Questions to Ask for a Commission Only Job
Questions for a candidate weighing a role that pays only on what they sell, covering how the plan actually works, when a commission is earned and paid, what the job costs you to do, what the median person really earned, and how many of them are still there.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
Is this role employment or independent contractor work?
This single answer determines who pays employment taxes, whether minimum wage rules apply, and whether you are covered by workers' compensation and unemployment. Ask to see how the role is classified in writing rather than inferring it from the interview.
- 2
Is there any base, draw, or guarantee at the start?
Many commission-only roles have a short guarantee that goes unmentioned unless asked. If a draw is offered, the important word is recoverable: a recoverable draw is a loan against future commission, and a bad quarter leaves you owing it back.
- 3
What did the median person in this role earn last year?
Ask for the median, not the average and not the top performer, because a handful of high earners pull the average away from the typical outcome. If they will only quote the top, that is your answer about the middle.
- 4
Of the people who started this role a year ago, how many are still doing it?
Retention is the hardest number to spin and the most informative one available. High churn in a commission role usually means the leads, the product or the plan cannot support a living, whatever the earnings figures suggest.
- 5
What is the commission rate, and what changes it?
Rates often vary by product, by margin, by discount level, and by whether you have passed a threshold. Ask for the full table rather than the headline percentage, since the headline is usually the best case.
- 6
At what moment is a commission earned: signature, delivery, or payment?
This defines when the money becomes yours rather than merely likely. Earned at customer payment means a slow-paying client delays your income, and earned at delivery means an implementation problem can wipe it out.
- 7
How long is it between closing a deal and the money reaching me?
Ask for the actual lag, counting the payroll cycle, and combine it with the typical sales cycle to work out how many months you go without income at the start. That figure decides whether you can take the job at all.
- 8
Do I get paid on renewals and repeat orders, or only on new business?
Residual income is the difference between a job that compounds and one that resets every month. Ask how long residuals continue, whether they survive an account being reassigned, and what happens if you leave.
- 9
What happens to my commission if a customer cancels, refunds, or does not pay?
Clawbacks are standard and reasonable within limits, but the limits vary widely. Ask how far back a clawback can reach and whether it is deducted from a single future payment or spread out.
- 10
Where do leads come from, and do they cost me anything?
Some plans provide leads, some sell them to you, and some expect you to work from your own contacts. Ask how many qualified leads a typical person receives each week, since the rate matters far less than the volume.
- 11
What do I pay for out of my own pocket?
Sample kits, licences, background checks, training, CRM seats, mileage and travel all appear in some commission roles. Total these annually before comparing offers, because they come out of earnings that have not happened yet.
- 12
Is my territory or account list exclusive, and who can change it?
An account list that can be reassigned at will means the accounts you develop can be taken once they are productive. Ask what notice you get and whether you keep commission on business already in progress.
- 13
How is a deal credited when more than one person is involved?
Split rules are where the friction lives in commission teams. Ask who decides, in writing, and ask for an example of a recent split that was contested and how it was resolved.
- 14
What is the quota, and what share of the team hit it last quarter?
A quota nobody meets is a signal about the targets or the market rather than the team. If most people miss it, ask what happens to those people, because in some plans missing quota affects rate as well as pride.
- 15
How long does a typical deal take from first contact to paid?
The sales cycle length is the number that sets your ramp. A six-month cycle in a commission-only role means half a year of work before real income, and that should be discussed openly rather than discovered.
- 16
Can I read the commission plan document before I decide?
A serious employer will send it. Refusal, or an offer to explain it verbally instead, is the clearest warning available, because everything discussed in the interview is only as good as what the document says.
- 17
How often does the plan change, and who can change it?
Most plans reserve the right to be revised, sometimes at any time and at the company's discretion. Ask how many times it changed in the last two years and whether rates went up or down.
- 18
What happens to commission on deals that close after I leave?
Many plans require you to be employed on the payment date to be paid at all, which means resigning can forfeit months of completed work. Ask what the document says and whether there is any post-termination window.
- 19
What would I be signing besides the offer: non-compete, non-solicit, clawback?
Ask for every document up front rather than on the first day. Restrictive covenants limit where you can go next, and their enforceability varies by jurisdiction, which is worth checking before rather than after.
- 20
What does a bad month look like here, and what happens to someone having one?
The answer tells you both the financial floor and the management culture. Listen for whether the response is coaching, a performance plan, or being quietly cut off from leads, which is the version that rarely gets named.
Evaluating a commission-only offer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Do the arithmetic before the second interview
Do the arithmetic before the second interview
- 1Write down the typical sales cycle length and the payment lag, then add them. That is roughly how many months pass before your first real payment.
- 2Multiply your monthly living costs by that figure. This is the money you need saved before the job is viable, and it is the calculation most people skip.
- 3Add up what the job costs you annually: travel, equipment, licences, fees, and self-employment taxes if you are a contractor.
- 4Take the median earner figure they gave you, not the top one, and subtract those costs. Compare the result with a salaried role in the same field.
- 5Work out what you would need to sell each month to reach the number you actually need, then ask in the interview whether that volume is normal, high, or unheard of.
- 6Ask the same questions of two people currently doing the job, not just the hiring manager.
Signals in the advert and the process
Signals in the advert and the process
- Earnings ranges with no median, no typical figure, and a top number that is several times the bottom.
- Group interviews, or hiring that appears to be continuous and unlimited rather than for a defined number of seats.
- Any request for money from you: training fees, starter kits, certification costs, or buying your own inventory.
- A job title and advert that describe management or marketing while the role is entirely selling.
- Reluctance to name the product, the customer, or the company until you attend in person.
- Emphasis on your attitude and mindset rather than on the product, the market, or the plan.
- No written commission plan available before you accept.
Getting it in writing
Getting it in writing
- Ask for the commission plan document and the offer letter as separate items, and read them together.
- Check whether the plan document says it can be changed at the company's discretion, and ask how much notice is given.
- Confirm in writing when commission is earned, when it is paid, and what triggers a clawback.
- Confirm what happens to pipeline and residuals if you resign or are let go.
- Ask for the territory or account list definition to be attached, rather than described.
- If anything agreed verbally is not in the documents, ask for it to be added by email before you accept. A reasonable employer will do this without friction.