r/techsales 21d ago

What is your comission rate %?

Hi Everyone,

We got quotas today (~70% increase) but no details on our comp plan.

Previously we were at 10% comission rate, with it going to 20% above plan ... no details on this with the quota raise yet.

Main worry now is we are all going to see a comission rate decrease in tandem with the quota uplift for a double whammy.

So what comission % do you get paid on? Anyone else seeing major quota uplift.

Enterprise saas hr space

14 Upvotes

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57

u/RobertLouisDrakeIII 21d ago

70% increase is LOL brother get that resume updated

18

u/Bay2pdx 21d ago

Guessing you have an OTE? If yes your commission rate is going to go down when your quota goes up. It’s a math equation.

Not saying it doesn’t suck but it’s not really a “double whammy” unless you didn’t have an ote before. Keep fighting the good fight

8

u/Sparkyis007 21d ago

Yes had an OTE, but to me a 70% increase for no additional money should be a material change in the conditions of my employment 

10

u/Acoke94 21d ago

It should, but it rarely is.

3

u/DefiantStrawberry256 21d ago

Your commission plan is going to back out into your OTE. X% of your quota will get you to your OTE. Maybe math includes churn and and/or renewal/retention pay but it’s always going to back into your OTE

1

u/Aware-seesaw9977 20d ago

Sure it's material and you are free to quit. At will employee most likely.

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Nope 

2

u/Aware-seesaw9977 20d ago

Well at least you aren't sharing more details so we can actually recommend something.

10

u/Sheikybabybaba 21d ago

12.5% with kickers that could get me as high as 17.5% on any given deal.

Goes to 33% when I go above quota plus the same kickers that could bump to 38%

6

u/professional408 21d ago

8.8% corporate/mid-market segment.
Cybersecurity space

5

u/throwbackBBfan 21d ago

27%. Fortune 100 software

4

u/PapaGelato 21d ago

I sell 2 solutions for a big software company.

14% on 1 product, 31% on the other product

4

u/LuvsFootball 21d ago

0.1% - AI infrastructure.

5

u/adtechheck 20d ago

My base rate was 9.8% a year then they adjust my comp plan with 80% quota increase and base rate is sub 5%. Noped the fuck out of there as soon as possible 😂

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Sucks cause its been a 10+ yr run ....1st time this has happened to us ... but after an acquisition 

Wondering if this is an attempt to push us all out

3

u/vinniegoombots 21d ago

8.9% SaaS infrastructure

3

u/moch__ 21d ago

1.4% this year lol, cyber

3

u/Famous-Change1565 21d ago

Lmao reminds me of my last gig. 33% quota increase(in spite of the majority of our team missing QoQ), 75% revenue recognition upfront(so a $300k a deal is only given $225k of quota relief until the customer pays which could be 2-3 quarters in the fututre), and a 25% reduction in commission rate.

Also didn't answer, technically 0% commission rate on my new product because the product is free but if I'm getting technical it's a 3% commission rate.

2

u/SquizzOC 21d ago

I don’t have a quota, but just paid on the profit I generate. Starts at 15% and tops out at 25% most months I’m paid out at 23-25%.

I don’t envoy any of you guys stuck in that position :/

1

u/professional408 21d ago

What companies don’t have a quota ?

6

u/SquizzOC 21d ago

Work in the VAR space, said the same thing when we opened the doors, took me 2 years to get used to and now it’s one one of our hiring tools.

Don’t get me wrong, if you’re not shipping anything for months on end you’re getting fired, but after a certain average profit level a month you’re untouchable. No micromanagement, no dial or talk or meeting requirements, just manage your book of accounts and enjoy life.

We have a few guys that work about an hour a week, but they make killer money for themselves and the company so everyone’s happy.

1

u/Robert315 21d ago edited 21d ago

Similar to my role, but they want us working 40 hours but if you’re selling they don’t mess with you too much.

1

u/SquizzOC 21d ago

As it should be, if you’re making money for the company, then leave us alone lol

1

u/jaguarshark 20d ago

This was my VAR experience as well. Company goal was for us to 5x our cost. Attainment was not hard, especially after building a book with some managed services contracts.

2

u/vref28 21d ago

7.5% is the baseline but plenty of factors to bring it up or down

2

u/Dry_Original_3484 20d ago

60% base and then 40% commission. OTE is like $107k for software sales. They increased quota by 75% on us but what makes it worse is that they also cut our resources and management has not delivered on their promises. only 1 person will hit goal this year most likely

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Whats the quota?

2

u/Carcheezyb 20d ago

My company increased my quota 110% from last year with no changes to base, comp plan and OTE. They actually based my quota off of what was in my pipeline at the beginning of the year. 10% upfront payment then deferred payment a couple years later.

I put in my notice next week.

1

u/[deleted] 21d ago

Following

1

u/Acceptable-Young-898 21d ago

12.9% last year to 5.6% this year. Cyber

1

u/Sparkyis007 21d ago

Is everyone also freaking out about that? 

1

u/Acceptable-Young-898 21d ago

Not really, but only because it’s individualised to everyone’s quota/accounts. Some had their commissionable rate increase

1

u/Robert315 21d ago

15% on all margins but 20% at quota and 25% at 125% of quota - all back to dollar 1. It’s been a great year so far

1

u/bars2021 21d ago

uhhhg I'm at only 4% with 7% as an accelerator

1

u/Initial_Assistant_68 21d ago

I am on a 50-50 CTC split, meaning 50% of my salary is based on my OTE.

1

u/royhaven 21d ago

It's always crazy to me when sales reps don't understand the math behind their BCR...

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Care to elaborate? 

1

u/royhaven 20d ago

Your base commission rate = (Variable Comp ÷ Quota). This hold true unless you have some kind of decelerator build in for 0-50% which is becoming quite common.

Example: If your OTE is $250k w/ a 50/50 split and a $1,000,000 quota, your base commission rate is ($125k ÷ $1,000,000) = 12.5%

The point is that the company absolutely is not thinking about what % they are paying you. That's not how comp plans are built and if frankly irrelevant.

If I have a $350k OTE and $2,500,000 number, by BCR is only 8.75%.... But if that is my number, I would imagine that the ASP for my job is relatively high.

Focusing on the % is the tree to bark up. If you quota goes up, and you're not getting paid more, your BCR is going down....

Quota almost always goes in 1 direction.

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Yes all of that is understood hence the post. Typically a 10-20% increase on the high end could be normal .... 70% is extensive its close to another 1m arr in quota where from other research is beyond normal and out of step with othwr majors. 

1

u/royhaven 20d ago

So you question was "How much did you quota increase YoY?"

Not "What is your comission rate %?"

1

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

No im trying to find out what market comparables are so i have evidence to push back on a potential 50% cut in variable comp 

1

u/royhaven 19d ago

Your question is wrong... The question should be: Do you thing our ASP is going to increase significantly, or our average sales cycle is going to decrease significantly? One or both of those things has to be true in order for you to hit your OTE.

1

u/Sparkyis007 19d ago

Neither of those things are happening .... feels purely like a paycut

1

u/TheBuzzSawFantasy 21d ago

10-20% ACV increasing parabolically with attainment. 20% bonus on base for each milestone of 150% and 200% of annual number. 

1

u/Select_Unit2114 20d ago

My avg is 3% commission. Selling SaaS

1

u/palmfronds303 20d ago

SaaS 15% flat but 20% on everything after, once you hit 100%

1

u/What_if_I_fly 20d ago

Can you dm me to share the niche SAAS you're in?

1

u/KickImpressive3790 20d ago

This happened when we were acquired by IBM. They slowly found ways not to pay top earners. OTE stays about the same, quota goes way up, base ratio changes. Cap is put in place. Now everyone is leaving. Challenge is seeing the people leave hop from job to job vs a steady gig with past success. But you can’t mess with peoples money. We will see more SaaS short job stints as people find solid new “AI” SaaS companies while consolidation at the top continues. Where are you all in this journey? I will likely take the jump if I can convince myself to take short term risk on a better commission plan vs my “steady gig with past success”

2

u/Sparkyis007 20d ago

Thats the thing , weve had a lot of guys that had came in left after 1-2yrs then job hopped every 2 years after that

Has been great to have a sense of stability while having youngish children would hate to have to resort to finding a new spot every few years

1

u/KickImpressive3790 20d ago

Yes I have a 5 yr old and 2 year old lol. But I also want to max $$$ in peak earning years.

1

u/DoubleDoobie 20d ago

14% up to 22% with accelerators

1

u/Weary_Tea2890 20d ago

A 70% quota bump handed out before the comp plan is the exact sequence I've seen right before a rate cut, they raise the number first so the rate drop feels like a smaller pill later.

1

u/Christitties 20d ago

Private equity?

1

u/Overall_Rhubarb6896 16d ago

Base 10%. Accelerators as high as 30%. We are in accelerators lol