# what is a good salesperson's percentage?



## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

Hello,
Ive got a question. I have a fairly new screenprinting buisness. I mostly cater now to some local businesses, some bands i meet when I am on tour with my own band, and the occasional friend who knows somebody who needs some shirts printed. 
There are some people I know who want to start selling for me, but im not sure what percentage I should give them for each sale they get. 
If anyone with some experience in this matter can help me out with some info on this, I would appreciate it!


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

I would say around 10%. Since they are friends I might work up a finders fee rather than a percentage. Your profits will dwindle especially if all they do is give you the lead. You will be doing all the work and they get a good portion of the profits? Work up a finders fee based on total dollar amount of the orders


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

My rep gets 15%.. That is pretty much the rate for product reps.


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## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

hey guys,
thanks for the answers. i have one more question. whatever the percentage may be for a rep, be it 10 to 15%, is that a percentage after the cost of the tees, and ink, etc., or is it a total of what the customer paid? for example, i did a 500 dollar job the other day, and the cost of the shirts of course cut into that quite a bit. the person who got me the job though that he would get a percentage of the whole 500 dollars. i figured it would be just the profits. im not used to dealing with extra people in my buisness, so im new to this end of it. 
thanks also for the finder's fee idea, i didnt think of that.
thanks!!


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

thats between you and the reps. Some take a less amount on the gross and more on the profits. I wouldnt take a job for 10-15% on the profits as the rate would be small. Most I believe go the gross route yet its a per company deal.


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## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

thanks for the advice!!


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## rmi (May 23, 2007)

10 to15% is fairly standard on the gross order for a rep that handles the customer contact and writes up the complete order. You can also develop a sliding scale based on volumes. I have one particular rep that accounts for around a million a year in sales. I have no problem at all giving him 15% plus perks. Others I'll start out at 10% until a track record has been established.


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