Define Happy…
We asked every single employee what makes them happy at the workplace. And you know what, most answered quickly while some hesitated. But nonetheless, they all had some very valid points. Every employee had their own employment background that supports why they felt the way they did. Every employee hated job shopping but they felt like they had no choice or were encouraged to leave.
Employees that came from a sales background all felt that they were placed in a “sales jail bubble”. It was as if they had to sell or they will not pay their bills. These are the sales employees that worked on commission-based only jobs.
These employees had to drive their own vehicle to two or sometimes three appointments per day. They had to pay for their own fuel. The wear and tear on their personal vehicle aren’t cheap (new tires, oil change, regular maintenance, etc…). If they don’t take care of their vehicle they can’t make a living. And this doesn’t include other costs of living like your apartment/house, food, utilities, etc which at the end of the month add up quickly.
It’s as though you never catch up. If they made a sale once or twice a week some said that they wouldn’t get fully paid until four to six months later after the installation was complete. Most felt stuck because when they had twenty-plus customers that have not gotten installed they could be leaving 10k+ on the table leaving for another job.
Apparently, some employees felt that their employer didn’t care enough about family stability and that their customers were more important. As employees, we were forced to give up three weekends in a month but we had a day off during the week.
Family time was limited and stressful with the COVID shutdown, their kids weren’t in school so parents had to take time away from work to attend to the needs of their family. However, if they weren’t working and attending to the next opportunity called a “Sale” then they didn’t get paid.
Apparently, most employers didn’t seem to care; but were quick to hire more salespeople. Now that things are a little better and back to normal we have fewer leads to attend because employers hired more salespeople meaning fewer leads for everyone. Who benefits and doesn’t feel the pain? The employer apparently according to our new employee enrollment. Their employer didn’t feel the pain and regardless if we were a staff of ten employees before the pandemic we are now at twenty meaning fewer leads.
We were busier during COVID because everyone was home, but with twice the sales force we are limited to two leads vs. three-plus like before.
Full commission-based employees were paid 25% after the sale but were made to wait until the installation was complete before they would get the rest of their commission which could be a four-month wait or longer.
One employee stated, “If the employer received full payment regardless of whether the customer was cash or received financing, why weren’t we paid in full or 75% immediately. Why wait until after the installation. We need the money we earned today not the rest months from now.”
From the business standpoint, the reason why employers do not pay in full is that sometimes the deal can go south regardless if they were cash only or if the customer financed. However, the 25% today and the rest after the installation is a bit much in our opinion.
Some employees openly and honestly told us that they sometimes felt like they had to white-lie the customer or spin the sale which in reality is lying to the customer to make the sale and to make money. It seemed that their customers never read the disclosures and took their word for it and signed the deal immediately was the only way they could make a living. This is the “Sales Jail Bubble” that they were talking about. Either they sold every deal regardless or they didn’t survive. It was called “Feast or Famine” at the job they were currently working at.
Why Are We Different?
Simply put, we are all human beings and there is always room for improvement. We as a company at DoorAdvier.PRO is employee-driven not customer-driven. Our customers however are our true employers and we are loyal to them and grateful for the opportunity that they give us.
However, if the employees feel like they are in a “Sales Jail Bubble” then they aren’t willing to help their customers effectively and honestly.
Let’s step aside for a moment and review what is taking place in the bigger picture. There are some really good companies to work for and there are some that manage very poorly where employees are treated as disposable goods like a broken television. It’s faster and cheaper to get another television than it is to get the one that is broken fixed. It’s as if we live in a society of disposable goods or the throwaway society then to educate and fix what we have.
Most of our employees that we asked felt that it was encouraged to quit, that way the employer can reap the benefits of taking all of our commission.
How So…
The common answer that we received was the quality of leads. Some stated that they continued to get leads that were impossible to sell due to the constraints of their employer. Sometimes customers wanted more than what we could offer and for the price that they were willing to pay. Every customer had someone that could do the job cheaper. Then why did they call us? Call your best friend, don’t waste our time… We can be friends at the moment but at the end of the day, it’s business and I’m going to sell you something whether you liked it or not…
Or…We were required to drive the furthest point every day for a single-window customer when our employer’s requirement was a three-window minimum requirement.
Probing…
How is it that we as salespeople must ask probing questions to understand our clients better? Our job doesn’t start until the customer says “NO”, “Not Today”, “We Need A Second Quote”… But why are the people taking in calls aren’t asking probing questions? We must travel to our appointments, they don’t. They sit behind the desk all day getting paid hourly plus when we sell they get a cut; how unfair…
In America we feel that we are above countries like China because of their slave labor; but what is the difference? In the end, we worked for free one employee stated. “We never felt that we offered value to the company. If we sold we were RockStars and the next month if performance was down we were a nobody…”
The DoorAdviser.PRO Difference…
Employees that work for DoorAdviser.PRO are rewarded for honest work. They reap what they sow and they can build as high as they would like with no caps or “Sales Jail Bubbles” and customers feel the difference.
We don’t hold their money ransom, they pay themselves what they feel their lead is worth. They honestly are running their own business, as long as they stay within the navigational beacons:
- 100% Integrity
- Treat customers as if they were your employer
- Maintain a full project report (document, images, educate the customer, etc…)
- Must Maintain Above 95% (Pre close Rate)
- Maintain a minimum of two new leads per day or ten leads per week.