digital dollar drift, is there any wonder why radio revenue flat-lines in Toronto?).  That's not a sustainable construct when good salespeople - not inexpensive salespeople - are an increasingly rare commodity in broadcasting.  

The three most successful broadcast sales hires I've had, started with annual base compensation: $48,000, $52,000 and $60,000 in 2016 dollars - in a small market with a low cost of living.  The $48,000 was for a sales rookie who was fresh to the market, the $52,000 for someone who came from out of market with some non-media sales experience, and the $60,000 - on a list that already generated double digits more in commissions, but gave the seller some security - was for a more experienced print rep, who had yet to reach that level of earnings.  

In each case, the three sellers exploded sales.  The three mentioned overachievers were soon highly recruited.  Years later, as other broadcasters eventually ponied up with dollars and opportunities too big to resist, the three continued to grow as stellar sellers and managers with bigger companies, in bigger markets, and with correlating compensation. 

Yes, I chose to invest thousands to evaluate a number of the top candidates' fit for each of the three positions (a sincere thank-you to Caliper), so I could pick the best, and it paid off by growing retail revenue 81% inside of 30 months (source: BDO), on top of what was a very mature and lucrative revenue base.  

Yes, it was ongoing sales training and marketing strategy training (more so than most of the larger companies) that enriched their experience, their clients' experiences - and the sellers' bank accounts - and kept them fresh, engaged and ahead of the competition.   They did all this with the security and the confidence of a base that freed them to think and act in the long term interests of their clients and the station, and not scramble for short term dollars.  

So how do you determine what compensation structure will produce optimum results?  Sales trainer Colleen Francis addresses these parameters.