Sales Compensation (Part II)--Bread and Circuses

Non-compete Agreements
You knew we would get to this sooner or later. How effective is the dreaded non-compete agreement? How fair? Some consultants believe that non-compete agreements are very unfair to the salesperson, but many printers refuse to hire reps without them.

"Non-compete agreements should be reasonable and fair," contends Chadwick. "But if a salesperson already works with a company, a non-compete agreement is very unfair. For a contract to be binding, there must be an exchange, and if the rep is already working for you—there may be no fair exchange of value. A buyer will buy from whomever he wants—a non-compete agreement will not hinder that."