Every two weeks, FCNews seeks out flooring retailers across the country to offer their advice on hot topics of the day. This week, we asked: What truly motivates your sales team?
Here are their responses:
Overall, the best and most fair plan we have is draw vs. commission. This gives the salesperson a ‘guarantee’ and the opportunity to make more with commissions. RSAs are in control of their compensation potential this way. Some of our salespeople are on salary; for the right people we have great success with this.
—Craig Phillips, The Leading Edge, Akron, OhioÂ
Our RSAs are on a salary + commission. Each person has a monthly quota to reach; once they reach that, they earn a percentage of the quota. Upon reaching the quota, there are two additional levels they can reach with each waterline earning them more. I call this a bucket system; fill the bucket with the sales quota, earn a commission. Once filled, what falls out of the bucket with additional sales can earn two higher percentages.
—Steve Weisberg, Crest Flooring, Allentown, Pa.
We pay our RSAs by the hour, plus a quarterly bonus depending on how the store is doing. We promote a teamwork approach to our business; a customer may deal with three to four people before and during the sales and installation process.
 —Don Cantor, Lake Interiors, Chelan, Wash.
Straight commission works best for us. We pay on profit. The bigger the margin of profit, the bigger percentage RSAs earn. They are all employees with benefits.
—Chris Kemp, Kemp’s Dalton West Flooring Newnan, Ga.
For the longest time our associates worked off a draw/commission with commissions paid monthly. Now it varies depending on store or location. Applicants do not feel comfortable with a commission structure without a firm rate of pay. So, we are landing on an hourly rate + commission once they reach certain sales numbers and margin.
—Doug Bertrand, Carpetland USA, Davenport, Iowa
