Our ProSales 100 survey asked dealers how they handle sales compensation. Their No.1 response–paying salespeople a percentage commission on gross margin–proved to be twice as popular as any other. The next-closest system was based on straight salary, which 22% of dealers said they use. These also were the top two compensation arrangements in 2007, when sales numbers began to plummet. While we've heard a lot of smaller dealers say they changed their pay structures in recent years to give sales staff a higher guaranteed pay, among ProSales 100 members the use of straight salary dropped by three percentage points since 2007 while use of commissions on gross margin gained three points.
