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7 Replies Last post: Nov 26, 2007 11:06 PM by Lighthouse24

Sole Propriator - Home Based Business

Nov 26, 2007 4:17 PM

Click to view JGREER45's profile Professional JGREER45 9 posts since
Nov 10, 2007

A question came up today that I cannot really answer.
" How much of a KICK BACK should I offer existing Home Care Providers to offer my Medical Alarm product to their customers. They could be a great source of sales and I cannot predict a number? HELP Please.
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Click to view Techie's profile Founders Techie 45 posts since
Jul 29, 2007
1. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 4:32 PM

Do you know what the standard commission or incentive is for this particular industry? Also, other than providing an incentive to endorse your product - is your product better than others out in the market? If so, your incentive can be less.
Click to view DomainDiva's profile Mogul DomainDiva 1,176 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
2. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 4:52 PM
There is a difference between kick backs and commission incentives. Kick backs are not reported to the IRS, commission incentives are.
Click to view JGREER45's profile Professional JGREER45 9 posts since
Nov 10, 2007
3. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 5:01 PM
in response to: Techie
To answer your question, I know what my Commisions are (about $48.00) per unit sold with a recurring Quarterly revenew of $48.00 .My income is based on how long a customer keeps the unit. The incentive for the otherr companies is that they can offer the newest and less expensive product to their customers. Along with that, they can hve the monitoring company call (contact) their caregiver immediatly at the customers request. That in it-self must be worth the incentive.
My thoughts of a standard commision for these companies, thinking about what the worth is to me,
around $15.00 per sale. One Time payment.
Click to view JGREER45's profile Professional JGREER45 9 posts since
Nov 10, 2007
4. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 5:05 PM
in response to: DomainDiva
I'm using the old school term and I shouldn't. The commision that can be offered to these companies wold be set dollar amount. My question is, HOW MUCH?
Click to view Lighthouse24's profile Mogul Lighthouse24 2,086 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
5. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 5:57 PM

One way to determine this is to calculate your Profit Per Unit.

Profit Per Unit = Retail Price - Wholesale Price - Selling Costs

- or perhaps in your case -

Profit Per Unit = Unit Sales Commission - Unit Selling Costs.

Dividing your total selling costs (advertising, marketing, overhead, etc.) by the number of units you've sold will give you the Unit Selling Cost.


Example: Let's say you've spent $1,250 to sell 50 units over the past year. That makes your Unit Selling Cost = $25. In other words, you could expect to spend $25 selling each additional unit you sell yourself. If your commission is $48, your Profit Per Unit = $48 - $25 = $23.


What this would mean is that for every unit the Home Care Provider sold/placed, you could pay them up to $23 and still make some money on the sale yourself.

If the actual numbers looked anything like that example, I'd use a sliding scale -- they'd get $10 for the first unit they placed, $12 for the second, $15 for the third, and $18 for the fourth and each one thereafter. It would give them an incentive to place more units, and you would still make at least $5 (that you wouldn't have otherwise) on each unit placed. Of course, you'll have to plug in your own numbers to see what will work.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Click to view websignia.net's profile Professional websignia.net 14 posts since
Nov 25, 2007
6. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 7:00 PM
I agree with lighthouse 100% on the sliding scale to incentivise them to sell more units. Depending on the volume of sales for this type of product, I might only have 2 tiers to the scale to keep the accounting simple, eg. 1 - 49 units = 10% commission, 50 + units = 12% commission or a similar model.
Click to view Lighthouse24's profile Mogul Lighthouse24 2,086 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
7. Re: Sole Propriator - Home Based Business Nov 26, 2007 11:06 PM
Whatever you decide, you might want to call it "Direct Seller Compensation" rather than a "Sales Commission" -- just so there's no risk of confusion by them or the IRS that they are responsible for their taxes. If you paid someone over $600 in a year, you'd file a 1099, but you wouldn't have to worry about withholdings (or a later reclassification claim -- and penalties). Just a suggestion.