So, I have only been in Radio Sales for about 4 months now, and I have been slowly chipping away. Last month I exceeded my draw, which is fantastic. It means now I can switch to straight commission and start seeing the real money.
Well, this month I decided to check out some networking groups. All I can say is, WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG???
I have joined four different groups. Because of this I am having to start my day about an hour earlier every day of the week. What have I gotten out of this?
Weeeeelllllll...this month I have closed a total of over $60,000 in long term contracts, strictly from members of these groups and referrals!
I can not recommend these things enough! You get in front of at least 15 local business (one group I have joined has over 75 separate businesses that attend EVERY SINGLE MEETING!) Best part is that most of these groups are "One of" Groups, which means that as long as I remain active in the groups no other Radio Sales Executives can join! IT feels like I am just printing money.
Each morning that I go in I am locking in at least one CNA, and sometimes as many as five.
Did I just get extremely lucky, or is this a secret everyone has been keeping close to the vest?
Sounds like you're on the right track. But something that caught my eye...you said you "exceeded your draw". If it is a true draw, it is really a loan against future commissions, which has to be paid back. If this is really the case, why would you take a job that loaned you money as a draw to be paid back from future commissions so that you had money to live on now? Why work for nothing? If you are getting a "guarantee" now, that is different...a guarantee is just what it says, you are guaranteed so much money regardless of what you sell and it does not have to be paid back. I hope that is what you are one.Broadcasters wonder why it is hard to get sales people and keep them when they don't want to pay them for their work. It show little or no regard for the new salesperson when they won't give them a guarantee or base salary when they start. This usually happens when the expand the sales staff and/or territory and the account list has very little billing and is not generating enough sales/collections to pay a living wage to the salesperson...so the station offers to give them a "draw" against future commissions. Remember, if it is a draw, the day of reckoning will come when the commission has been reduced or eliminated because the draw has used it up months ago.
While I'm on the subject, here's another pitfall to look out for: "Exempt" and "Non-Exempt" employees. An "Exempt" employee is exempt from minimum wage and over time rules. A "Non-Exempt" employee is an employee that is covered by the minimum wage and overtime rules. I have seen a lot of people employed as "combo people", employees that do a few hours a day as announcer, production, news, sports, etc, and then also do sales. If an employee works within the station (announcer, production, etc) and that is all they do, they are non-exempt. An employee that only does outside sales is an exempt employee. However, if an employee works more than 20% of their time each week doing non-exempt work (announcer) then goes out and sells, he is no longer an exempt employee during the time he/she is out selling. If that person doesn't sell a thing, they still must be paid at least minimum wage for ALL hours they put in for both announcing and sales. Its the law. Many employers think that combo sales people aren't subject to minimum wage rules but this is only true if less than 20% of their total work time in a week is for non sales work. Example: Joe works 5-8 AM M-F on the air then goes out and sells for 6 hours a day M-F. Total hours: 45 of which 18 are announcing. He is working more than 20% of his total weekly hours as a non-exempt employee as an announcer which he must be paid at least minimum wage, and for the 35 hours a week he spends in sales he must receive at least minimum wage as well, even if he doesn't sell a thing. By the way, this is determined by hours worked weekly, not monthly and the wages received for each week so it is possible that in some weeks commissions paid would exceed the minimum wage.
There are a lot of owners that are not aware of this and you probably know someone that may fit into this situation.
Best solution: Pay your salespeople good and don't rely on minimum wage to dictate your pay schedule. Don't ask an employee to work for free or borrow against future commission so the can buy food. Pay them. There are a lot of people out there working for free then seeing the light and quitting and then owners wonder why it's so hard to find and keep good sales people.
I was an owner. I paid new salespeople a guaranteed wage above minimum wage.
A suggestion for owners, managers and employees: Keep track of your hours at work for each week, even if you aren't required by the boss to do so because you should, especially if the employer gets audited by Wage & Hour and you need to prove how many hours you worked each week....especially if you would be entitled to a big back pay check!
If you doubt any of this...make a phone call to the Federal Wage and Hour Division.
Good luck.
DO
Hi Dale,
Yes, I meant Guarantee, not Draw. Sorry, I got those mixed up.
