The recruitment landscape for sales professionals in South Africa is undergoing significant transformations, influenced by evolving workplace models, technological advancements, and a heightened focus on skills-based hiring.
Attracting and retaining high calibre salespeople is key to the success of every organisation. As a specialist recruiter it is difficult to get good candidates who will stay with the company if the salary is not market related. So many times I have fantastic candidates that I know are ideal and will take a company to the next level of sales, but I can’t put them forward because the salary is not market related. Some candidates are desperate because they have been retrenched and will accept lower salaries. This is merely a stop-gap position and their CVs remain in the market.
Access to market related salary information is crucial in evaluating an organisation’s competitiveness in the market and benchmark salespeople’s remuneration.
The benefits include:
- Attract Top Talent – Ensures your salary offerings are competitive in the market.
- Reduce Turnover – Fair compensation keeps employees satisfied and reduces costly turnover.
- Budgeting & Planning – Helps with financial planning by understanding salary trends and industry standards.
- Track Market Trends – Shows how salaries change over time and across industries.
- Identify Skills in Demand – Higher salaries for certain positions indicate in-demand skills.
Commission remains a major driving incentive for salespeople during the recruitment process in South Africa. Many industries, particularly real estate, financial services, insurance, and retail, still rely heavily on commission-based structures to attract top sales talent.
Sales professionals are often drawn to jobs where they can directly influence their earnings based on their sales performance. High achievers prefer roles with uncapped commissions as they offer unlimited earning potential.
Many companies structure their sales compensation with a relatively low base salary and high commission incentives to motivate employees to close deals. Employers offering attractive commission structures gain an edge in recruiting top sales talent.
Candidates compare commission percentages and earning potential before accepting a job offer.
A base salary plus commission structure provides financial security while still incentivizing sales performance. The guaranteed income reduces stress related to financial instability, allowing salespeople to focus more on building long-term relationships with clients rather than making quick sales.
A key consideration in structuring packages is related to the company sales cycle. If your company has a long sales cycle, the trend is to give a higher basic.
On Target has investigated salaries in the sales environment in South Africa at the start of 2025. We decided to focus on the sales professional as this is the largest part of our sales recruitment. We hope this will assist you in being competitive in the search for top talent. To ensure consistency in interpretation and comparison of salaries we used the following profile of a sales professional:
Sales professional profile
A salesperson is responsible for interacting directly with prospective customers or clients to sell a company’s products or service. They act as the bridge between the company and customers, ensuring that the products or services offered meet customer needs and contribute to overall business goals.
Their duties include:
- Reach out to customer leads through cold calling.
- Generating leads.
- Identify and understand the needs of the customer to effectively sell products or services.
- Present, promote and sell products/services using solid arguments to prospective customers.
- Establish, develop and maintain positive business and customer relationships.
- Achieve agreed upon sales targets and outcomes.
- Utilizing CRM tools.
- Sales Presentations and Demonstrations.
Competencies
- Persuasion: Convincing potential customers of the value of a product.
- Networking: Building a network of potential clients through various strategies.
- Negotiation: Reaching mutually beneficial agreements.
- Communication skills: Clearly articulating product benefits.
- Emotional intelligence: Understanding customer feelings and motivations.
- Resilience: Overcoming rejections and setbacks.
- Product knowledge: Deep understanding of the product or service offered.
The information provided below based on trends and experience from various references, across industries.
The areas that were looked at:
- Low salaries
- Average salaries
- High salaries
- Experience
- Education
These are graphically represented below:
In conclusion, the recruitment and compensation landscape for sales professionals in South Africa is evolving, with a clear shift towards skills-based hiring, technological integration, and a commitment to diversity. Staying abreast of these trends is crucial for both employers and job seekers aiming to navigate the dynamic job market effectively.
Should you require further information, please contact me;
Carolyn Williams – carolyn@ontarget.co.za (0833251357)