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11/05/2004 11:00:19 AM · #1 |
Hi everyone. Hoping I could get some advice. I am going to be hiring a sales rep to go around and sell my work, and to drum up new business for me, since I am basically horrible at promoting and selling. I am going to be paying this person on a commission basis, so my question is, what is a fair commission for someone to go out and do all this legwork? I was thinking a 50/50 split, but then I started thinking, I have to pay for supplies, developing, etc, so maybe I should go with 40%? I really have no idea, I don't even know if what I am doing is common practice among independent photographers.
Any advice would help. |
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11/05/2004 11:13:44 AM · #2 |
50/50 sounds crazy.
Then again, I don't know anyone who's ever done this before.
You could think of it this way, a band manager basically gets a band nearly all their gigs and they make..like what....10-15%?
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11/05/2004 11:20:09 AM · #3 |
Amateur advice:
10-15%...you pay for any pre-approved expenses such as advertising, etc.
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 11:20:24.
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11/05/2004 11:58:33 AM · #4 |
| Really? Wow, I was way off on this one. 10-15% sounds really low considering how much work the salesman would do. Don't galleries and artists reps get like 40% commission? Does anyone else have any ideas? |
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11/05/2004 12:00:27 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by GoldBerry:
50/50 sounds crazy. |
50:50 is the standard stock agency split, I believe.
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11/05/2004 12:07:49 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by PaulMdx:
Originally posted by GoldBerry:
50/50 sounds crazy. |
50:50 is the standard stock agency split, I believe. |
A stock agency is waaay different than a commissioned salesperson!
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11/05/2004 12:08:32 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by thatcloudthere:
A stock agency is waaay different than a commissioned salesperson! |
Exactly - there's a LOT more work involved!
I am talking about Getty and the like, btw..
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11/05/2004 12:14:33 PM · #8 |
A stock agency such as Getty has invested loads and loads of money in branding themselves and have a much greater worth than somebody doing some legwork...
You can't compare the two.
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11/05/2004 12:16:52 PM · #9 |
Well, obviously I'm not a professional, so I can't say. I was merely reporting the fact.
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11/05/2004 12:19:45 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by PaulMdx:
Well, obviously I'm not a professional, so I can't say. I was merely reporting the fact. |
I'm not a professional either...I just wanted to mention that you have to be careful how that fact is used.
That being said, I'm not sure there's an easy answer matiscro...where would your photos be used? Is there a market for them or would you just frustrate the person you hired?
For somebody to do this full-time for you (at 10% or 50% commission), your photos would have to fetch a fair amount, fairly frequently...
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11/05/2004 12:24:57 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by matiscro:
Hi everyone. Hoping I could get some advice. I am going to be hiring a sales rep to go around and sell my work, and to drum up new business for me, since I am basically horrible at promoting and selling. I am going to be paying this person on a commission basis, so my question is, what is a fair commission for someone to go out and do all this legwork? I was thinking a 50/50 split, but then I started thinking, I have to pay for supplies, developing, etc, so maybe I should go with 40%? I really have no idea, I don't even know if what I am doing is common practice among independent photographers.
Any advice would help. |
Hi Chris,
I don’t know much about selling photography but I do have 20 years of commission sales experience with 10 of those years being a sales manager and general sales manager.
From my experience if there is a base [salary] for the employee to fall back on the percentage is usually 3%-7% commission. Then he/she gets paid the higher of the two. If the base is higher than the commission, pay base. If the commission is higher than the base, pay commission; but don’t pay both.
Now if it is a commission only job the commissions are usually higher. I have seen 10% to 15% of gross sales. But any commissions higher than that pay commissions on profit not gross sales.But I would not go any higher than 25%.
Wish you and your potential employee the best.
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 12:27:10. |
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11/05/2004 12:46:28 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by thatcloudthere:
That being said, I'm not sure there's an easy answer matiscro...where would your photos be used? Is there a market for them or would you just frustrate the person you hired?
For somebody to do this full-time for you (at 10% or 50% commission), your photos would have to fetch a fair amount, fairly frequently... |
Well, I don't really know if there is a market for my photography. I am going to be doing two types of work - 1) primarily sevice photography shooting academic, corporate, event functions and 2) artistic photography for decor and gallery (this will be secondary most likely). I know, I know, you have to concentrate on one thing to be successful right? Well, I don't think that's necessarily true. If it turns out that one is a dead end, I will quickly drop it and concentrate on the area that seems to be flourishing.
That being said, my sales rep will try to get me these service 'gigs' based on an agreed upon market. He will also try to sell prints to the usual outlets - resturaunts, doctors offices, corporate buildings, etc. I will ONLY be paying a commission, since I can't afford to pay a salary at first, and plus they will work harder if it is commission only.
See my problem is I have a really bad (almost crippling) problem with being outgoing and making sales calls. Maybe this is why I was willing to pay 50% because I feel like it is just as important as the actual photos.
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11/05/2004 01:01:34 PM · #13 |
50% of the net revenue might work out ok, even though some might consider that overly generous.
basically, it could look like this:
a restaurant buys 4 framed 11x14 images for $400.
the printing is $15/ea.
the frames are $30/ea.
raw cost: $180.
net rev: $220.
commission: $110
i'd suggest committing to an initial pay-plan, with 30-60-90 day reviews to fine-tune it.
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 13:01:56. |
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11/05/2004 01:05:53 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by matiscro:
[quote=thatcloudthere]
I will ONLY be paying a commission, since I can't afford to pay a salary at first, and plus they will work harder if it is commission only.
See my problem is I have a really bad (almost crippling) problem with being outgoing and making sales calls. Maybe this is why I was willing to pay 50% because I feel like it is just as important as the actual photos. |
Don’t count on a person working harder just because they are working off commission only, that’s why you see a car salesman at one lot, one week and another the next. Sales DATA shows that not to be true the majority of the time. And ‘employee evaluation records’ indicate [some not all] are less likely to out perform an employee that has a base. However with you willing to pay 50% that could change all data and make the person work harder. So I guess its up to you. Whichever way you go on this, I still wish you and your potential employee the best of luck and I hope you both make a lot of money!
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 13:07:07. |
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11/05/2004 01:11:07 PM · #15 |
my Angency gives me 40% and provides me with gigs (of course the gigs are very lucrative) I can't see an Agent/rep wanting anywhere under 35%, it's the general norm for representation.
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 13:12:04. |
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11/05/2004 01:31:49 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Gil P:
my Angency gives me 40% and provides me with gigs (of course the gigs are very lucrative) I can't see an Agent/rep wanting anywhere under 35%, it's the general norm for representation. |
I'm confused...you're the photographer, right?
I think the question was concerning commission rates for a salesperson, not the photographer...
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11/05/2004 02:12:45 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by thatcloudthere:
Originally posted by Gil P:
my Angency gives me 40% and provides me with gigs (of course the gigs are very lucrative) I can't see an Agent/rep wanting anywhere under 35%, it's the general norm for representation. |
I'm confused...you're the photographer, right?
I think the question was concerning commission rates for a salesperson, not the photographer... |
yes, but I get work via an agency (much like models do), The agency sends me the info on the project, they bill the client and give me my share (45 days later!) its a very common thing. The main advantage is the regularity of gigs. Less profit, more volume. so it's the same as having an agent find you work, the agent will expect to make a commission worth the effort.
Message edited by author 2004-11-05 14:14:38. |
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