OldVertical

Account Executive

Fire Starter

Contributor

Good Citizen

Founding Role

Hi everyone,

I am currently in the hiring process for a start up company. Product is security cameras, POE switches, sensors.

Initially this was advertised as an inside sales role. However during the interview it became much more.

The CEO is asking me to develop a GTM strategy, project implementation, conduct on-site demos, and work strategic accounts.

Towards the end of the interview he asked me to create whatever comp structure I wanted. Initially said my range started at $55k but due the wide range of responsibilities I am unsure about that now. The products are mainly purchased on Shopify and Amazon so there is no outbound component. The avg deal size is $2500 and the sale cycle is about a week. The company generated $5m in revenue last year.

What would you ask for? How would you structure this?

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braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

That's a shit salary for all that responsibility

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Should be double, or more.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

i think the first question is can you do what the CEO is asking. Because i see 3 different categories here:
1. GTM - this means different things to different people but can include a combo of sales and marketing at the least. which are two unique skill sets.
2. Project Implementation - with the product being hardware, id be sure to fully understand what this entails. If you are trying to focus on sales, getting bogged down in installations could be a huge time suck.

3. Sales: on site demos, strategic accounts. this would seem like the most common part for us sales folks.

I would agree this is VERY different than "inside sales". With it being a start up that is not surprising but clarity will be key here.

So before you talk comp i would really think about what your strengths are and where you could be successful. If you just wanted to focus on number 3, that doesnt mean you cant ask for more comp, because you could be specialized in that area.

Its also hard to know what to ask for without knowing the real expectations of the role.
but there are a few comp plans you could look at:

1. salary + bonus
- set quarterly targets and if you hit them you get a certain the bonus(you could have a sliding scale as well.)

2. Salary + commission % - you set a commission % you get per deal. 6-8% or something like that.

3. Salary + Flat rate commission.
- depending on the real deal size it might be easier to get a salary and say every deal you close you get a flat fee. this might leave money on the table but could be good for a year before you experience what the REAL deal size is.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

It sounds like the opportunity is there, but there is a ton of unknown in this. They did 5 mil in rev, how much was profit if any and what are they tracking towards this year. With your responsibilities increasing in this manner, if they can't go up on base I would be sure to ask for a hefty commission for sales which is a win win for everyone. It also sounds like you will be selling hardware and those margins are always different than software

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

You need to ask so much more about run rate, TAM, comp structure beyond your base, monthly/quarterly/annual targets etc

ExtremeVibeChecker44

Arsonist

Inside Sales

I personally wouldn't want to be a founding AE unless I had no other choices. There's a very strong chance they don't have product-market fit and you're going to be doing 12 jobs at once (some of which you probably aren't qualified for).

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Get a higher salary

BossMan

Fire Starter

Director of Sales

There is so much unknown here that you have to question.

1. Does he want you to do inbound or outbound? They are different motions, and you'll only be able to focus on one at a time if you're building out the strategy and process.
2. For a company making $5M already, what is the growth rate he's expecting? What is your quota? That can help determine the comp structure.
3. $55k is quite low to build out the sales process at a $5M run rate. I don't know the location, but for comparison. There are Heads of Sales at a $3M run rate that are commanding $200k. (50/50 split OTE)
4. At $5M run rate, sounds like they have product market fit. But can they define their ICP or current GTM strategies? What is the business plan for the next 5 years?

IMO, this founder doesn't seem to know how a GTM motion works or the true understanding of what all a Sales Leader needs to do. This is a HUGE red flag.

Managing Partner

Well it sounds like a good ground floor opportunity, but before I came back to him, I would ask a few questions. The comment below about there is a lot in this role is very true. So, I would ask some of these questions:
1. What does got-to-market mean to him?2. How long does the average project take that you need to manage, and are there other components other then what they ourchased?3. What is a strategic account to them? (i.e. how much revenue, or potential revenue. What makes it strategic.)4. Comp. What is your target comp? What do you feel he will pay for what you do? 1% of $ 5M is $ 50,000. Not a ton, but it depends on what you want. Besides salary, you can you also get a piece of his other sales. Why? Do you have to manage those projects, etc.
Bottom, line, see if you can find out a bit more, then structure it. I have done overall comp plans for some very large companies. It all starts with a top level number. In this case, you start with thinking as the founder. If we sell $ 10.0 M how much do I, expect to pay out of that addition $ 5.0 M in revenue in compensation? Once you figure out the top level number your reduce it to what buckets contribute to that, and how they are used, etc., etc. Then you keep driving down to the sales person.
I do not have your answer, but I hope the thinking helps.
Best,

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OldVertical

Founding Role

9 comments

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