[Bill Schwab]

I have been batting a few ideas around in my head regarding sales for a while now. I feel we have reached that point where somewhere, someone has to come on and take up some slack.

As a boss/owner, J.O.A.T.M.A.N., I am multi taleneted and love to take on new challenges, but, there is a time when all the hats one wears take focus off the target. I can sell really well, and, I can also run crews as well. The dreaded inside part of the business I can do, but, it is not my fortee, yet, I make it the most important part of my day, like it or not.

So, the delema comes with do I hire a field person, or, do i hure a sales person. I'll tell you my reasons for why sales, and am looking for answers for pay structure.

Field persons in many ways become complacent with what they do, and, often develope a that is good enough attitude. Also, field persons can be the first to throw you labor way off budget. If I keep out in the field and the operations part, I can more directly keep a thumb on labor. Well trained bilingual field personel start at $25.00 per hour, and can make in upwards of $100,000 per year.

Sales on the other hand, is sales. If I hire a retired, or older landscape foreman, someone who knows the business and has good people skills, he would have to show me his numbers before he made his pitch, so, those numbers were profitable ones. There would have to be a system of checks and balances in play so that person was compensated well, and so was the company. Too often I see sales people such as those at Home Depot giving away the store simply so they can get thier commision. So there would have to be a something to keep it all
in check.
My objective with this move is to

A) better control situations so they don't become bad situations, this not effecting our cash flow in a negative manor.
B) Eventually, have more free time to be able to expand the company, we want to find some land and build small tracts of homes. It would be beneficial for all to have a home completely landscaped before an escrow closed, so, we can sell them a $300,000.00 job and it would only cost them $450.00 more per month.
C) To eventually, step into the office and see the operations from the inside and work toward being able to reitre, at least in the sense that I call work right now.

So, does anyone have ideas for a fair pay structure?