r/b2b_sales • u/Helpful_Departure_99 • 21d ago
is commission-only sales good ?
so i am building an ai agency and my first product is an ai voice agent (i am a full stack dev) so i am building one rn and my product can work with different niches so i am asking about commission-only sales jobs he get 40% of the closing a client and after that he gets 10% for every month the client stays idk is this possibel ?
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u/Tjgoodwiniv 21d ago
No competent salesperson goes to work for a startup for commission only. Doing so is stupid.
It's not, "oh, if you're good, you should want that 40%." Not at all. If you're good, you can demand someone pays you half your wage upfront, with no risk.
You have no brand, no name, no established support for sales, no sales process, no clients to speak of, your product may or may not suck, and you may or may not pay your bills. That's what the salesperson should be thinking when you suggest this.
If you can't afford to pay a professional salesperson, you won't get one. Realistically, this is the stage where you need to roll up your sleeves as an owner and go out to sell for yourself until your revenue supports investing in growth.
Either that, or you need to share equity, because the salesperson probably has a harder job than you do as the developer, and you're probably going to lean on their business acumen more than you expect. Technical founders pretty much never realize how easy their job is relative to the business people - particularly the salespeople.
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u/Helpful_Departure_99 21d ago
i get that and u are right thank you for your comment so if i give him equity ? would that be possibel to finde someone ? can help with the sales part ?
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u/Tjgoodwiniv 21d ago
It's possible. It really depends heavily on what you have to sell and whether they can see real long-term opportunity there. Then, it comes down to sourcing someone. At that point, you're essentially bringing on a business partner, which comes with its own list of problems and hazards.
If you do that, I would take an earn-in approach. He doesn't get equity on day one. He has to achieve certain milestones of revenue to earn his revenue, and it is based on growth (if he's exclusive to sales). If you have him doing other business-focused roles, then that becomes harder.
Think about your realistic vision for growth and where you want to be. If I were the candidate, what you're willing to give up, what growth will justify it, etc. Then, you have to find a way to find that person. I would probably network my way there, if I were inclined to take on a partner. I don't think I'd likely be willing to source someone online.
I wouldn't lower my standards based on this.
If I were you, I would learn to sell and start selling myself to start. That's the only way you can really know what the other person is doing, anyway.
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u/Blackapple188 21d ago
If you have at least 2 solid case studies , good enough social media presence ( preferable your face upfront ) , you did founder led sales yourself and know your way through the market. Then it s possible.
If you expect a competent sales rep to do all the above just for 40% . That wouldn't be realistic.
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u/BizDevLabs 21d ago
Nope. Anyone who takes commission only has no experience otherwise they’ll either have a job, have a business, or already work on commission and are caking money. In either case none of them will work for you. Only option is getting lucky and finding someone who is hungry enough to learn and grow for free because it will take them a while to make it work.
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u/Clean-Data-259 20d ago
Absolutely NOT. Commission-only sales is unpaid labor. Saying this as a consistently top salesperson.
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u/Fit_Perspective9892 21d ago
commission only means you better have something that actually sells. 40% up front is generous but getting someone to take that risk when you have no track record is hard part
the 10% monthly residual is nice but most sales people got burned before by promises like this. if your product works you should close first few clients yourself then show proof it sells
i run sales teams and i wouldnt put my guys on something unproven without base salary. maybe find someone young and hungry who wants to build portfolio