Sales department - Sales Engineer Sweetwater Employee Review

Thanks for your candid insights, and we're sorry you feel the way you do about your job. In our view, Sweetwater is extremely transparent during the interviewing process for the Sales Engineer position. Since the job starts at a salary and then gradually moves to a commission based pay structure during their first year, we tell everyone we offer a position to approximately what they can expect to make their first year (within about a two thousand dollar range, depending on how they do with commission during the last part of their first year on the job.) After that first year, commission earned from sales determines how much a Sales Engineer will make, and it is true that this can vary widely based on individual performance. During the face to face interview we show prospective Sales Engineers a chart that shows EVERY current sales engineer's earnings on a rolling 12 month basis (we of course remove all the names to protect their confidential individual pay rates.) We clearly point out that a few people actually make less money their second year than their first year based on individual performance, but that the vast majority make more, some a lot more. In fact, in 2014, the average second year sales engineer realized a 54.5% increase in compensation over what they experienced their first year. Yes, you read that right: 54.5% more on average. That is an average, which means some experienced less than that, some even more. So---yes---some people are wildly more successful than others at every stage of tenure here in sales. Like any commission based job, it takes time to build a "book of business" and we are very upfront that the first 18-24 months are the biggest challenge. Our turnover rates are very low and most Sales Engineers who become successful after their first two years wind up staying here with high levels of job satisfaction for a very long time. As far as commission rates, we have about 245 Sales Engineers at the present time. 239 of these are all at exactly the same commission rates. Our six longest tenured Sales Engineers, most of whom have been here 20 years or over, are grandfathered at a slightly higher commission rate. These six individuals took a big leap of faith to move here to Fort Wayne and work for what at that time was a very small company, helped us develop the relationship-based business model that has brought us so much success, and are great mentors to our many younger employees. The reason this reviewer knows these folks are at a slightly higher commission rate is because we tell every Sales Engineer candidate we interview face to face about it so there are no surprises. We tell them if they have a problem with it not to take the job if offered. The point is that we are forthcoming and transparent about it before a candidate is even offered a position. Commission sales is not for everyone, and sometimes a person who has never done it before has to try, and then ultimately finds out it's not for them. If that person is trying hard and maintains a strong positive attitude, on a case by case basis we will often consider trying to find another path for them within the company that might be a better fit. Again we're sorry this reviewer feels as they do, and my door is always open, along with all of the members of our Sales Management team, to discuss any career concerns any employee might have. Jeff McDonald, Senior Vice President of Human Resources