Commission structures, explained
Most door-to-door pay is commission, sometimes tiered so the rate rises with volume, and often paired with a draw. The headline percentage is the least important number in the arrangement. What decides your income is when commission is considered earned, how long it can be clawed back, and what a draw does if you ramp slowly.
The common shapes
Straight commission pays a percentage or a flat amount per sale. Tiered commission raises that rate once you pass volume thresholds, which is why a rep's effective rate late in a strong season looks nothing like their rate in week two.
Splits appear where a setter and a closer both touch the sale, and the split terms are worth reading closely because they are where disagreements concentrate.
The terms that actually matter
When commission is earned — at signature, at install, or after a clearance period. How long a chargeback window runs. Whether a draw is recoverable, and what happens to an outstanding balance if you leave.
Two offers with the same percentage can pay very differently once those four are filled in.
Ask before the season, not during
These terms are in the contract and they are answerable in a conversation. Reps routinely discover them at the first chargeback, which is the most expensive time to learn them.
Common questions
- What is a typical door-to-door commission rate?
- It varies too much by trade and company for a figure to be meaningful, and the rate matters less than when commission is earned and how long it can be reversed.
- What is tiered commission?
- A rate that increases once you pass volume thresholds. It rewards consistency and can make early-season rates look misleadingly low.
- Should I take a higher rate or a lower chargeback window?
- Depends on your trade's cancellation behaviour. In trades with high cancellation, the window is frequently worth more than the extra points.
More on pay and commission
How D2D reps get paid: commission structures, draws, chargebacks, and 1099 versus W-2.