We form the salary of sellers: expert advice

“How do you charge your consultants for personal or general sales?” Is one of the most popular questions causing a lot of controversy and gossip on the online forums of retail business owners. Indeed, how to properly form the earnings of sellers? But what about bonuses, where to get a sales plan from, do employees allow them to buy goods at discounted stores? In search of truth, the Shoes Report turned to a dozen shoe retailers, but no company wanted to disclose its motivation system - the process of its development was too complicated and individual. Then we asked four business consultants, and finally became convinced that the topic of seller motivation is very complex, because even our experts could not come to a common opinion.

Recommendations were given:

Julia Veshnyakova - General Director of the consulting company "Academy of Retail Technologies", a practicing specialist in the procurement of a collection of fashionable clothes and accessories at specialized exhibitions. Practical experience in the fashion industry - 19 years. www.art-rb.ru

Anya Pabst - Head of the Russian branch of BEITRAINING. Master of Sociology and Slavic Studies. Education "HR Manager", is a specialist in the field of crisis communication. He has experience working with people in study groups of various profiles both in Germany and abroad. Over the years, Anya Pabst has trained over 150 trainers. For more than 7 years her professional activity has been associated with work in the CIS countries - Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. BEITRAINING is an international franchise company and a certified strategic partner of the German and Austrian Franchising Union on the topic of “Professional Development”. He specializes in training and professional development in the field of management, trade, customer service and personal growth.

Nina Tarasova - HR specialist, trainer and consultant at Clever Fashion. www.clever-fashion.ru

How to calculate the salary of the seller

Yulia Veshnyakova: First and foremost, a store owner needs to calculate how much of the company's total turnover goes toward salaries. The recommended salary fund for sales staff should not exceed 7% of the store's turnover.

Anna Boldyreva: Let's say we conclude that the average monthly salary of our salesperson is 30,000 rubles for a 40-hour workweek. Next, we need to break this salary down into a base salary and a bonus. Thus, 30,000 rubles is divided into a base salary, for example, 25,000 rubles, and a bonus fund of 5000 rubles per month. The bonus can be calculated as a percentage of sales, subject to reaching a certain turnover. These payments do not have to be regular. The main thing is that the total bonus fund for the year does not exceed 60,000 rubles (5000 x 12 months) per employee, if the year ends with minimal turnover. Disciplinary action can be taken from the bonus fund.

Yulia Veshnyakova: I believe that salaries should be divided into three parts. The first is a fixed salary, which should account for approximately 40% of total earnings. The second part, a percentage of personal sales, should be the same percentage. The remaining 20% ​​is a percentage of the store's overall sales. Therefore, it's essential to utilize both individual and team motivation.

Anya Pabst: There's also a transitional option between personal and general sales—creating fixed "corridors" where accruals are calculated, for example, like this: 500 rubles for 70-79.9% plan fulfillment, 1000 rubles for 80-89.9%, and so on. In any case, the percentage calculation system should be 100% transparent to avoid any grounds for dissatisfaction among staff. Employees must clearly understand how their performance impacts their income.

Nina Tarasova: The ratio between salary and percentage depends on the psychological makeup of your employees. If you have individuals working independently, striving for the highest possible income and focused solely on personal results, then the salary should range from 30-60% of total earnings. If your salespeople are a true team, ardent supporters who believe in the common cause, then it's worth distributing salaries as follows: 60-70% fixed, 20-30% as a percentage of store or shift sales. A 10-20% percentage should be reserved for personal sales. The general situation in the market is as follows: in most retail stores, salary calculation is based on personal sales. This incentive system emerged when Western companies with their own ideologies entered the Russian market. I believe this system doesn't work in Russia. In our country, the team is much more important to people than in Europe or America. Therefore, achieving a shared result is the main incentive for Russians. I'm also inclined to believe that the reward for personal sales shouldn't exceed 20%. A system based on team selling must be properly organized. It's essential to create an environment and team dynamics where those lagging behind are encouraged to improve without external pressure, and slackers are encouraged to leave of their own accord. This requires teams (shifts) to compete with each other, and those achieving the best results receive small, non-material rewards.

How to calculate an individual employee plan

Anya Pabst: Individual plans are more effective than shift or store sales plans. A personal plan can be based on an employee's performance in the same month last year. Targets should be known to employees before the start of the period for which they are set. It is highly undesirable for management to change the plan during the month or season, even if it is being exceeded. This leads to a loss of trust and loyalty among employees. Significant underachievement occurs due to planning errors made by managers, not the fault of the salespeople.

Yulia Veshnyakova: The personal plan for each functional unit in a retail store should be directly dependent on the overall store plan. Let's say the store's seasonal plan is 5 million rubles, and there are five salespeople. We can perform simple calculations and understand that each employee must sell a million rubles worth of merchandise during the season. However, you can't set the same goals for a consultant with years of experience and a new salesperson just joining the company. Veteran salespeople will have a higher sales plan, but they will also receive a higher percentage of personal sales and a higher base salary. An inexperienced salesperson will receive a lower plan and, consequently, a lower salary and percentage. As a result, their earnings will be lower, but this is completely normal. If the store plan is met, the salespeople will also receive a set percentage of the overall profit. If one shift meets the plan and the other does not, then only those who performed well should be rewarded. When developing individual plans for salespeople, the concept of employee categories arises. If a salesperson works hard for a long time, meets their quota, and successfully passes certifications, their category is promoted. Accordingly, their salary increases, their sales percentage increases, and so does their quota. Employees with different experience and performance cannot be treated equally financially; this rule applies across all sectors of the market.

Should I pay even very large bonuses?

Anna Boldyreva: If the company generates additional profit, employees may be awarded bonuses based on the results of the temporary period. The bonus payroll may include an additional percentage based on the increase in base monthly sales figures.

Julia Veshnyakova: If the seller earned a lot from individual sales, 4-5 times the usual amount, paying him this money is not just necessary, but necessary! After all, this is the seller’s merit - he worked hard and brought significant profit to the store. In addition, this situation should signal to the business owner about an error in calculating the motivation system, which resulted in such fabulous amounts. If at the end of the reporting period, the outlet shows a very large overfulfillment of indicators, then this indicates planning errors. And this is a problem of a different nature, more serious. It is necessary to understand in detail where inaccuracies are made.

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Nina Tarasova: When a salesperson achieves exceptionally high results, the bonus amount should be calculated individually, but it shouldn't exceed 40% of monthly earnings. Generally, I'm not a fan of regular bonuses—they become addictive and cease to be a motivating tool for employees. Bonuses should be paid no more than quarterly. Bonuses are typically 10-25% of monthly earnings.

Are fines good?

Anya Pabst: A reward system should be achievement-oriented; this increases personal motivation and accountability. Fines evoke the "naughty children, strict parents" mentality and remind us of punishments for crimes. Both of these associations are inconsistent with the idea of ​​a successful enterprise.

Nina Tarasova: Fines are acceptable with a directive management style, which worked well with the previous generation, but are completely ineffective for Generation Y, which includes a large number of salespeople today. Fines should only be applied as a last resort, if the employee has committed a particularly serious violation. If you don't want to lose your employees, try to use fines as a tool of influence as little as possible.

Do sellers allow you to buy your product at a discount?

Anna Boldyreva: Employees should definitely be allowed to purchase items from the store's inventory. This is beneficial for the company, as it increases sales.

Yulia Veshnyakova: It's definitely worth offering salespeople a discount on merchandise. The question is how big should it be to prevent abuse. I recommend offering employees the same privileges as regular customers. Another option is to limit the purchase amount over a certain period, depending on their position. For example, during the fall-winter season, a manager can purchase shoes from the store's inventory for 10 rubles, including the discount.

Anya Pabst: For many employees, the opportunity to purchase goods at a discount is a significant motivator. This process should be uniform across all staff; for example, each employee receives an equal number of discount coupons. The size of the discount should be determined by the owner independently. It's important to factor into sales analytics that if employees frequently purchase goods for themselves and their loved ones, the average monthly or seasonal check will be lower.

Other bonuses and compensation

Anna Boldyreva: It's worth compensating employees for transportation costs if the store is located in an inconvenient location.

Anya Pabst: Compensation or partial compensation for travel and other expenses is an interesting tangible motivational tool. If the system is the same for all employees, it's a good idea. But it shouldn't be reduced to a symbolic level, otherwise, over time, employees will stop perceiving such compensation as an added bonus.

Any bonuses should appeal to the emotions of the employee and show how much the manager is interested in him and knows his preferences: for example, whether a particular seller will be more happy with tickets to the theater or a subscription to the pool.