PSA: if you’re a founder who needs help selling, keep grinding on your own, as hard as it may be, until you’re ready to hire, with all that entails. Every time I see job postings that are “commission only”, I see wasted time and opportunity cost, as well as almost certain disappointment. Particularly in emerging tech, like #Bitcoin, there are no easy wins to be had. You have to build a strategy, a plan, and invest the time and money to see it through.
Discussion
Wasted time because commission sales aren't always quality or no expected response rates for commission only roles?
Both. More specifically, commission-only hired guns can be very effective in well established, highly stable sectors (think auto parts, medical devices), where the buyers and buying process are well understood. In a fast-evolving sector like Bitcoin, anyone promising to be willing to put in the work and be successful on straight commission is likely naive or desperate, neither of which make for success.
When I was a recruiter, there was a noticeable difference in the quality of candidates for full time employee roles vs. commission only.
I always felt like you should be paid for work even if no sale comes out of it, but people are free to enter whatever contract they want
Indeed, they are. And there exceptions to be found.
Startup founders in emerging markets must be generalists. Explore these areas for yourself