salesleader123

sales director

Sales leaders - advice on Sales Director comp plan requested

Background: I lead a 4 person sales team for company that provides marketing services/consulting. I manage 3 closing reps and 1 sales support person and report to the owners. This is our first year with 3 closing reps instead of 2. The 3rd closing rep completed onboarding in December and is still ramping. Last year my annual target was 85% of closing rep 1 and closing rep 2's annual targets combined. I don't like the idea of my target this year being, say, 85% of closing rep 1, 2 and 3's targets combined. That would mean my personal target would increase 163% from 2023 to 2024 while my OTE only increased by 2.9% about 6 months ago. I want to be fair in what I propose, but I also don't want to personally take on all the risk of helping the company grow substantially, especially considering I don't have an equally high reward. If we stick with the current formula, then it becomes wayyyyyy harder for me to make the same amount of money in 2024 compared to 2023. I believe in comp plans getting harder, but I don't think sticking with what we have been doing makes sense. I am at a loss for an alternative comp plan.

Looking forward to hearing from more seasoned sales leaders!

Last note, since we're in services, there's not much of an equity play here compared to my previous roles in tech SaaS.

🎈 Mentorship

🏷 Advertising

💰 Compensation

4

7 comments

Sort by:

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

1

☕️

You have one big issue: you’re selling services and not software. The margins are entirely different, often requiring massive quotas with marginal pay outs.

What would be fair to you at present moment? Keep in mind that most sales leaders are measured on 100%+ of their entire team’s quota.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

This makes a huge difference.

@salesleader123 , are you currently on a flat payout when you hit 85%?

You mentioned the same comp for 85% of 3 reps work vs. 2, but if they're closing more and you're on a percentage of what's closed, then shouldn't that comp go up?

salesleader123

Fire Starter

0

sales director

If we use the same process for my 2024 target, then yes, I would be on target if the team reaches X. X = 0.85*(Rep 1's target + Rep 2's target + Rep 3's target)and there is a multiplier if the team goal (my goal) is exceeded. As of now, I am not compensated in a direct model of say, "I get X% of whatever business is closed" but maybe that is the direction to move toward.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

0

☕️

So you have to hit a threshold to be paid? That makes sense since the bottom line revenue in a services business is extremely tight.

salesleader123

Fire Starter

0

sales director

I have a base salary and then a monthly/quarterly/annual target where I get the remaining comp based on how much revenue the team (and sometimes me) closes.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

0

☕️

Yeah I get that. I just think you need to understand the mechanics of your business before you ask for something else.

deathbysales

Politicker

0

Vice President, Sales

I wish I had a plan that I hit quota at 85% of my teams quotas. I am expected to hit 100% of my teams quota and have never been in an org that would pay me out OTE at less.

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.