With any sales job, the big question is commission. Base pay and the benefits sound decent at first glance, but how does the commission for the new role compare to what you’re doing currently?

Currently my commission is paid at .75% of total sale. Sales can range from $20,000 to $3,000,000. I would say my average is around $3,500 a month due to the lack of clientele in this market.

The new job is paid in goals. I have not gotten the compensation plan yet but I can try to explain. For example, my goal could be 3 sales, and that would pay me $3,000. If I hit 6 sales with a goal of 3, I would get paid $6,000. This would be on top of the $2,000 something that’s paid as salary.

The new company is also a big name, and clients may come to you. The company I work at right now, we beat the bigger companies in prices and so we must persuade the clients to work with us and not the bigger companies.

I'm curious what kind of sales job comes with licensing requirements?

I'd also be really curious what the income distributions of the existing sales people ends up being/what kind of turnover they typically see due to people not selling enough or soon enough after they flip to commission to survive. Without knowing the industry, it's hard to say how much time is spent cultivating clients before you get a sale. (My experience with sales people is that they often have their book of clients and basically make it their job to be the first call a client makes when they need something, but any given client might make one big order every couple of years.)

Mortgage Loan Officer.

The recruiter told me that the average banker makes around $80,000 their first year. Top producers in the company make well over $150,000. A relative of mine claims they made $172,000 YTD.

Personally, I think I’d prefer the relaxed environment and straight commission of the old job. If the new role provides the right tools and leads, it could certainly be lucrative.

However, environment and managers will make or break anyone, but especially a salesman. Definitely take that into account. See if you could meet with the person who will be your immediate manager to get an idea of what they would be like. That could help you decide if the money is worth it.

I spoke with my manager about it, he said he is accepting of whatever I think is best for my life.

He also said that if I ever wanted to come back at anytime, he would take me with open arms, especially since I would have really good training by an industry leading company and my NMLS License.

The only problem with that is, on the signed offer, there was a clause that said in case of termination or resignation, I must pay back all licensing fees that are paid for by the new company. From my understanding that could range from $2,000 to $10,000.

EDIT:

Also, the new company being the biggest name in the industry, I would assume the leads are very good.

As I said in my reply to another Redditor, my recruiter said that after training, the average salesman makes $80,000 their first year, with top producers making well over $150,000. A relative of mine has $172,000 YTD working the same role in the same company, but more tenured.

The relative tells me that they are pretty grueling, and that sometimes they feel like all they do is work and sleep.

The new company also requires you to work every other Saturday and one Sunday a month. This is after getting licensed and finishing training.

Ah. A monthly breakdown would be interesting on that. The rush of new purchases and refinancing went up to about February or March and then slowed down a bunch (though there was some "rates are rising so buy now before they go up more" pressure carrying into mid year.) There's definitely a bunch of seasonal variation in that field (nobody wants to move in the winter, families prefer to move when school's out, etc)

That kind of role seems like it's really important to have a buffer of cash available to get through the leaner periods. You said 0.75% commission. With a median sale price in the US of $400k, you're looking at something a bit less than $750 per loan on average (people will have some down payment etc.)

Sorry, I meant you should meet with the person who would be managing you in your new role, although I am glad to hear your old manager is supportive.

That’s very true, the market is very slow right now, but definitely not dead. Someone will always need to use their equity. In the new company I would specialize in refinancing only. HELOC’s and Cash-Out Refi’s only.

I’m not sure where you got the $750 from, $400,000 x .75% is equal to $3,000.

And yes you definitely need savings for this type of role, that’s why I’m considering the new company so much. There will always be a salary, it’s definitely not a lot, but it covers the essentials.

Unfortunately that’s not something the new company would be willing to do.

Oops...you're right on the number. Was thinking about 3 things at once and trying to decide whether to word based on $100k of loans or amount of loans for $75k of pay or average loan size or something... Then crossed wires in my head.

Refi is in the tank right now - anybody who bought more than a year ago could pull cash out and have their payment go up significantly, and most people who were paying attention refid into a <3% loan at some point in the last few years. Last year you could have gone through the existing loans and called them up saying "hey... We can put some cash in your pocket AND lower your payment", now the equivalent monthly payment has about half the buying power it had last year.

HELOC... Maybe? Though those are going to be much smaller credit amounts.

That’s not surprising, but it is a little disappointing. It sounds like you have a good handle on the new companies compensation and culture. The big question for me would be, is the potential increase in pay worth the time commitment and performance push?

Hey!

I’m not sure why the post got deleted. But to answer your question. I’m not sure.

My family immigrated to the US and are not very well off. This job, if I do excel, would set me up for success and a comfortable life. However, I’m a very laid back person who hates being micromanaged and pushed. Starting my current job made me lose many of my friends, as an 18 year old I went straight into this position without going to college just yet. I wanted to have enough money to be able to pay all, if not most, of my college tuition out of pocket. I did not want to take out a loan and end up finally paying it off at 40 years old. Starting the job made me lose all my friends, right now I only have my best friend, and my girlfriend. Family too of course.

My girlfriend expressed to me that this new position would take up a lot of my time, and she feels that I won’t have enough time for her anymore. Which is true, a lot of people that I know who work for this company in this role end up losing their relationships and social life’s because it’s so time consuming. Overtime is basically mandatory. 2 Saturday’s a month and 1 Sunday a month. 8-12 hour days. I do fear that I’ll lose my relationship which would leave me with basically no one.

But I want to be financially successful.

Is it worth it for my mental health and social life? I’m not sure.

Do I like the money? Yes.