KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** additional Comment on Salesman compensation on RMR September 5, 2025 ************************ additional Comment on Salesman compensation on RMR from article on August 12, 2025 ************************ Ken, WELL, I have to chime in on the RMR commission conversation. I worked at one company where I got 5% of the PROFIT on the sale then 5% of the RMR PROFIT as long as I was contacting the customer at least quarterly to "check in" or "pitch new products and services". These contacts had to be verified by email or phone call contacts in the CRM. When a quarter goes by and I don't contact that customer, the customer goes back into the "warm leads" pile and anyone can contact them for new sales should they want to. THEY then get no commission until they sell something, and the cycle begins again. At 5% of the PROFIT it never becomes a large enough dollar amount that you're getting rich off of it, but it does encourage you to check in with the customer regularly and treat them like the valued part of your business that they are. And of course once you leave the employer you no longer get paid on the RMR. 5% of the profit was enough to get you excited about selling and keeping it profitable, and since the salesperson often negotiated the RMR pricing it gave them some incentive to not give it away to get the sale. name withheld *********************** Response *********************** I would suggest not basing a commission on "profit"; that is an invitation to dispute what the profit actually is, even if it's well defined in the agreement, which I seriously doubt it was. Better to agree on a lower percentage based on gross sale. Same with the RMR. You need to be very carefully drafting a "sharing plan" for an employee. You don't intend to make that employee a "partner", even in the accounts subject to the split. Make it clear they are your accounts. Along the same line you need to be clear when the split stops, if it does. You don't want ex-employees expecting their split once they leave the job. You also don't want them claiming a piece if the account is sold, unless that's your deal with the employee. There's nothing wrong with commission based compensation; just make sure it's clear, you understand how it works, and you can live with it under all conceivable circumstances. All sales people, in fact all employees, should be party to K&K Employment Agreement or Independent Sales Affiliate Agreement. ******************** STANDARD FORM AGREEMENTS: To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** WEBINARS: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth *********************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ken-kirschenbaum-presents/id1794851477 ************************* Getting on our email list / Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
