How do "bonuses" and "commissions" usually work?

[Charlene1]

Ok, I know it sounds stupid, but previous jobs I've had have promised me commission and bonuses based on various vague criteria eg "company performance", "meeting set targets" - which were never set. So I have never actually received any.

I understand if you work in sales, you can get a commission of a percentage of sales generated by your work. A bonus is then usually a set amount if you make x amount of sales or sell £x in a month.
Why I'm asking is because I am doing a new job doing telemarketing. My objective is to make x appointments pw for a sales rep to go to, NOT to make sales. If I get the x appointments per week and make x calls a day minimum, I get a bonus of £x gross pcm and a quarterly bonus - which hasn't been set yet. The boss has guaranteed the bonus for my first 3 months, then they will set "proper targets and bonuses" etc.
I am not trained to close actual sales, but if someone orders whilst I talk to them, instead of agreeing to an appointment, should I get commission on these?
If someone wants a quote and orders without seeing a rep, should I have commission on that too or not?
Should I get a percentage on what is generated from the appointments, as the rep will get commission and so does the manager I think - but this could be either a vast amount of money per big account, or £50 pa for a small business.

I am confused as well as all the calls per day I make include new companies, chasing people not around when I initially called, checking to see if people have got brochures etc. The leads I have are for small companies to huge internationals, so the amount of business generated is going to vary greatly as I work through the list I have been given.

I will pass quote requests over to sales, who are going to get prices for me and send them to the customers, and I will follow up if they've not ordered after so long and try and add up sales made.

Does anyone know what I should expect? My boss wants to sit down and get a formal structure set, and I really don't want to go to that meeting without a clue what my demands should be and what I should settle for!!

[Charlene1]

Ok, I know that sounded confusing, but anyone any knowledge of this?

[chocolatekimmy]

I would suggest that you list all of the above points and work through each at the meeting with the expectation of receiving a clear answer.

Any pay structure relating to bonus or commission should be transparent. It should also be fully documented so that everyone understands exactly what is expected and how payments are calculated.

Have you been at the company for long, what was agreed at interview - have you been given anything in writing regarding pay already?

[Charlene1]

Only 3 weeks, and all it says in my contract is "basic wage of £x pa and commission to be agreed". The "guaranteed bonus for first 3 months" was verbal.

I have the meeting tomorrow and I still am none the wiser what I should say. I also got my first pay slip - with no bonus - the boss says "they will think about giving me a payment for February sometime, when we agree the targets and rates etc". Payroll man says they might pay it in March wages, so it would be for February, in arrears, if that makes sense.

[Charlene1]

Boss has said he will pay my bonus for February, but I now have to meet targets set to get any further money. What happened to the guarantee?? He has revised the targets too. They would be achievable if I had been trained in using the systems and actually had what I needed to process a new order - but I haven't. He said I have to convert all my calls/quotes/appts etc each month to 8 actual orders or at least accounts opened. Yes, doesn't sound much, but I cannot follow up my quotes as I am not trained in the system/procedures of company. Bosses want me to do it all with no help from sales team. Am way behind on making calls due to "call back later/tomorrow/next week" responses and the computer crashing at least once every 20 minutes. Boss has said I don't get commission on business gained through appointments - fair enough, but did not mention anything I pull in and close on.
How do I sort this out?