I'm sorry and I have no intention to offend - but this really does come across as an advertorial.
I've worked both sides of the pond and the US experience was very heavily led by commission and offset with small salary.
The UK is a mix, but generally salary led and commission topped up. But the ratio varies quite widely.
Commission is fine - but how it is calculated is perhaps the biggest single reasons for sales resignations in the security sector. Anyone can sell a $10 bill for $9, so unless you have a fixed price book - turnover as we all know is for vanity whilst margin will always be sanity. So if you pay commission on margin, what then happen if your project teams fails to deliver or indeed, if your own design was crap to start with?
In the UK we also have to factor in a predictable, steady salary that would support a mortgage application - many lenders wont accept commission. What also of employer pension contributions - will they contribute on bonus and commission payments?
What happens if you fall ill, what happens if your employer has supply issues for commodities you are selling?
The whole area is a minefield - whichever side of the pond you're on. Personally, I want my sales team to be hungry, competitive and successful. Commission should be based upon margin achieved (GPM) and overall sales. But the big issue in the UK is the resentment of company directors and owners to, potentially, pay salesman a fat commission cheque that would exceed the directors own salary - which is an indication of the shortsightedness and utter stupidity of management not to acknowledge that a stellar salesman can only be an asset to any company.
With all true salesman, it is the single most emotive topic you will ever discuss, but also interesting to see how both sides of the Atlantic address it. Certainly, the US has a culture of gratuity that extends into commission balanced against the onerous employment law in the UK and EU that would protect employees against the risks of commission only.
One view I don't see being addressed (and it concerns me given the male dominated industry) is that how would a female salesperson maintain a meaningful income during maternity leave? It would be grossly unfair not to pay her a cent as the OP's methodology would suggest?
I disagree that as time goes forward the base should shrink and commission increase. Invariably, a good salesman will go on to lead a sales team, take on more management responsibility and indeed operational delivery - they have also have proved their ability to sell at this point so the base should increase, commission reduce and bonus's be introduced commensurate with the success of their sales team and company success.
Everyone will have their own take based upon their own success and failure in the past - along with excellent and rogue employers. It also depends on what you are selling. Is it a single product in a box or a complex integrated security system?
On a personal note I get my kick from winning tenders, then following the project from concept to handover to ensure what I sold is what is delivered and margin is maintained. It's a little naive to say I do it see a smile on my customers face - I'm neither a charity or a children's entertainer. We all enjoy great service - and are will to pay for it. So with our sector its just the same. But in the reality of commercial sustainability, we must never lose track of cashflow and profitability from a successful business model that will be based upon professional sales delivery. We have a history in the UK of salespeople with little of no experience of the sector being employed by large national companies (one in particular), based upon their previous success in selling unrelated products. They promise the earth given the project delivery team an impossible mountain to climb and culminating in a disgruntled customer. Any customer will be happy if they get what was promised and what they pay for - that's all I seek.
Lone wolf or team member - that's an interesting one. I prefer to be a lone wolf who can work with or without a team. In a small company a crap salesman can not hide like they do in a larger national entity. No salesman should rely on a team for sales - but they should work together to consolidate product, region and client boundaries and present a common sales strategy enforced by a strong Sales Director. I recently tendered a job where two branches of a famous multinational bid against each other unknowingly. I won the tender they both lost - but where was the sales strategy there?
A salesman should never be "comfortable" with a salary alone - nor should they live in fear of their home being re-possessed for failed mortgage payments. They could of course write a book on it and earn a tasty side income and push it on IPVM! Come to think of it - this posting could be chapter 1 of my book (sorry).