Discover where you stand.

The Executive Summary 

An overview of all responding organizations that participated in the survey in the following categories.

Respondent Demographics

• Revenue Size (Net Distribution Sales + Commission Income)
  
  
• Firm Type (Rep Only or Distribution and Rep Firm)
  
  
• Median Total Revenue (Net Distribution Sales + Commission Income)

Employee Productivity

• Number of Full-Time Employees 
  
  
• Commissions perFull-Time Employee
  
  
• Total Payroll Expense per Full-Time Employee

Profitability

• Personnel and All Other Operating Expenses (As A % Of Revenue)
  
  
• Operating Profit (Mboe Less Operating Expenses)
  
  
• Owners’ Discretionary Profit (As A % Of Revenue)
  
  
• Owners’ Discretionary Profit ($)

Detailed Results

The detailed results provide information that will assist participants with organizational, strategic, and planning decisions, including key benchmarks regarding team/staff structure, pay structure/salaries, operating budget, program offerings, and other organizational metrics.

The data is shown in three different ways to give you different perspectives on the data reported. 

• By All Firms, High Profits, and Revenue
  
  
• By All Firms, High Profits, and Firm Type
  
  
• By All Firms with Middle Range

Below are the questions that participants are asked to complete during the survey. 

Background Information

• Business Lines
  
  
• Average Commission Rates
  
  
• Number for Full-Time Employees
  
  
• Employee Productivity
  
  
• Salaries, Wages, Commissions and Bonuses per Employee
  
  
• Firm Information
  
  
• Do you Own or Lease Your Main Office?
  
  
• Do you have a Showroom?
  
  
• Do you have a Test Kitchen?
  
  
• Do you Maintain a Warehouse?
  
  
• Health Insurance

Management and Planning

• Do You Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System to Manage Prospects and Leads?
  
  
• If Yes, What Software is Used?
  
  
• What Software do You Use to Generate and Manage Quotes?
  
  
• Do You Track Quotes & Sales by Market Segment to Understand Quote to Hit Ratio and Segment Penetration?
  
  
• Does your business have a formal succession plan in place?
  
  
• How many years from now do you expect the succession to be complete?
  
  
• How is the succession being structured?
  
  
• Are there any structured plans in place to help fund the succession?
  
  
• When is the last time you valued your business by a 3rd party?

Outside Sales Staff

• What Method(s) do You Use to Determine/Allocate the Number of Outside Sales Resources Needed?
  
  
• Method Most Commonly Used to Compensate Outside Salespeople
  
  
• Outside Sales Staff Compensation
  • Top Performer
  • Lowest Performer
  • Average for All Outside Salespersons
    
    
• Method Most Commonly Used to Cover Travel and Entertainment Expenses
  
  
• Method Most Commonly Used to provide Outside Salespeople with Vehicles
  
  
• If Employee-owned Reimbursement, What Basis is Most Commonly Used?
  
  
• Method Most Commonly Used to Provide Outside Salespeople with Cell Phones

Revenue and Expenses

• Distribution Revenue
  • New Distribution Sales
  • Change in Net Distribution Sales
  • Distribution Margin (as a % of Net Distribution Sales)
    
    
• Rep Revenue
  • Gross Sales
  • Change in Gross Sales
  • Annual Commission Income (median)
  • Change in Annual Commission Income
    
    
• Total Revenue (Net Distribution Sales + Commission Income)
  
  
• Change in Total Revenue (Net Distribution Sales + Commission Income)
  
  
• Revenue and Expenses as a % of Total Revenue
  • Revenue
  • Total Revenue
  • Personnel Expenses
  • Other Operating Expenses
  • Owners' Discretionary Profit
    
    
• Total Operating Expenses (median)
  
  
• Expenses (as a % of Total Operating Expenses)
  
  
• Personnel Expenses
  
  
• Other Operating Expenses