CorporateSis

Account Executive

No new contract, but new responsibilities: how to negotiatie?

Hi all,

In March I was promised a new role and new contract as Strategic AE. I am still officially the "junior" AE who is supposed to be accompanied by a Strategic AE, but since the Strategic AE in case had another additional territory, we decided that I would already start my role as Strategic AE and that the actual Strategic AE would no longer be active on this territory.

This means that I have been working as a Strategic AE for 6 months now, and guess what, I still didn't get a new contract. This is because some of the internal approvals took a long time, but also because HR is being a pain. They try to keep the new salary and level as low as possible.

I am obviously very bummed, but I was promised to get this contract asap (next week). As this is an internal promotion, I expect to be paid less than my (externally hired) colleagues in the same role, so I know for sure there will be some negotiations on the salary level. But I ALSO want to ask for a signing bonus to compensate me for those 6 months of unpaid additional responsibilities.

Is that reasonable (I'd said yes)? How should I tackle this? How can I best leverage my value?

I work in a large multinational organisation, and I know for a fact that you only get what you want if you make a big fuzz and you threat to leave. If you just do your job and be nice, nothing exceptional will happen to you. I made 200% of my number last year (topperformer world-wide) and I am one of the only ones in this team that is here for already 5 years, so my knowledge and experience in this company is beyond average. Surely enough to leverage? However they don't seem to value their internal talent as much as new hires.

All kind of negotiation tips are welcome, I have lost my patience and I feel disappointed in their approach towards me.

Thank you!

☁️ Software Tech

💰 Compensation

10

20 comments

Sort by:

braintank

Politicker

4

Enterprise Account Executive

Don't wait until the end. Bring up your demands early. Enlist an exec (ideally your new manager or someone above them) to advocate for you.

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Both my direct manager as the manager above are new to the organisation and have big difficulties navigating in it. It is a difficult and complex network to move forward in, but it's however worth it to constantly remember both of them of my asks.

But yes, waiting until the end is not a good idea; however it's sometimes difficult to find the right person to speak to. Would you recommend speaking with HR myself was well?

braintank

Politicker

2

Enterprise Account Executive

Id still recommend working with your manager and their manager. Better to go in united than be an AE going rouge.

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Thank you!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Great advice. Also as said below, you are a top performer. I'd use that to make sure your new contract gets signed.

jefe

Arsonist

3

🍁

Not unreasonable at all. Best of luck

AnchorPoint

Politicker

2

Business Coach

"

I made 200% of my number last year (topperformer world-wide)" The best get paid like the best and I would not accept anything less than WHAT I HAVE EARNED.

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I know. And it makes sense.
Sadly they just don't like to pay the best the best, unless indeed you threat them to leave. Any other ways to level them out in your experience?

AnchorPoint

Politicker

1

Business Coach

If that is truly their culture, then I would find another home ASAP. That culture is a recipe for failure. The company will NEVER be as successful as it could be with that mentality.

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

I totally agree, but I heard it is the culture / norm in many large organisations. My manager had a discussion with HR who refuses to let that approach go. I have seen many great salespeople leave the company, while a lot of average and unexperienced sales people are hired and paid more than average. Sad.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

2

🦊

So you're not getting the higher pay with the new role? Are you being held to the higher quota?

CorporateSis

Contributor

1

Account Executive

The new role comes with a higher quote indeed, but that only kicks in once the contract is signed. So now I am just doing the new job but under old contract and old quota. However, I work in an industry in which new deals take 6 to 18 months to sign, so not much was signed between then and now.

tightlines

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Caveat, I do not work at a large multinational org, so I’m not too sure how things play out

I would lay out your case to your boss first (internal champion) then go to the head of the HR team that’s reviewing your contract. State your case (top performer, 6 months of lower compensation, but higher demanding work, most experience. and really emphasize these) and ask for the bonus in a very assumptive way. It might help to admit the concession that you know you won’t be paid as much as external hires, but based on the above, you deserve X

When I was negotiating a similar situation, I dropped the hint about “recruiters constantly contacting me.” And they got it. I like the idea of making them feel slightly uncertain about your flight risk haha

Just some immediate thoughts

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

So you would directly go to the responsible HR rep yourself (after speaking with manager ofc)?

Yes, the flight risk is something they are aware of, but something in me wants them to just pay me my worth without having to remind them of that, which doesn't always seem to work out though lol.

That "concession" you speak about, do you find that in itself acceptable?

tightlines

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Not knowing the intricacies of your organization, Id probably either go to the HR rep, or to my bosses boss. I’ll add, I’d try to get my boss on my side so they can do a lot of the talking, and laying my case out for me

But the concession is definitely not something I would find acceptable myself, but something I would probably say because they need to think they’re winning somewhere😂

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

1

Sales Rep

Go for it for sure!!

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

1

Bravado's Resident Asshole

Be up front about it.

Gasty

Notable Contributor

1

War Room Community Manager

What’d you end up doing @CorporateSis ?

CorporateSis

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Thanks for asking! Had a lot of discussions with manager but she even showed me emails that she and her own manager sent to HR, and HR is just being an extreme ass. Say they have to follow protocol (however I know it is just a guideline). I really wonder if HR have KPIs that measure how much they can bother someone.

TennisandSales

Politicker

0

Head Of Sales

best advice is to start now. start voicing your concerns now, in a respectful way and let them know what you want! you wont get anything (like you mentioned) if you dont speak up.

ask for it all! and then see what they tell you.

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.