January 2008 Marketwatch: Sales compensation By Heather Kirkwood
The average exhibit salesperson sells space for a show with revenues of $1 million, earns a median salary of $55,000 with no commission, works with one other person on sales, is the show manager for their event and has no sales quota to meet, according to research performed by Red Bank, NJ-based Exhibit Surveys and EXPO Magazine as part of EXPO’s annual salary survey.
In fact, according to the research, 42.7 percent of people responsible for exhibit sales do not have a quota to meet. Another 35.6 percent have a quota based on the number of booths sold in a given time, 32.6 percent have a quota based on revenue sold, and 13.4 percent have a quota based on the number of calls made in a given time. (Some respondents reported having more than one sales quota.)
Approximately 51.2 percent of exhibit sales personnel are the show managers for their events. Another 32.6 percent are dedicated exhibit sales represenatives and 18.8 percent are advertising/ booth sales/sponsorship representatives. (Some organizations reported using salespeople from more than one category.) Not surprisingly, smaller shows were more likely to have space sold by the show manager, while larger shows were more likely to have dedicated exhibit sales staff.
Approximately 53 percent of exhibit sales staff (including show managers) earn a base salary only, while 38 percent earn a base salary plus commission. Only 7 percent earn commission only.
Heather Kirkwood is Senior Editor of EXPO. She can be reached at 913-344-1376, or e-mail: hkirkwood@red7media.com. More on EXPOweb.com
Marketplace How much was the average bonus? $500 or less – 7.7% $501 - $1,000 – 14.3% $1,001 - $2,000 – 19.8% $2,001 - $3,000 – 20.9% $3,001 - $6,000 – 20.9% More than $6,000 – 16.5%
Shows with one salesperson – 40.8% Shows with two salespeople – 27.7% Shows with three salespeople – 13.5% Shows with four salespeople – 7.2% Shows with five to six salespeople – 6.6% Shows with seven to 10 salespeople – 2.4% Shows with more than 10 sales people – 1.3% Shows with no sales person – 0.5%
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