juan2free

Strategic Account Manager

Base salary #s

I openly discuss my compensation. My feeling is that for fairness, equality, and transparency (particularly as it pertains to race and gender in the workplace) it is very important to speak to this openly within all places of our industry.

Recently I had a conversation with a close friend and asked them directly of their base to which I was told it was “bad business” to talk about.

I would love to get some votes on this as well as any numbers here since we can all be anonymous

Do you talk about base salary with those on your teams?

Attached poll

Yes, freely Yes, but I say higher if someone asks Yes, but I say lower if someone asks Depends on the situation No, that is bad business

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

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💰 Compensation

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54 comments

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GlenRoss

Politicker

Account Executive

That’s weird to here that from salespeople. Most sales people I know openly talk about compensation

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

That’s what I was personally expecting too

Patrick_Bateman

Fire Starter

Senior Sales Consultant

Agreed, what the hell else is there to talk about???

ExtremeVibeChecker44

Arsonist

Inside Sales

How much you love sales, duh

AlecBaldwinsHairline

Valued Contributor

Head of Sales Development

I hate how taboo it is to talk salary amongst sales teams. Especially when their is a matter of 5K difference in base salary from one rep to another - even if they have the same quota!

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

I think this is where I fall more often than not

LordBusiness

Politicker

Chief Revenue Officer

I’ve always kept my business to myself. Maybe that’s just me

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

Have you never once had this conversation with a colleague @LordBusiness ?

LordBusiness

Politicker

Chief Revenue Officer

Candidly, no. I've never really seen the benefit of the conversation. If I make more than the person I'm having the conversation with, its awkward. If I make less than the person I'm having the conversation with, I'm annoyed.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

In my industry, it’s a bit of “pick your poison “. You can ask for a decent range, but you will be expected to bring in 4x that amount in revenue within a specified time period, and they do reviews every six months. Ideally you WANT to bring in 4x your salary, because then you no longer get one and your commission drastically increases. (From 10% to 40%). So, if you actually close, you would name a low starting number to get to that higher commission rate quicker. However, if you love to coast and want something a bit more stable in the beginning , you’ll ask for more.

I keep getting offers of at least 30k above what I ask. But I don’t have a family and live a simple life. I don’t mind staying where I’m at until I’m ready to close stupid big deals and then I win all the things 😎

goose

Politicker

Sales Executive

Champagne income, light beer expenses... secret to a long and happy life.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

To be fair, I have my own floor in an apartment building in nyc so I’m not living like a hobo 😂

but I’m more than happy with my Honda Civic.

also - I realized that I didn’t actually answer the question. The range for my role is anywhere from 75-150k on average. The point of my answer is that I don’t think it matter whether anyone discloses or not, because ultimately it’s up to you as to what you think you can achieve. There are many in the 100k range who simply won’t make it. It’s not possible given their close rate. Like, I often wonder how they still have a job at all! There are also others who are good at their job but just need a bit of time to get going, and this model allows for that.

all this aside, I still think it’s good to be open about it. Unless you’re the boss, then hell no 😂😂😂

Kiona

Opinionated

Head of Business Development

100% Hit that spif and make it rain.

Too large of a base + too large of a quota = underperformance

My largest year was when i took a $25K base cut and over sold 150% and made bank in the 100%-150% quota. More than double the quota.

FromaBlankPerspective

Politicker

District Manager

I was at a sales training once where there were reps from all over the country. After a particularly aggressive happy hour, someone asked this question, and we were all pretty shocked to see a swing of almost $20K depending on where you live in the country (not based on cost of living either which I would have expected). No one was particularly upset at the person receiving the salary, but I imagine they had some awkward conversations with their boss when they got back.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

This is very interesting. I live in an expensive place and I know I make more because of it too. Interesting that your breakdown in pay did not have much to do with that!

FromaBlankPerspective

Politicker

District Manager

I can’t say this is exactly why, but it seemed to be more tied to the talent pool? Seattle had the lowest base by far, while the Midwest was on the higher end.

FromaBlankPerspective

Politicker

District Manager

This was base our specific though. Not sure what an OTE looked like.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

Very interesting that the Midwest was higher here.

makingfetchhappen

Opinionated

Account Executive

I try and tell my inner circle when they're interviewing so they know how aggressively HR is trying to fuck them.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

The irony that HR would do it

makingfetchhappen

Opinionated

Account Executive

Try reporting HR to HR for gaslighting you during negotiations...talk about inception.

Wolfe

Politicker

BDR

Honestly, I haven't been able to but I think it should be.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

What’s keep you from it?

Wolfe

Politicker

BDR

New to this space and with remote onboarding, there's not much interaction with the coworkers.

Spade

Arsonist

Global Business Development Manager

Totally open about it with the team, except for the snake or two that every office has

#gattabehonest

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

Well said @Spade

Stax

Opinionated

AE - Major Accounts

I have friends / colleagues that I'm open about my compensation with, but I'm not going to go out of my way to discuss it with random team members. I do think transparency is important and I've been very open with past co-workers when I've gotten a new offer, so that they can know what is out there / attainable.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

That is totally fair @Stacks
I feel it’s one of those things that if spoken of more I feel might help because some could get taken advantage of, especially if new to the industry

slaydie

Big Shot

Account Executive

agree! I don't go around telling everyone and their mother my salary but I certainly don't shy away from it when it comes up. There was huge salary discrepancy at my company when I first started (still there to some extent) and co-workers being honest and transparent about it really helped. I definitely think some sales people should be getting paid more than me because they are way better than me but sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for peoples salaries. Being transparent about it with my colleagues has forced the company to think about this and be transparent about how we are evaluated.

NorthernSalesGuru

Politicker

Manager, Outbound Sales

Totally depends who I’m talking to

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

What do you mean? Please explain what the different reasons would be

NorthernSalesGuru

Politicker

Manager, Outbound Sales

It’s naive to think compensation fairness exists in sales. In sales especially, people are often lured to a role by money because they have demonstrated certain talents or soft skills.

That’s just one reason, there’s plenty more why people of the same role may be paid differently.

Just because two people in the same role get paid differently doesn’t mean lack of equality. It means the company values certain skills more as they align with the company’s goals.

I don’t talk about salary/comp with everyone because I know I make more.

that said, I have people on my team I genuinely trust and am willing to share this with.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

I used to work for a VP that always said, “top dollar for top talent”

NorthernSalesGuru

Politicker

Manager, Outbound Sales

I wouldn’t disagree.

Having run sales orgs, every so often that one sales professional comes along and you just know...

Theres certain sales professionals who are just so talented in their craft, that they make you want to pay the price tag.

Savagedoge

Tycoon

Account Executive

Totally depends on the situation. I’ve had conversations with certain folks. But for the most part we all know that there’s no fairness in our pay scales, and more often than not, one of us is going to be salty lol

CastleIsland

Tycoon

Associate Account Director

If you trust the person, share it. If you don't, don't.

goose

Politicker

Sales Executive

I personally don't discuss compensation with anyone. Their compensation is not my business and mine is not their business. Frankly, I'm not sure it matters.

AlexT

Politicker

Account Executive

Only with fellow salespeople. Wait until you tell other departments how much you earn, the hate looks they give you...

SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

as much as I'd like to speak freely I learned that we are not being paid equally therefore I feel speaking about it will only create resentment among the team.

beerisforclosers

Politicker

Account Manager

I think these conversations are important. There's about a $50k swing in salary for any given grade band at our company, so we're all over the place from a salary perspective. I think it's important reps are aware of that swing and negotiating for their own improvement. Never just float with the offered number. Always dig in and try to understand expectations for the next level of pay.

JDialz

Politicker

Chief Operating Officer

I’m all about equality too - that’s why we don’t have a base.

If you suck, you starve.

Chep

WR Officer

Bitcoin Adoption Specialist

I always try and be as open as possible

SlanginHCSaaS

Executive

Enterprise Sales Executive

IMO, salespeople should be open about their comp with their sales colleagues. Not so much with others in the org, b/c sometimes that can breed resentment.

SlanginHCSaaS

Executive

Enterprise Sales Executive

Not only that, I think sales teams should collectively bargain each year when the comp plan comes out. We did at my last job, and we always ended up winning a better comp plan than was originally offered by the org because we worked together and negotiated in good faith.

juan2free

Arsonist

Strategic Account Manager

I love this!

Chep

WR Officer

Bitcoin Adoption Specialist

Saw something on Reddit that mentioned if your poor it's taboo to talk about finances, but the wealthy always talk about finances because they want to know what their peers think of their investments, how they're spending, etc

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Purely depends on situation and person

slickchick

Opinionated

Account Executive

I think it’s common culture at my company to ask base/OTE for roles you’re hoping to move into. Folks need to think through recruiter offers vs potential if they stay, etc.

OrangeOrange

Fire Starter

Account Executive

I don't mind talking about commission but Base is a different topic all together. Maybe it was the way I was brought up?

Aaronlovessales

Opinionated

Financial advisor

I had $58k that goes down 10% every quarter for 3 years until hits zero

Fletch

Opinionated

Full-Time AE/Side-Hustle Owner

So... Are the 16 people who said no hiring managers? :D

I was always open to discussing freely until I noticed how many people don't negotiate their base pay. You can quickly see the disappointment on a person's face when they make 10k less than you, and that's more awkwardness than I want to deal with from a colleague.

Recently started a position where I negotiated a $15k higher base, and from my conversations, it turns up only myself and one other person in the same position actually successfully negotiated our base pay. That bothers me most of all.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Sometimes

MR.StretchISR

Politicker

ISR

CTA is something that is often overlooked and should be rotated pretty regularly in your outbound prospecting.

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

Yes, Np.

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juan2free

Base salary #s

Do you talk about base salary with those on your teams?

54 comments

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