Commission structures: What if you're at a small company and wear more than just the sales hat?

In a bit of a unique situation – I do sales but also (due to startup / company size) also wear some account management and customer success hats.


Does anyone have or know of good atypical / unusual commission structures, where base is a bit higher than normal but there's still incentive to sell larger enterprise contracts?


For context, current structure (not counting company bonuses) are flat commissions per deal – not based on % of signing amount – after hitting a certain threshold.

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paddy
WR Officer
3
Director of Business Development
Not sure but it sounds like you can justify quarterly bonuses with a hybrid sales/CS role since half of that involves client retention.
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
I'm in the same scenario, I'd ask your boss about an 'accelerator programme' whereby you hit this months targets and it doubles next months. Start-ups are stingy on money which is understandable until they get to the next seed round...however, find a com plan in the in-between that benefits you and the company. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
A good point 
Bejblount
Fire Starter
1
Senior Account Executive
I work at a small startup with a total of 30 employees and I am 1 of 2 sales people. Technically the only sales person as I have a Sales Manager who reports to the CEO. I have a flat 10% commission on everything I sell. Which means I have huge incentives to upsell and sell into larger deals but I don't neglect the smaller deals just to close big ones faster for more accelerator bonuses. That being said I get a larger base salary because I'm my own account manager, have a creative role, I edit marketing and delivery videos, I manage several strategic professional service partnerships, etc. So, if you are wearing a lot of hats just make sure you know what your goal is. If it's more NB and Revenue generation then demand a more competitive commission program. 
handysales
Politicker
1
Enterprise Sales Lead
Thanks a ton for this input. Since we're all anonymous, is it cool to ask what that base is, what your average deal size is, and how many you expect to sell a year? 
Bejblount
Fire Starter
1
Senior Account Executive
Sure! I have 50K base and I expect to W2 about 100K. This is my first year selling so I'm not sure what my average deal size will be in the long run but right now its about 10 - 14K so I'll close about 40 deals. I just closed my 20th deal today so I'm pacing.
handysales
Politicker
1
Enterprise Sales Lead
That’s super helpful, thanks a ton. So brand new to the company this year, or just first year selling for them? 
Bejblount
Fire Starter
1
Senior Account Executive
Yep. I graduated college last May and started in marketing with them. I was sort of thrown into a sales role. 
handysales
Politicker
2
Enterprise Sales Lead
Interesting – thanks again for sharing. That's an excellent gig right out of the gates! 
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
Agree that's a crazy gig out of school - amazing!
thestartupsaasfella
Member
0
Vice President of Sales
I have been at many small companies where you wear multiple hats. Typically your comp will just be tied to your sales. The way I have been successful in getting paid for the other work is to lay out what you do for your boss. Document everything, and ask what they want you to focus on. Then if they say they want you to focus on it all, ask what is the best way they would do it? Show that the other activities are eating up 30% of your time (just an example), and say you will have to focus only on sales to hit your goals - or you are open to speaking about a new role that includes all of those responsibilities, and that is when you ask for a new comp plan aka more $$$
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