Don't Price Yourself Out of the Market

While all sales people want to make sure they are being paid as much as possible – both in terms of basic pay and commission – you do not want to price yourself out of the market.

However good you are at your job, there will be a point where your employer says ‘enough’. That may be a very high salary indeed, but there is always a tipping point.

The trick is to know what that tipping point is and making sure you get as close to it as possible without actually going over. Companies are happy to pay good sales people good money, but you need to be earning them more than they pay you, regardless of what that is.

What Are You Worth?

You need to be objective here. Take time to appreciate what sales you have completed, what revenue you brought into the company and what commercial development you create for your employer. Look at what your colleagues are doing in comparison and see where you fit into the bigger picture at your employers.

Then find out what is the expected salary for your position in your industry. There are plenty of online recruitment agencies or broad sheet newspaper job pages that offer a salary review or salary checker service. They tend to have collated lots of information about certain positions in each sector, or their specialist market sector and then publish the results by location and seniority.

The last element in finding out what you are worth is to think about what you are like to work with. While a sales person is mostly judged on their sales figures, you also need to think if you are difficult, late or inflexible as a colleague or employee.

Negotiate a Great Salary

Once you are armed with this information, you can make sure that you negotiate your salary, either at the beginning of a new contract or at your next review in your current career employment.

You can’t, however, just barge in and say that you need to be paid more because The Guardian jobs section says so. You need to present why you deserve more, what benefits and potential development you offer your employers.

Know When to Stop

When you are in the meeting with your boss and you are trying to make sure you get the best pay possible, do make sure that you take notice of their comments and body language.

You may find that they are able to offer a slightly higher basic pay, but better commission, or extra holiday or some other quantifiable benefit. Take these into consideration and weigh up the whole package. You don’t want to keep pushing only to end up with nothing when they get annoyed that you are being too greedy. Know what your worth and try to get as close to it as possible, but be aware of economic changes and market demands that may effect your situation and know when to stop. Your employers will want to keep hold of you if, indeed, you are worth it, but not at any cost.