markedclosedwon

Director of Business Development

Compensation Prev Experience vs Performance

I'm the youngest sales person on our team. But I have the most sales experience at the company in terms of selling our product.

My manager hired two more "senior" reps who have previous sales exp in our industry. I found out they are paid 70% more (on base salary alone, not sure what their commission % is).

They've been on the job for 6 months now and have only closed 1 deal each. When I started, I closed 6 deals within the first 3 months.

My manager seems to have rose tinted glasses on -- the senior reps have more experience in sales & our industry than him...Doesn't seem to be willing to see that the new reps are expensive and not as productive...

Am I being bitchy for complaining that they get paid 50k-60k more without actually bringing in revenue?

Should companies pay more automatically for previous years of experience or should it be based on performance?

I guess what bothers me is that I feel I'm getting paid less for bringing in the same amount of revenue, just because I don't have the same number of years of experience as the other senior reps.

What should I do? Leave? Re-negotiate my comp? Keep my mouth shut and keep selling?

💰 Compensation

🏅 Competition

12

23 comments

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braintank

Politicker

4

Enterprise Account Executive

Have you expressed your concern to your boss?

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

2

Director of Business Development

Yes, it took a whole year to renegotiate my commission structure with my manager. Continuing promises of "yeah I'll bring it up with the CEO" for ~11 mo.

At the 12th month, I spoke with the CEO directly (we're a startup of 60 people) -- and then got told my manager was upset that I brought up the issue of commissions. I got a higher commission % (as was promised) but my manager became cold and distant after that.

Also my manager would always mention that he hasnt gotten a raise either and has problems with his pay. He's got a great way of circling around the conversation without addressing the issue of compensation and performance reviews.

braintank

Politicker

4

Enterprise Account Executive

Good on you for bringing it up directly.

I'd start looking elsewhere. You probably have the opportunity to make a huge jump in OTE.

IndianaShep

Big Shot

1

Director of Sales and Marketing

Yeah with that info I say it’s toxic. Time to set sail imho.

bandabanda

Tycoon

2

Senior AE Mid Market

^ agree. Market is too hot right now NOT to look. You could get a significant bump in base & OTE as well.
Leverage the hell out of all your accomplishments at this company.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

0

Director of Business Development

Yeah I'm thinking now is a good time to switch - especially as the market is hot.

IndianaShep

Big Shot

2

Director of Sales and Marketing

I think no matter what looking at the landscape and seeing what you can learn is #1. <br>I can’t speak to their strategy, but imagine you sold something to a client and then they came back halfway through the contract and said “I heard other people got a deal. I need that deal” and now your commish was being clawed back. That would suck.<br>However, you have the information you have, and you can choose to operate on it. Do you have other job prospects? How is your pipeline? How do your sales compare in size to what they’re bringing in? Etc etc.<br>If you are hungry there is unlimited opportunity. But there will always be someone better paid, better treated, and better respected. That’s the game, as it is. Good news? You get to choose what you hunt. What do YOU feel you’re worth?

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

2

Director of Business Development

I have 2 other jobs prospects lined up. Turned down a few offers from recruiters in the past few months. I wasn't actively looking before.

There's no mentorship in our team. The senior reps aren't interested in teaching/skills transfer. My manager can't and doesnt provide any sales advice.

Pros:

- Total independence, as long as I hit quota - no questions asked.

- Decent pay (within top 25% of industry)

- Remote

Cons:

- Newly assigned limited sales territory

- No mentorship opps

- Shitty management

braintank

Politicker

3

Enterprise Account Executive

Hard to tout decent pay as a positive when they're paying new reps 50k more than what they pay you.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

1

Director of Business Development

When you put it that way... ;)

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Based on what you have said about addressing the pay discrepancy and not getting a result, I'd be looking for a new position. You should be able to leverage your success into a role that is paid better.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

1

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

This will always be an issue. Let me guess, they know the manager or a set of the target customers that management wants to go after? In all of these cases, they are being paid for their Rolodex. They can be good closers, but those types of sales guys are always good to be on the better side of. I would make them your Allie’s and (1) use their contacts for moving your career up at another company in the future and use knowing their comp to get a raise, or (2) use the knowledge of what people are making and get an offer for more money. But you are in the driver’s seat here

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

0

Director of Business Development

Just curious how would you recommend I leverage the knowledge of their comp to get a raise? I'm just thinking, my manager or HR's response would be: they are more experienced, thats why they are paid more.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

0

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Sales is about closing, and hitting/beating you numbers. Just show quota, and what you’ve done, and tell them how much more you want. If they counter with that, ask for higher accelerators. You are closing the same amount, shouldn’t you get paid the same -> pay for performance

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

You are probably going to have to change employers to get that raise you want.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

1

Director of Business Development

Silly companies...it just feeds the cycle. Can't blame em, but they really should have thought out a proper compensation strategy :P

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

I'd start looking for a new company.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

1

Director of Business Development

Seems to be the consensus...compensation aside, it's clear to me they want me out.

amyhyoung

Politicker

1

Vp ops

Are you the same title as the other more senior reps? In my experience, everyone who is the same “level” or “tier” should have the same comp plan. If you aren’t the same level as them, your stats should be proof points for you to get promoted so you’re on the same plan as them.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

1

Director of Business Development

They're on a "senior" account executive title.

My stats speak for themselves, even the investors were impressed.

Will bring it up with my manager (one final time).

amyhyoung

Politicker

0

Vp ops

Best of luck! If your manager is a good one and can see valuable talent on his/her team, the least they can do is agree and have a plan to promote you (sometimes companies don’t like doing things off cycle). But hope they can do it immediately for ya!

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

0

Director of Business Development

Just an update -- after several posts on Bravado, I've finally quit my job (cough cough - manager) for a new opportunity that has a higher base and better commission structure. Oh did I mention it's in SaaS.

Thank you for all your support!

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