SalesinSeattle

Account Executive

Valued Contributor

Comp plan structures that work

Hey you beautiful savages. I have a request for you.

We are in a position where we have shifted our go to market strategy this year and the company moved the ownership / responsibility for cross sales within our product portfolio away from the AE team (where I sit) to the new business sales executives.

As a result they made a bunch of changes to our comp plan and no one is happy with the new structure. We also had our long time Sales VP retire to start the year, so we now have a new person leading the sales org.

I had a call with him discussing this yesterday because as of now, at least 80% of the AE team still has not signed the comp plan (I know it's ridiculous in August, but that's where we are - including me) and he asked me to put forward suggestions for a new plan. I have a few ideas, but I thought I would crowd source to see what other good structures you all have encountered in your sales wanderings and try and steal some other good ideas to suggest we put into practice. He seems open to making changes if we can be constructive.

Thanks for anything you can contribute to helping me keep my colleagues around, we have a really good team and I don't want to see everything fall apart because of dissatisfaction about the comp plan.

☁️ Software Tech

💰 Compensation

8

26 comments

Sort by:

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

2

Sales Rep

What issues are there that are causing no one to sign?

Quota too High, on average quota should be 4-5x the OTE

Clawback issues, depending on the product I wouldnt want a clawbacks to happen past 3 months

Confusing, you need to people in more understandable terms or provide an excel doc showing how its calculated to every rep so they understand

Don't put a cap or make my % commish smaller if I am 200%+ of quota

I am not a fan of floors, example being needing to sell x% to get any commission. I prefer it to be a smaller % of commission for the first thousands, then slightly bigger % for the next bracket, then even a bigger %

If you are selling multiple products, I want every product listed and the SKU listed in what I get 100% credit for and what I get 50%

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

1

Account Executive

Kosta you nailed it on the head with the first one. They removed our ability to sell the large ARR deals with Cross sales and only reduced the quota by $50k - so where do I find $550k in ARR (they have OTE commission at $70k) when average deal sizes are $10-25k. At the same time they removed quarterly attainment and bonuses in favor of annual, so if you're not getting to the big number, you're stuck at a low commission rate for every deal.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

0

Sales Rep

I would show the VP if you sold exactly what you sold last year how much less you would be making. And point to those areas of improvement

GDO

Politicker

1

BDM

yeah that's a good one! Back test it

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

So is the intent to have your team focus on new logo only?
What's the sales cycle like?

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

1

Account Executive

No the opposite, our focus is intended to be upsells only, with existing clientsSales cycle depends on product, anywhere from weeks to a year

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

So existing customers, upsell to existing product purchased, but now you cannot cross sell.
So instead of having ONE rep managing an account, that account has multiple reps and no idea who to call for what and possibly getting annoyed because you're all trying to make your number and are bombarding them with calls and emails?

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

1

Account Executive

EssentiallyCompany has a better chance theoretically to hit their numbers with more reps calling on the clients more often.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

3

🦊

This ain't gon work bruh. This is chaos

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

Welp...This is the situation. I will say that out CEO isnt afraid to make what changes are necessary. So if it doesn't work, it won't be this way in 2 years. They're trying to hit our targets for the Board.

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Seriously - ask him what was wrong with the old plan?

GlenRoss

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Just went through this at my last company and a couple of us went to the Dir, CRO, and HR and showed a model of under the same conditions of selling what you sold last year this is how much you would make. They ended up making a bunch of changes. It helps if you go with 1 or 2 of the top performers so they start to think people will leave

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

classic 50/50?

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

Ours is currently a bit more unbalanced towards salary - it's not a great plan - 65/35 salary on target.

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

Not horrible tbh, im currently on a 90/10 lmao no comish almost

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

Ugh, I have been there as well - hope its a big base!

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

i'm a bit in the same boat. I don't mind though since variable pay is taxed > 60% in Belgium

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

son of a bitch :o 60%?!?! damn bro

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

europe is mid ngl lmao

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

Yeah and then the state and municipality also tax it. Oh and a 21% sales tax.

yeah as a high earner it sucks because it's impossible to build a nice nest egg.
As a low earner, it's paradise since you basically get everything you need for free. For example, unemployment benefits are forever. They never end.

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

reward the poor and punish the rich. Sounds like Europe! Im British and lived in Sweden, so.. I feel ya. Come to Costa Rica!! Escape the social democrats xD

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

Being an above average earner in the highest taxed country in the world. I left and came back for my parents and frienda

LambyCorn

Arsonist

0

A mfkn E

hey at least you have great chocolate, right?

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

0

☕️

Question: why is your leadership team asking an AE to build a comp plan. You are being tasked with a fools errand and none of us can truly help without understanding your entire business.

pirate

Big Shot

0

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Lol... Well I still haven't signed anything because no one has sent me anything. I know a rep who hasn't signed them for 2 years and said it doesn't matter if we accept or don't accept the changes.

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

Being an above average earner in the highest taxed country in the world. I left and came back for my parents and friends

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs

If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.