Best balance of commission/equity to offer VP Sales

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Permalink Reply by MagazineLaunch on May 4, 2009 at 5:59pm

Giving equity to someone in a start-up is a big move. You said that you just found this person. Are you sure you want to create a hard-to-break relationship with someone you just found?

You mention nothing about salary. What were you planning in that regard?

Often, start-up entrepreneurs will seek to hire an ad salesperson who will work mostly for commission. I've found that this usually does not work out. The entrepreneur wants to pay little salary because he or she is uncertain whether the business can support it, and uncertain about the performance level of the salesperson. But, asking a salesperson to sign on for little salary is expecting that person to have more confidence in the success of the launch than the start-up entrepreneur. The best salespeople often don't want to take such a risk in the soundness of the entrepreneur's plans. In the end, more times than not, this approach leads to hiring people of limited capability who are desperate for a job.

William Dunkerley
Publishing Consultant
Web: http://www.publishinghelp.com/consultant

by wdpc on Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:18 am (Pulled over from original http://www.magazinelaunch.com Forum)