Digital Sales Compensation: Neither Fish Nor Fowl

"It's not very profitable when a customer wants 150 flyers printed digitally," DeWese says. "The margins may be OK, but it takes a hell of a lot of them to make any critical mass. The primary issue for companies producing digital work is to do a better job of training their people to sell digital."

DeWese notes it will take a while for a new digital salesperson to build a decent base, before they're able to earn commissions in excess of their draw and make it into the sweet spot of 7 percent to 10 percent commissions. "If you're smart, hunt down established accounts where you're doing some sort of fulfillment or regular customer communication that can't be moved easily," he advises.