Paying your staff more is a good thing. It’s good for hiring, for morale, for retention, and when your employees’ compensation is based primarily on commission, it’s definitely good for your sales.

With a well-strategized commission program, staff members are not only motivated but empowered. They’ll be inspired to learn more, educate clients better, and be more friendly and outgoing because those efforts will lead to better sales and more income. Then they’ll have thousands of dollars worth of reasons to stay with your company. You’ll earn a reputation as a place where people can make a real living, thus attracting more suitable employees in the future. And the cycle continues…

“Our goal is for our people to continue to make more. If you have that out there in front of them, they’ll buy in, and you don’t have to worry about losing them,” says Sundays Sun Spa owner Dennis Ligon.

“I think commission is the lifeblood of our sales. To attract a top-tier management and sales team, we have to give them a pathway to continually increase their paycheck. Many years ago, a management position might be a $35,000 to $40,000 per year position. Nowadays people can see themselves building an income over $70,000 to $80,000 a year or more.”

While this is the final article of our series on building a superstar sales team, the subject of incentivization relates significantly to the previous discussion on hiring and training. The best potential hires are going to be the ones who are highly motivated to sell, and a strong commission program will help you appeal to the right candidates. Down the line, it will also be crucial in helping retain your best salespeople. Paying commission and setting your team members up to succeed in sales is the only cost-effective way for you to compete with higher-paying job opportunities. Everyone wins and nothing is lost when you’re rewarding employees for generating more revenue for your business.

As it relates to training, your efforts to convey that succeeding at sales is a vital part of their role are never going to mean half as much as telling them how they can make the most money for themselves. With a commission program that emphasizes the sales priorities of your business, your training can evolve from “Here’s what you need to do” to “This is how you’re going to achieve success in this role and increase your income.”

“We put a bonus on the sales that make us successful. It’s not packages. It’s not sessions. We put a bonus on the things that make our company healthy. We want to direct them into selling the things we want sold, and reward them with a bonus on memberships. They can make a $35 bonus selling the right EFT. Plus, if they sell a $120 bottle of lotion they make $12. Those are the things that we want sold,” says SunSeekers by Rosie co-owner and GM Scott Nichols.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.