I used to be a salesman for Midas Muffler but I found the work too exhausting.

I make a pretty good living lying to people.

Here comes the rant.
I'm moving jobs. To be determined, but gone nonetheless....
If you're going to offer a compensation plan, you need to think really hard where your hand will cramp when you write that commission check. "oh no, the more you make the more the company makes" Is total BS, and every time it's happened, the hand cramper has paid way more than a stupid paycheck.

I took this on in '05, it was literally zero. No customers, no income no nothing. Texas was like a hostile country, and they had no clue how to work here.

All I know how to do is put my head down and go to work. And did. In two years, their top region, to the point now where 2nd place is less than half the business we do here.

New VP shows up, has no clue how things are done, and has no desire to learn. Decides I really don't earn the compensation they are paying, so convoludes the original program, to the point the region is up 20% and I take a $80,000 pay cut.

Customers are all one voice, it's not what it's you, wherever you go, we'll be with you.

You think sitting in your corner office that what's yours is really yours? Not in the industrial market zippy, it's only about the who and who's taking care of me. I'm going to cost that cone headed idiot a lot more than the $80 grand he thinks he owns.

Now, how many others have the same story? It's a pitiful situation but one PHD morons make every day.

Pat if it makes you feel better, I took a six figure pay increase.

That will make him feel better. Thanks.

As someone who just gets by on his good looks and charm, this thread offends me

It does, always motivating to know there is still hope in this world.

Guys like you and me will never have to grind it out. Just flash a smile and ask for the POs. It�s not really fair.

The best line I ever got from a product manager on a new release:
This is so good, you can send a dog with a note and get the order....

Been there done that. I detest corporations

It's happened more than a few times. They just can't believe anyone is really worth "THAT" much...

Back in the mid '90's one of the companies we represented was a adhesive/coating supplier, was killing it, commissions were about 30K a month, 80% were with Maquilla plants in Mexico. They hired a new sales manager, screwball that came from Pittsburgh paint, a bonafide corporate shirt. He came down from Connecticut convinced that there was no way possible one redneck in a pickup could be generating that much business.

We rode from Del Rio to Brownsville, met with twenty customers, all happy to see us, tell about the improvement they've gotten, service received and new and bigger projects there were going to use with the materials.

Didn't matter "I can hire three direct people" and do even better. Convinced the owner that's what they should do, and fired my butt. Hired the three guys, in a year it was two guys, two years it was one. Then they fired the knucklehead that fired me. Sales went down 90%. Imagine that.

I'd really like to hear from someone explain how that strategy has ever worked?