KB_FarmerType

Strategic Sales

Quota to comp ratio?

if you have a million dollar quota :

1.) what percentage of that would the company should feel comfortable giving in commissions (variable part of OTE) ? 5% , 10% , more? or less ?

2.) how does that change for subscription sales vs one time no renewable sales ?

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TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

so this is a really hard question to answer. its going to depend WAY more on the financials of the company and less on quota.

also depends on how the variable comp is set up but for sake of this post....ill say 10%. if you close $1MM making $100K variable seems legit.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

Strategic Sales

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

yes potentially. what do YOU think it should be?

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

I'm with @TennisandSaleson this one. It is still tough to say, but 100K sounds about right.

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I've been selling SaaS-only for a few years, but used to also sell on premise installs.

The comp level when the kind of sale didn't matter was around 10% for either, with a multi-year bonus for the subscription version. However, the on premise sales were much larger (one time CapEx vs spread out OpEx) so many reps focused on that.

When the subscription model was preferred by management and the direction of the company, subscription sales were incentivized and the % shifted.

TL:DR - the % will entirely depend on the company and direction, BUT - 10% is a good rule of thumb.

edit for clarity. I've been selling SaaS for 20+ years - but exclusively for the past few.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

Strategic Sales

Perfect- I am assuming you are talking about the commission part alone at 10% not the entire OTE, right ? (Just to confirm)

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Yes, I'm on a 50/50 base/commission. My commission rate is actually over 10%, but my quota is also over $1M.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

ERP Sales

Seems like you got some great advice for the percentage, but for your question on subscription sales vs non-renewable.I dont think that impacts comp too much comparing it to other factor like sales cycle. Since majority of roles dont offer that much in commission for renewals

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

+1 for 10%/$100K on SaaS.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

I have see anything between 5-10%. Last job - AE was making 5% (large ticket size deal), current company 7% and 10% with kicker.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

Strategic Sales

Nice , what was comp plan split ? 50/50 ?

Arzola

Valued Contributor

Business administration

mmmm for my experience depend of the company and the country, In latam is commun 5%... 3% ... 2%, in Europe around 10%

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

Strategic Sales

Hmmm, thanks for insights, what region are you in and what’s the split like for the variable part of OTE?

Arzola

Valued Contributor

Business administration

LATAM, here the top TOP is 10% with luck, normal 3 to 5%

CKamapguy

Fire Starter

Sales Director

I sell SaaS. 1.5 million quota. I make $100k base. 5% on services and 10% on annual licensing.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

It looks like 10%. 5% becomes way too less, and i wouldn't want that.
In the same breathe, it also depends a lot on the deal size and how often are you able to achieve your quotas.

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

Hard to answer bro.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

Strategic Sales

Sure- let me make another attempt at the question - “Is your variable more than 10% of quota?”

Sweetlue

Fire Starter

Enterprise Account Executive

Generally 10%. But you should also expect some upside for over performance.

I actually know a few places that do a sliding scale around quota. You essentially chose your base, which is just 1/10th of quota. So for a $1m quota, $100k base + $100k variable = $200K quota.

That would be the SaaS standard in my eyes.