[RE-wrenches] sales commissions

Tue Feb 9 23:16:46 PST 2010

I think it depends on the original sale. If the sales person set up the system proposal to take advantage of tax credits, and established a 2 phase, multiyear build out, the sales person definitely deserves full credit.
That additional planning took more time, saved the customer more money, got the company a bigger total sale, and so the sales person earned his keep, IMHO.
If there was no addition discussed, and the customer suddenly called up years later wanting to triple the system...... maybe a lower commission might be appropriate. 
I agree with Keith though, it could cause more trouble than it's worth. Some sales are as easy as waking up in the morning, others are like pulling teeth. The good, the bad, and the ugly usually average themselves out, without having to renegotiate the commission every day.

R. Walters
ray at solarray.com
Solar Engineer

On Feb 9, 2010, at 5:58 PM, Keith Cronin wrote:

> My perspective-
> 
> If the client recently purchased a 3kW system and the commission in this example is 5%.
> 
> 3kW @ $7/w = $21k. So the sales person made $1050 for the original deal.
> Lets say they want to add on 2kW more with the same example above
> 2k@ @ $7/w= $14k. Sales commission is $700.
> 
> So, the questions are many- does the person deserve (pick the adjective you deem appropriate) it?
> 
> Well, look at it this way. This person established the rapport and this could have taken considerable time to coalesce.
> It seems the client liked the experience and called back the sales person for more due to the relationship building.
> 
> The company, on the other hand, should be familiar with the site and the conditions and have notes and drawings in a semi boiler plate fashion.
> This will further (or could) increase the profitability and fluidity of the project, so everyone wins.
> 
> So, everyones cost of sale, so to speak is lower.
> 
> Why ding the sales person to 3% or any number less than what they are used to? It can bring up bad feelings on each parties side. Is it really worth debating?
> To save a $100- $200 bucks, it seems like it could be counterproductive. There are so many other times the sales person works for McDonalds wages, so it can balance itself out over time.
> 
> Aloha~
> 
> Keith
> 
> 
> From: "solarepiphany at gmail.com" <solarepiphany at gmail.com>
> To: re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
> Sent: Tue, February 9, 2010 1:38:01 PM
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] sales commissions
> 
> Hey there,
> 
> We offer our sales team a per module commission for expansion of systems. Its an easy flat fee per module. Just an idea. 
> 
> Eric 
> Solar Epiphany LLC
> Seattle
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org
> Date: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:13:07 
> To: <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 3, Issue 125
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> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
>   1.  Walt Ratterman found (Foster, Robert)
>   2. DPW MPM (Phil Schneider)
>   3. Re: DPW MPM (Bob-O Schultze)
>   4. sales commissions (Marco)
>   5. Re: sales commissions (Bob-O Schultze)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 23:27:44 +0430 (AFT)
> From: "Foster, Robert" <rfoster at nmsu.edu>
> To: re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
> Subject: [RE-wrenches]  Walt Ratterman found
> Message-ID: <50194.93.91.89.214.1265741864.squirrel at webmail.nmsu.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Our prayers and thoughts are with the Ratterman family.
> 
> >From the Calgary Herald:
> 
> Quake victim's legacy of caring spans globe
> 
> BY VALERIE FORTNEY, CALGARY HERALD FEBRUARY 9, 2010
> 
> At some point in the early morning hours of Monday, a body was pulled
> from the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was a
> scene that's been played out thousands of times in this heartbroken
> country since an earthquake hit Jan. 12, the death toll having now
> topped 200,000.
> 
> While the loss of each innocent life is a tragedy in itself, the
> discovery of this one body has sent waves of grief around an entire
> planet, touching down everywhere from Calgary to Pakistan, to Burma and
> Sudan, and into some of its most remote corners.
> 
> That's because whether you were a Papua New Guinean tribesman, an Afghan
> peasant or a wealthy American philanthropist, Walt Ratterman had a way
> of getting into your heart. This longtime humanitarian wanted the world
> to be a better place, and was willing to roll up his sleeves and get to
> work to make it so.
> 
> Two weeks ago, I shared with Herald readers Walt's story, of how I and a
> few other Calgarians came to be lucky enough to make his acquaintance
> these past few years.
> 
> Photographer Dianne Bos remembered Walt as a "real live action hero;"
> Sally Goddard, mother of Capt. Nichola Goddard, Canada's first female
> soldier to die in combat, said he was like a heroic character out of a
> great novel; and Grady Semmens, of the University of Calgary's media
> relations department, described Walt as Indiana Jones in the flesh.
> 
> Even people like Dave Irvine-Halliday, founder of the internationally
> renowned Light Up the World Foundation -- whose organization brings
> solar-powered, LED technology to parts of the world where electricity is
> a luxury -- expressed awe for this man who jokingly described himself as
> a "mercenary humanitarian."
> 
> If you have been one of the thousands of Calgarians who have donated
> money to Light Up the World over the past few years, Walt was the man
> who put your generosity into practical use, installing lighting systems
> in places like Papua New Guinea, India and Pakistan, and showing the
> local people how to keep them in good working condition.
> 
> Even though he had been missing more than two weeks when I first wrote
> about Walt, none of us wanted to refer to him in the past tense; that
> seemed like a jinx and, well, if anyone could pull off a surprise, it
> was Walt.
> 
> We joined the nearly 2,000 other international members on a Facebook
> page dedicated to the search for the 57-year-old resident of Washington,
> finding ourselves part of a community of strangers joined in hope and
> prayer. We kept secretly thinking that if they couldn't find a body,
> maybe he was somewhere else, simply lost but soon to find his way home.
> 
> What we did find was a place to learn of the heroic efforts of
> search-and-rescue teams in Haiti, people who are taking on the thankless
> task of sifting through tons of rubble each day without complaint. We
> also learned of Walt's exploits around the world, the way he quietly
> thumbed his nose to corrupt governments even under the threat of death.
> We shared in the tributes from people like Bob Allen, who helped to find
> Walt and other fallen aid workers at the Hotel Montana. Allen celebrated
> his "audacity to try to help marginalized and suffering people by
> bringing them power systems, food and medical supplies;" and Mutamba
> Diane, who described his death as "a loss to Rwanda . . . and the
> world."
> 
> Yes, Walt's is just one story from the Haiti earthquake. On that day we
> lost so many, from so many walks of lives. Thousands of aid workers died
> and thousands are still missing. But his story is one that I know, that
> I can share, of an incredible man with ties to this city and so many
> others.
> 
> Walt Ratterman leaves to mourn his wife Jeanne, and children Briana and
> Shane.
> 
> He also leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness that spans across the
> globe. It wasn't just a well-lived life.
> 
> It was a heroic one.
> 
> Read
> more:http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Quake%20victim%20legacy%2
> 0caring%20spans%20globe/2539710/story.html#ixzz0f3Nrj65G
> 
> 
> Robert Foster
> Chief Engineer
> Afghanistan Clean Energy Project
> 
> ACEP Kabul tel. +93 (0) 795-996-895
> New Mexico State University tel. 575-646-3948
> 
> 
> > Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:34:56 -0800
> > From: Michael Welch <michael.welch at re-wrenches.org>
> > To: re-wrenches at re-wrenches.org
> > Subject: [RE-wrenches] Walt Ratterman found
> > Message-ID: <20100208213532.AC1C6181094 at friskymail-a3.g.dreamhost.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >
> > Hello friends.
> >
> > I am saddened to let you know that Walt's remains were found in the rubble
> > of the Hotel Montana, and he will be flown home soon.
> >
> > His family was notified last night, and is planning a memorial, and will
> > be in touch through the Facebook page that was set up when he was first
> > missing.
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/FacebookWalt
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 12:58:39 -0700
> From: Phil Schneider <phil at creativeenergies.biz>
> To: RE-wrenches <RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: [RE-wrenches] DPW MPM
> Message-ID:
>     <c1000cf41002091158p18372389o539e32975c7eb954 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> There are many ground-mount options out there these days.  We have used
> Unirac ULA in the past and are doing a comparison with other options for
> projects in the sub-200 kW range.  Any feedback on ground mounts such as DPW
> MPM, Conergy SolarGiant, Unistrut, Hilti, etc. ?  Always appreciate your
> thoughts...
> 
> Best regards,
> Phil
> 
> Phil Schneider
> www.CreativeEnergies.biz
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 12:29:06 -0800
> From: Bob-O Schultze <bob-o at electronconnection.com>
> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] DPW MPM
> Message-ID:
>     <E341F064-8A4C-4A64-A95C-05CB47D96FA1 at electronconnection.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Hiya Phil,
> We did a 17+KW DP&W MPM last year. A lot of work, but it came out great. Contact me off-list for some pics.
> Bob-O
> 
> On Feb 9, 2010, at 11:58 AM, Phil Schneider wrote:
> 
> There are many ground-mount options out there these days.  We have used Unirac ULA in the past and are doing a comparison with other options for projects in the sub-200 kW range.  Any feedback on ground mounts such as DPW MPM, Conergy SolarGiant, Unistrut, Hilti, etc. ?  Always appreciate your thoughts...
> 
> Best regards,
> Phil
> 
> Phil Schneider
> www.CreativeEnergies.biz
> 
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 11:30:16 -1000
> From: "Marco" <marco at pvthawaii.com>
> To: "'RE-wrenches'" <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: [RE-wrenches] sales commissions
> Message-ID: <006b01caa9cf$13525e10$1e00a8c0 at provision3>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> I'm trying to come up with a practical and reasonable policy for awarding a
> sales commission on the sale of an expansion to an existing PV system.
> 
> I don't think that the salesperson should get the full commission amount
> that they would get for an original sale.
> 
> I'm just not sure about what to do about expansions.
> 
> Any wisdom on your part would be appreciated.
> 
> thanks,
> marco
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 14:12:23 -0800
> From: Bob-O Schultze <bob-o at electronconnection.com>
> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] sales commissions
> Message-ID:
>     <C6C76D6C-F73D-44F1-B68C-16C317CB0343 at electronconnection.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Hiya Marco,
> Tough call. Is the salesman the same one who was responsible for the original sale?
> If yes, well.... perhaps you could base it more on the profit margin rather than the gross. Add-ons generally don't have the same margins, but they could.
> If not, I think a vastly reduced commission or none at all is appropriate.
> Good Luck, Bob-O
> 
> 
> On Feb 9, 2010, at 1:30 PM, Marco wrote:
> 
> I'm trying to come up with a practical and reasonable policy for awarding a sales commission on the sale of an expansion to an existing PV system.
> 
> I don't think that the salesperson should get the full commission amount that they would get for an original sale.
> 
> I'm just not sure about what to do about expansions.
> 
> Any wisdom on your part would be appreciated.
> 
> thanks,
> marco
> 
> 
> 
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