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champchamp
Arsonist
9
Certified Savage
I can give my two cents from the other side of the equation. When I first connect with recruiters I am upfront about the compensation I am looking for. They are also usually clear on whether or not they can pay that, if it is completely out of range, or if they have to check with the hiring manager before moving forward.

For my most recent role, I made it clear from the first call that if the offer was below certain amount, that I'd politely decline it, this was communicated with the hiring managers properly.

Since we were all on the same page through the whole process, there were no surprises at the end.

They offered the terms I was looking for and I accepted it right away.
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
2
AE
I do this, but give a range. Something along the lines of "I'm looking for my comp package to be between X-Y salaray, X-Y OTE, and include A,B,C other benefits. I am willing to work with the right organization based on other criteria as well if it is the right fit."ย 

This has allowed my to DQ opportunities at the beginning of the interview process, and given me the opportunity to negotiate for my current role even though the offer was above my minimum.
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
1
Account Executive
@champchampย This is the methodology i prescribe to as well and was reading another post about how you should wait for the employer to give their offer first to avoid undercutting yourself but I just feel like its often such a waste of time and leads to pursuing opportunities with lower offers longer than you would have otherwise.
champchamp
Arsonist
3
Certified Savage
I agree, I think the way around it is to know the comp range for the role you are looking for and ask for what the top 10-1% gets paid. Thoughts on this?
Hocael
Fire Starter
1
Partner Manager
I always ask the range up front - at the end of the first conversation - to make sure itโ€™s worth more of either of our time.
Salespreuner
Big Shot
0
Regional Sales Director
Great breakdown and points put ๐Ÿ™
salesnerd
WR Officer
7
Head of Growth
I'm a HUGE proponent of paying everyone doing the same thing the same amount. Ie. if you have 10 AEs that all have the same quota, they all have the same OTE and same quota. There's a bunch of research around this, but if you don't do this you risk underpaying women and people of color.ย 

So if someone declines your offer, there are two things you can do:ย 
1) Let them go. Changing your whole comp structure for one unicorn plan isn't worth this one rep.ย 
2) Set up a senior plan where their OTE/base is higher but their quota is higher commensurately.ย 

If EVERYONE is declining your offers, then you probably need to re-evaluate your comp package.ย 
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
4
AE
What do you do if 5 of the AEs are more experienced than the other 5?ย 

If I was an experienced AE and had the same quota and territory as someone more junior, I'd still be expected to be paid more based on my experience and track record for success.
GreatestSalesmanOfAllTime
Fire Starter
3
Enterprise AE
What if the one rep is simply head & shoulders above all of your current reps? They are that unicorn.ย 
no_sight
5
Sales Director
Set up the comp plan so overachievers get REALLY well paid for it. Someone in sales shouldn't be super worried about their base pay. But there should be incentives and accelerators in place for high performers to make BANK without having to have complicated different plans for each employee
SellerBeware
Opinionated
4
VP Inside Sales
VP of sales & recruitment here

How do you start the discussion?ย 

Just straight up ask what they need in the first call. If they're way off then walk away, if you're happy with the answer then probe why they need/want that number. If you hide from this question on the first call then there's a chance everything after this point is for nothing.ย 

What do you do if they decline?ย 

Move on, don't bother increasing it. "there's always someone bigger in the gym" mentality - thousands of companies out there that that can offer more than you can, even if you secure them there's no guarantee you'll keep them, flight risk IMOย 

How many times is it OK to increase TC?

There's obviously a lot of factors in it. If you're lowballing them intentionally then you need to figure out if that's sustainable. If you're always far apart on comp and having to raise it then you need to hit the factory reset button and work out 1) do you pay enough and 2) why didn't you get the offer right the first time?ย 

For me, personally, my company has set tiers - all equal on Base & TC depending on position. I set that out on the initial call and if people don't want it then we part ways amicably.ย 

Hope some of that was useful!
fuzzy
Notable Contributor
3
CMO (Chief Meme Officer)
I read an interesting theory where you ask people, or explain what the expected salary range is for the job, then do almost a tipping method where you offer them 10-20% more than they said they were comfortable with (if you've made it that far,) mentioning their worth as a morale boost. I've never done it but I plan to, to see what happens.ย 



Talk about having them start out the gates excited.
GreatestSalesmanOfAllTime
Fire Starter
1
Enterprise AE
I would suggest you really have to think about how much value X person is going to bring to your organization based off of past performance. If person X, at their absolute worst, does the quota of 1.5 people they should be paid that way. It does not matter at all that they do not have previous experience in your industry. Someone who does the work of 1.5 people at their WORST will always always ALWAYS find a way to execute, find a way to win. Just look at their past experience, clearly they are built for this. I was a free agent in 2021, applied to over 250 jobs, it's about the attempts in life. I was working with an organization doing well over 100,000,000 in revenue each year. They gave me the offer but I had the microscopic request of $5K in moving assistance. I even broke the math down of why I needed that amount, how $0.00 would go to my actual pocket. They wouldn't budge, the new sales director thought it would be awesome to flex their muscle after the manager told me I had 72 hours to decide, to come over the top in 24.5 hours after the offer was presented, to tell me they are moving in a different direction. The offer was double what I was making at my previous job. So what did I do? I ended up obtaining a job that was for a bigger role, paid me 3x what I was making at my previous role, & I do not have to move. Long story short, there is a clear disconnect in understanding who is talented & who is not. If you believe in the sales person, always give them extra. Do you really want to lose someone over $5K, what would be considered not even a drop in the bucket, all so you can end up with someone else, who accepts the very first offer but, is a bum who barely makes 100-110% of their number?ย 
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
1
Senior Account Executive
There are two schools of thought here. 1st is to let them make the 1st offer because maybe their compensation brackets is higher than what you expect

2nd is to be upfront about your expected comp.ย 

3rd tip never reveal your current package because they will simply increase it by the minimum %.ย 
juan2free
Arsonist
0
Strategic Account Manager
You have to know your worth. What I think is really interesting here is what will happen with the increase of remote options, and where companies will try and take advantage... Do you see that as part of this equation at all?
TheRealDeal
Fire Starter
0
Capital Specialist
The Chris Voss method of negotiating a package. Period.
jbusiness
Catalyst
0
Sales Manager
My experience has been that if I make the best offer I can make then I'm not wasting anyone's time or worrying about what could have been.
Be straightforward an honest and do the best you can.
AE2SC
Good Citizen
0
Solutions Consultant
100% find a range that your candidate is willing to accept, doesn't have to be an exact salary and OTE. Any salesperson will know what it would take for them to do the job or leave their current role. I think this process can be telling for some salespeople, based on the industry, if they negotiate or don't to get the top end of the range they are comfortable with and you're willing to pay.ย 
SlanginSaaS
Opinionated
0
Strategic Account Executive
From the side of getting having recruiters/hiring managers reaching out to me daily, I always ask them a list of questions to ensure neither of us would potentially waste time on a call just to find out it is not a fit from the beginning.
- What is the expected territory aligned to this position
- What is the expected quota
- What is ASP/ARR
- What is expected compensation in regards to quota and OTE.

From there I may ask if they are firm on base and OTE if it is out of my range I am looking for. If everything aligns, then I schedule a call to learn more.ย 

I did recently turn down an offer due to base/OTE not being in my range and out of what I would accept for the quota aligned to the position. This came from what I am looking for, along with comparing where I am at today. The offer was lower than my current compensation and had a quota $250k higher than my current. They did not try to further discuss it with me, so I moved on. When companies don't try to understand why I am not accepting or do not try to negotiate, it puts a sour taste in my mouth. This also all was from the recruiter and I had already had a horrible experience with her to where I had to have my friend that referred me multiple times just to get her to reply to my emails (which were sharing times she had requested to schedule another call).

At the end of the day, I feel a hiring manager should seek to understand why a candidate declined an offer. Even more so when the entire hiring manager and their director all had great feedback as to me.
avatarsarehardtothinkof
Contributor
0
Enterprise Account Executive
This is an interesting conversation, particularly as it pertains to ensuring equality across people from different backgrounds and genders.ย 

Iโ€™m not sure what the solution is just yet but there needs to be a way to ensure equal pay for equal work when offering a base salary, and ote comp plan... and at the end of the day information asymmetry exists whereby only the employer knows what the true max is that they would offer.

Would love to hear if anyone has ideas around how this can be achieved to ensure fair pay, as I donโ€™t think the onus should rest solely on the candidate to make sure they are being fairly compensated compared to peers.

Best I can think of so far is having a band that accounts for years of experience at the time salaries are initially negotiated on acceptance of a role, and then transparency internally for yearly review cycles where that top and bottom end of that band are published so people can assess whether their performance matches the range in the band that they fall in compared to peers...

johnnydrama
Good Citizen
0
Account Executive
As someone whoโ€™s admittedly not super experienced in successfully negotiating salary to what I believe my value is, Iโ€™d be curious to hear the other side of the equation I.e how you all have been successful in negotiating a salary that you feel was worth your value.ย 
softwarebro
Politicker
0
Sales Director
Is your salary offering competitive in your market? How about comp plan? If the answer is yes then I personally wouldnโ€™t budge. Iโ€™m weary about hiring sales people who want a heavy base relative to their experience.ย 
GreatestSalesmanOfAllTime
Fire Starter
0
Enterprise AE
the sales person is trying to pay their bills. a 40K base is simply no longer acceptable when amazon pays you the same amount to work in a warehouseย 

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