markedclosedwon

Account Executive

How much should I ask for a raise?

It's easy for me to negotiate payment terms with multinational companies but when it comes to negotiating my own compensation I get the butterflies.

My company is relatively small (less than 60 employees) with a sales team of 5.

I bring in ~1.2M USD per year in deals, quota is 780k USD.

Avg deal size is 65k USD and sales cycles are 3-6mo.

My base is at 58k USD and with commissions OTE is 98 USD.

How ballsy would it be for me to ask for bump in base to 90k?

How would you negotiate a raise in my situation?

Edit (for context):

I've been with the org for ~3 yrs (exceeded quota every year)

Last compensation bump was in 2020 (46% jump in base) - I was being underpaid at the time.

Company received Series A in 2020, so they had the cash to bump me up.

💰 Compensation

33 comments

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Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

I’ve successfully negotiated a 150% pay increase, but here’s the catch:

1. I was essentially irreplaceable

2. They had more money than god

They’re just another deal to win. People get so afraid of corporate shit and it baffles me. But I’m also new to that world so I might not be worth listening to 🤷‍♀️

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Lol everyone take note! That's a hell of a raise.
Hopefully before the raise you weren't underpaid, but damn that is a lot more bread!
Must be because of the secret sauce

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Lol @DungeonsNDemos - sauce indeed.

I was underpaid, but to help you understand- how much do you think it would cost to hire tiger woods to teach you golf or Michael Jordan to teach you basketball? At first, you don’t need someone that amazing if you’re first picking up a set of clubs or a ball. And you probably don’t care. But once you decide that it’s super fun and you can afford it, would you?

So basically I found a billionaire and made them fall in love with my sport and leveraged the fuck out of it.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

That's awesome!

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

How did you make your self irreplaceable?

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

Another word is indispensable. Its when you become the absolute master of your role through having information that cannot be easily replaced and by putting work in that few others are willing to do. Little things like consistently being early for work, doing things you know your manager likes but doesn't necessarily ask you to do outright and continuing to crush those numbers gets you to a point where you are irreplicable from my experience. When I left my previous job (to move country) they were begging me to stay and even offered to employ me remotely overseas for a huge chunk more than I could earn where I live now. It comes from being more dedicated than the next person to you.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Knowing a lil more about Incognito's background than most people on here, she previously worked in a very niche field and has a specific set of niche (and expensive skills,) for people that were willing to pay for those niche and expensive skills.

Irreplaceable for a sales rep can mean two things:

- You have skills, knowledge, or a background that is very uncommon and/or tough to hire for.

or

- You're damn good at your job. I'm talking top 1% of reps at several of the companies you've worked for.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

Career goals right there!

Just curious but for sales reps, what would you say are 3 skills that differentiate? I think knowledge/background are industry specific but skills are more universal.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Nailed it @funcoupons , as per usual!

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Asking for a 40% increase in base pay is ballsy as hell, and you better come correct or be prepared to look like a fool forever.

How long have you been with this org? How long have you been exceeding quota? Have you had a raise before?

Where are you living? What are competitors offering for employees doing a job like yours?

Why do you feel that 90k is the right number?

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

According to industry salary reports, the base pay for a AE with 2-5 years of exp is 55k to 130k, avg of 98k.

Planning on floating 90k and then actually settling for 75k.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

You got a 46% raise last year, and want to ask for another for roughly the same amount this year...? Personally I don't feel that's a realistic ask unless you've taken on some substantial additional responsibilities this year.

What if they say no to the 90 and no to the 75 - are you prepared to walk away and find another job? Just something to consider.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

Well I'm thinking what's the worst case scenario? Are they going to fire me (making it possible for me to work for the competition)?

If they say no, my question will be: how do I get to a point where they will offer me a 75k-90k base?

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

Taking a diff spin, how much do you think I should ask for?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

They probably won't fire you off the hop. The risk lays in them turning you away, then knowing you are not happy with your comp. They know you're more likely to be swayed by other offers and may assume you already have one foot out the door. If they think your ask is especially egregious, they may view you as being unrealistic/greedy and not a "team player." This can lead to you getting less opportunities/favourable treatment compared to your colleagues.

As for what you'd ask for...I don't know. Why are you asking for this raise? Is it because you've received more attractive offers but don't want to change jobs? Feel you're doing way better and pull more weight than your peers? Or because you simply want to make more money?

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

lol a 46% raise last year? These are quite the numbers to leapfrog in 2 years.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

Well for one inflation is at 5% - not asking for a equivalent raise seems like taking a pay cut. Two, we don't have a sales admin nor any SDRs. As an AE I'm doing essentially 3 people's jobs.

The way I see it, either they pay me more or hire the people so that I can focus on closing.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Inflation is not your company's problem - never use that as an excuse to ask for more money. Same goes with reasons like "I just bought a house/I'm having a kid/etc." None of that is your company's problem. It's your responsibility to manage your own budget. Plus, there's a big difference between 5% and the 40% you're going in with...

It's not unusual to be an AE without SDRs/support staff especially in a small company. That said, if you can demonstrate you'd bring in rev equivalent to the dollar figure you're asking for in a raise in a timely manner, maybe you have an argument. I would just tread VERY lightly, asking for a 100% raise over a two year period is drastic and highly unrealistic for most companies to agree to.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

That's true, appreciate the cautionary advice. Sound like I'm being fairly compensated and will need to tread lightly.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

You can certainly try, but a 50% base increase is a bit hefty. If you are putting the team on your back, then maybe - but there are a lot of other factors to consider.

If your commission rate is about 30K a year when hitting quota, this puts your OTE at 120K. Part of the discussion is also how much more will your quota be raised to, will anyone else be getting raises (will this start an internal fight), and are they bringing value to you in any other ways.

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

Ask for 100

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

ALL OF IT!!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Exactly. What's the worst they can do? Say no?

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Open your mouth in a good way donut doesn't reverse slap you. If you get it fine or else no option.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I love a good donut.

Auracle

Executive

Enterprise Account Manager

Easiest way to get a (worthwhile) pay increase would be to take your experience and achievement to a company with the budget to overpay on a new hire.

You’re unlikely to get what you’re worth at your current company and you’re definitely not being paid what you’re worth.

For comparison, I am a large enterprise ADR and my OTE is equal to yours. My realized earnings well surpass my OTE, and I support AE’s with your exact quota and attainment who are at $150k base; $300k OTE.

Asking for a bump from $58k to $90k base is a tall order, but doesn’t change the fact that even then you’re paid well below what you should be.

markedclosedwon

Big Shot

Account Executive

Wow 150k base and 300k OTE, what industry are you in?

Auracle

Executive

Enterprise Account Manager

Cybersecurity.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

I am negotiating right now, and one thing you can ask for/add on is a higher commission. Just get another point and increase to the accelerators. Leadership loves this sort of thing, as you get paid to perform and your end-of-the-year total cash just increases with top-line revenue.

salesdude1

Old School Bravo

Sales

Have you checked www.repvue.com to see how you stack up to other reps?

GingerBarbarian

Opinionated

Lead Sales

It is tough to know without knowing industry and the product you sell. When I sold cars, $500k in revenue was common, but if the profit margin may only be 5%.

Now I sell about $750k per year but the margin is closer to 55%.

Revenue numbers do not mean much. Negotiate off margins.

AnotherAE244

Politicker

Account Executive

Depends on the type of solution you are selling, but for SaaS it is usually 4x quota depending on the round of funding. So 400k quota would equal 50 base/ 100 OTE, but your org seems early stage. They might not want to burn cash...

If you are pushing for anything it should be more shares (not options) within the organization because it looks like a solid growth rate if you are closing 1.2 mil a year and the long term play might be a better option.

SaaSguy

Tycoon

Account Executive

You are bringing $1.2m USD a year and OTE is less than 100k? You could jump to literally any company and double that or better. Ask for the raise and leave if you dont get it. Reps who are close less than half of a million are getting paid more than your OTE as most companies.

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markedclosedwon

How much should I ask for a raise?

33 comments

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