Posted in r/sales with 30 upvotes. This hits home for a lot of people — here's the real answer.
Just wanting to ask the sales community about how normal this is to be making 7.5% commission, no base, no salary. Made only around $45k gross last year in total-pay/commissions and repped a few hundred surgeries by myself. Their pay/bonus structure means I will actually make LESS this year with the same amount of work. I'm starting to freak out over the fact that I can't pay my bills this month and I'm not sure what to do right now. I'm not living amongst cheap land and cornfields, either; I live in an area where, "the average cost of living is significantly higher than the US average." I've poured myself into this job with optimism over the last few years and am now wondering where I made a wrong turn or bad decision. Is this career done for? Is this Med Rep thing an 80/20 career w...
The $45k annual earnings as a 100% commission-based Med Rep for Medacta are within the typical range for this field, though the lack of base pay may be frustrating. Pursuing a role with more balanced compensation could be worthwhile.
It's understandable to feel frustrated with your current comp package as a Med Rep, especially when there's no base pay and you're essentially relying on commissions alone. Unfortunately, this type of "100% commission" structure is all too common in sales-oriented roles like yours. The root cause is often a combination of industry norms, employer cost-cutting measures, and the employer's ability to leverage their power in the hiring process. The good news is there are steps you can take to improve your situation. First, use a framework like the Market Intelligence System to thoroughly research typical pay for your role, experience level, and location. Sites like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and PayScale can provide valuable data. This will help you understand your true market value. Next, document your individual performance using the Performance Documentation Engine. Quantify your achievements, impact, and how you've exceeded expectations. This gives you concrete evidence to support your case during negotiations. Finally, apply the Objection Response Framework to anticipate and address any pushback from your employer. Be prepared to make a compelling case for why you deserve higher pay, grounded in market data and your own results. When you approach negotiations armed with this knowledge and evidence, you'll be in a much stronger position to secure the compensation you deserve. And the impact goes beyond just your take-home pay - it signals your value and unlocks other opportunities for growth and advancement down the line.
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