Webinar: The top ten factors selfemployed sales agents consider
when choosing to work with a new
company
Founders
Ryan Mattock
Co-Founder
Laura McGregor
Co-Founder
Content Creator, Customer
Development/Support,
Marketer, Growth Hacker
LinkedIn
Product Development,
Visionary/Architect, Project
Manager, Marketer
LinkedIn
Alistair Robinson
Co-Founder
Lead Developer, Sys
admin, Toolsmith,
Designer
LinkedIn
We started Commission Crowd to change the way companies manage remote sales teams and how salespeople build
their independent careers. Our cutting-edge online office platform enables greater communication, task management, and
overall productivity for everyone. It effectively eliminates the wasted time and resources that usually accompany remote
working relationships. The networking and portfolio-building features of CommissionCrowd neutralize the risk of hiring
freelance sales agents without any guarantee in their ability to perform. Because of this, the best self-starters are also able
to take their careers into their own hands better than ever before.
AGENDA
• Overview & Industry Challenges
• Watch Webinar: Understanding Self-Employed Sales Agents
• Private Beta – Lifetime VIP Founding Membership
• The top ten factors self-employed sales agents consider when
choosing to work with a new company
1. Honesty/Integrity
2. Communication
3. Management attitude
4. Company Reputation
5. Commission Amount
6. Attitude around working with self-employed reps
7. Are samples provided
8. Professionalism
9. How long does it take to get paid
10.Customer service
The Solution
A lot of companies today are underperforming heavily because they can’t find the right salespeople, and
find it too difficult to manage a remote sales team. It’s an enormous problem, because having the right
salespeople with the right product to sell can easily mean the difference between success and failure as a
business. CommissionCrowd instantly connects businesses to self-driven commissioned sales experts
around the world, and provides a convenient platform for managing and communicating with them. It
makes remote sales relationships easier than hiring an in-house staff.
Marketplace
Our challenge was to build tools that
service both companies & selfemployed sales agents
independently.
BUT ALSO
That were even more powerful when
a relationship is created between the
two.
Two paradigms of design and development that are especially dear to us are
responsive design and Rich Internet Applications.
TECHNOLOGY
=
CommissionCrowd is being built as a Rich Internet Application with
a client-side JavaScript framework, so that we can leverage the full
power of modern browsers. What this means is that although you’ll
get to our application through your phone’s web browser, you won’t
have to wait around for those frustrating page loads once you’re
logged in, because after that happens the full CommissionCrowd
application will be on your phone’s browser already, and will last for
your entire session.
Of course, you’ll still need a connection if you want to access and
save data, but (a) the screen interface itself will be as quick and
responsive as a native app, and (b) downloading small chunks of
data behind the scenes is orders of magnitude faster than reloading
a web page. And (c) we also have secret plans to make things even
better at a later stage by introducing more complete offline
capabilities and data syncing for those on the
We’re not going for new technologies just because they’re sexy; we
firmly believe they’ll help us ensure that your day-to-day experience
on CommissionCrowd is first-rate.
The Solution
Connect – Attract the
best, expand and grow
your business
Manage – Save time,
resource & money
View All Features Here
Collaborate - Eradicate
confusion, save time &
sanity
Sell More - Better
processes,
opportunities &
relationships
Watch Now To Learn More
When choosing an opportunity how important are the following factors in
making your decision to contract with a new Company/Principal? Rating
by Importance
Communication
Professionalism
Experience working with self-employed reps
Commission Amount
Attitude with working with self-employed reps
Company Reputation
Exclusive (protected) Territories
Sales Targets
How much other reps are currently making
Years in business
The average close %
How many customers
How long does it take to get paid
Customer retention
Are samples provided
Sales process
How long is the average sales cycle
Ongoing Sales Support/Training
Is training provided
Industry
Quality of the training provided
Personal investment requirement (samples, training
etc.)
Product/Service: Features & Benefits
Management attitude
Customer service
Company culture
Clear expectations
Honesty/Integrity
Lead generation provided
Notes:
• None of the answers were deemed un-important and all factor in
somewhat in the decision making process
• We will focus on the Top 10 by order of how agents ranked
importance
#1
1.Honesty/Integrity
What does it mean to act honestly?
• Acting honestly requires us to intend to be truthful, accurate and straightforward in all
communications so that others are not misled or deceived. It prohibits stealing, cheating,
fraud, deception and other forms of dishonesty or trickery to acquire anything including
money, influence, unfair advantage, jobs, competitive information or the approval of others.
What does it mean to act with integrity?
• Acting with integrity requires us to treat our beliefs about right and wrong as ground rules
for our behaviour and decision-making – that is, doing what is right even if no one is
looking and not doing wrong even if you believe you can never be caught. It requires us to
walk our talk and to make decisions that are consistent with our values, especially our
ethical values. It involves the elevation of principle over expediency or self-interest.
1.Honesty/Integrity - Example
CODE OF CONDUCT
“THE POWER OF HONESTY - Integrity is the foundation of all we
do. It is a constant. Those with whom we work, live and serve can
rely on us. We align our actions with our words and deliver what
we promise. We build and strengthen our reputation through trust.
We do not improperly influence others or let them improperly
influence us. We are respectful and behave in an open and
honest manner. In short, the reputation of the enterprise reflects
the ethical performance of the people who work here.”
- Caterpillar
1.Honesty/Integrity – Take Away
• Consider creating or reviewing your own business ‘code of
conduct’
• Where does Honesty & Integrity live within your brand?
• How do you define this in terms of your management,
communication, conflict resolution, competitive conduct etc.
• When drafting your opportunity wording how can you position it
to encourage applications from sales agents who have similar
values around honesty and integrity – thereby showcasing the
importance to you.
#2
2. Communication
The ability to communicate, and communicate well, is one of the
biggest factors in business success.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ask the Right Questions
Be Professional
Schedule and Prepare Thoroughly
Speak, Pause, Listen
Follow Up in Writing
Ask for Feedback
Address Problems
Be Confident
Prepare an Elevator Pitch
Be clear and concise in written communication
2. Communication – Take Away
• CommissionCrowd is building communication tools into the
platform to help you stay organised and professional in your
communication
• Manage expectations and follow through
• Your profile is your first impression. If a sales agents value
communication then ensure your opportunity is written in a clear
and concise way to showcase the value you also place on this
#3
3. Management Attitude – Take Away
• How you approach your relationship with self-employed sales
agents Employee vs. Partnership
• How you resolve issues
• How you set and manage expectations
• How you encourage and anticipate their needs
• The respect you show them in terms of their value and time
• How you understand their challenges and how they like doing
business
• How you support them and your clients
• How you give and receive feedback
• How you encourage, train, manage and empower them
#4
4. Company Reputation
• Just like your customers buy from you because of your reputation
; agents decide to work with you for similar reasons
• CommissionCrowd is building in tools to help add trust factors
from other agents so overtime your opportunity will stand out if
you can build successful working partnerships with agents
• It’s not just your company and products and services it’s also
your management, support and any other touch point a rep has
with your business that determines your overall reputation in their
eyes
4. Reputation – Take Away
• Do a reputation analysis on various factors of your business and
position your opportunity to ensure you’re highlighting why
people like buying your products/services
• Include testimonials from other agents and customers/clients
• Audit your online reputation by searching your company name
and know what people are saying about you
• Trust factors like member/industry associations, review sites,
social media presence, years in business all help to give agents
confidence in your opportunity
#5
5. Commission Structure
• The most important thing you must consider is the earning
potential for your opportunity – can an agent actually make a
decent living selling your product/service
• Agents love residual commissions
• Give us much as you can and still make a profit – be fair &
transparent
5. Commission Structure – Take Away
• Show both conservative and advanced earning potential
• Offer added incentives if targets are met
• Consider compensation for:
• New business
• Existing customer upsells
• Retention / win-back
#6 Attitude around working with self-employed reps
6. Attitude is everything when it comes to working
Successfully with self-employed sales agents
• You must recognise that they are not your employees. They wish
to be seen as partners in a business.
• You must be willing to accept the level of information they want
to share with you
• Share the attitude that your sales agents are looking for long term
partnerships and not short term solutions
• You can never be tempted to let a sales rep go for being
‘too successful’ and earning very high levels of commission
6. Attitude Takeaway
Take everything you knew, or thought you knew and start again.
Openness and transparency is everything to a good sales agent.
Remember, attitude works both ways and not every company will
Be a good fit.
Do not get over excited when the applications start coming in.
Make sure you speak with each sales agent and before
agreeing to go into business together.
# 7 Samples
7. Are samples and marketing materials provided?
•
•
•
•
•
Your sales agents need great samples to show clients
Your Marketing materials need to be up-to date
Are you willing to invest in new materials if needed?
Is your website up-to-date?
What kind of materials will your team need in order to do business?
#8
8. Professionalism
•
•
•
•
•
•
Keep your word
Give your full effort
Act appropriately
Be knowledgeable
Be generous
Be honest
8. Professionalism – Take Away
• If you’ve done everything else here so far you’re opportunity will
be shining with professionalism
• Ensure this carries through in all your communications
• Ensure you understand and communicate your business strategy
and how sales agents can help you achieve it
#9
9. How long does it take to get paid – Take Away
• Not all agents will look for a short sales cycle and short pay
periods. Some agents like a mix of long and short sales cycles in
their pipeline.
• Agents understand that there is likely a delay in receiving
commissions as you will need to collect payment from customer.
Be open and transparent and clearly set out pay terms. Then
stick to them.
• Communicate any issues or delays immediately
#10
10. Customer Service – Take Away
• Agents need to know that you can service your customers in a
timely and efficient manner
• They need to know what kind of support is available, how you
resolve issues and generally how reliable it is
• Let them know the level of support available to them and to
customers and how happy your existing customers are too.
Other key factors ranked by importance
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12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Clear expectations
Is training provided
Personal investment requirement (samples, training etc.)
Product/Service: Features & Benefits
Exclusive (protected) Territories
Quality of the training provided
Sales process
Experience working with self-employed reps
Ongoing Sales Support/Training
Industry
Customer retention
Company culture
How long is the average sales cycle
Lead generation provided
Sales Targets
Years in business
How many customers
How much other reps are currently making
The average close %
Other Webinars
Contact Us
Laura McGregor
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0131 618 2300
Ryan Mattock
Email: [email protected]
Alistair Robinson
Email: [email protected]
www.commissioncrowd.com
We’re developing in the South
of France in a tiny village
called Simorre