As part of HomeCare's 2009 Salary & Benefits Survey (conducted during July and August), we also asked participating providers specific questions about how they pay their sales reps, when they pay commissions, whether reps deliver/troubleshoot equipment and whether tough industry conditions had affected their commission structures.
And to answer an age-old question that providers continue to ask, the magazine collected their fill-in-the-blank responses on the average dollar revenue brought in by HME sales reps.
While the survey found 26 percent of providers had indeed reduced commissions, the total picture wasn't quite as harsh for sales employees as others in the HME spectrum.
Overall results showed companies that added staff in the past year were most likely to add sales personnel (46 percent) than any other type, such as billing, delivery or administrative employees. And of companies that expect to add positions in 2010, sales reps again head the list at 28 percent, above any other position surveyed.
To put that in perspective, consider the following statistics for providers in the survey group. Over the 12 months preceding the survey:
| Over the past 12 months for providers in HomeCare's survey group |
|
|---|---|
| 31% | laid off employees |
| 38% | froze salaries |
| 33% | left positions vacant |
| 57% | made changes to health benefits |
| 53% | gave raises vs. 84% in 2008 |
| 29% | dropped bonuses |
All in all, when it comes to replacing revenues lost to Medicare reimbursement cuts and other legislative/regulatory changes — both present and pending — HME salespeople are at the top of the food chain when it comes to keeping employees. That is, pro-viders said, as long as they continue to produce.
Now is not the time to ease up on sales, respondents said, noting they won't hesitate to take any action necessary to keep their businesses performing.
"Every position has been scrutinized looking for efficiency gains and productivity," wrote in one provider. "Any employee that is not performing to specifications is counseled, and if improvement is not made … ."
"I terminated a sales rep and an intake CSR due to poor performance," said another. And from a third, "I needed to fire a sales rep for bad attitude."
Even sales reps may not be immune to layoffs if industry conditions don't improve, survey participants said.
"All employees are on the fence based on sales," lamented one worried provider. "They are aware if [there are] any more cuts to our product lines, we may close the business."
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
How do you pay your sales staff?
| Straight salary only | 45.6% |
| Straight plus commission | 42.3% |
| Commission only | 5.0% |
| No answer | 7.1% |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
Is commission based on:
| Sales | 85.0% |
| Patient type | 29.3% |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
When do you pay commissions?
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
| Less Than 50% | 21.9% |
| 50% to 74% | 27.8% |
| 75% or more | 21.0% |
| No answer | 29.3% |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
| 2009 | 2008 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean |
| $50,000 | $50,121 | $50,000 | $49,606 |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
| Company Revenue | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1 Million | $1 Million To $3.5 Million | More Than $3.5 Million | |
| Mean | $221,429 | $390,882 | $678,618 |
| Median | $125,000 | $375,000 | $500,000 |
*For the HME companies across the 2009 survey group, sales reps bring in an average $432,866, with the median at $375,000.
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
Do your sales reps:
| Deliver and set up equipment | 37.4% |
| Troubleshoot equipment | 28.8% |
| Neither of these | 49.1% |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
Do you pay bonuses to:
| Sales personnel | 31.5% |
| Managers | 28.2% |
| Billing/Collections personnel | 17.8% |
| CSRs/Clerical personnel | 8.9% |
| Clinicians | 6.6% |
| Delivery personnel | 6.6% |
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
About This Survey
The questions in this section were included in HomeCare's Salary & Benefits Survey. Data were collected July 16 through Aug. 20, 2009. Of 281 qualified responses, 83 percent are from home medical equipment providers with other respondents from pharmacies/chain drug stores with HME, home health agencies with HME or other specialty segments. Just over half of the respondents (52 percent) operate one location, while 30 percent operate between two and four locations and 16 percent have five or more locations.
Forty-one percent of the companies participating operate primarily in Jurisdiction C, with 19 percent operating in Jurisdiction D, 18 percent in Jurisdiction B and 14 percent in Jurisdiction A. Six percent of participating companies report nationwide operations. While 27 percent of respondents indicate annual revenues under $1 million, 13 percent have revenues of $10 million or more.
Figures presented are national means and medians across companies of all sizes. Not all respondents answered every question, and some totals may add to more than 100 percent due to multiple responses.
Survey methodology conforms to accepted marketing research methods, practices and procedures.
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- 2009 HME Salary Survey
- 2008 HME Salary Survey
- 2006 HME Salary Survey
- 2004 HME Salary Survey
- 2003 HME Salary Survey
- 2002 HME Salary Survey
- 2001 HME Salary Survey
- 2000 HME Salary Survey
2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions
- How do you pay your sales staff?
- Is commission based on:
- When do you pay commissions?
- How has your commission structure changed over the past 12 months?
- If you pay salary plus commission for your sales staff, what is the average guaranteed base salary on a percentage basis?
- Average Annual Salary for Outside Sales/Marketing Rep
- What is the average dollar revenue brought in by your sales reps?*
- Do your sales reps:
- Do you pay bonuses to:
- About This Survey
- Recent Salary & Benefits Surveys
- Return to "2009 Sales Rep Salary, Commission & Job Duty Survey Questions" story
