bendandsnack

Account Exec

SDR "Qualified" Meetings

Hey guys,

ISR who's really a BDR and an ISR because my company keeps saying they're going to backfill the team and don't. Sore subject.

Anyways, my company is trying to compensate us based on:

1) Meetings - only count if the company is actually buying(doesn't matter if it's the right decision maker and at a target account, has to move to the next steps). They also only count if the deal is above $15k in revenue, anything below and we don't get paid.

I've given good opps to shitty AEs and not gotten comp'd on them because the AE couldn't move things forward or didn't prep for the call. As a result, if I don't trust the AE who the opp is going to I'll take the meeting and just keep it to myself unless it moves forward.

2) Quality pipeline produced - meaning it progresses through the discovery phase and into design.

3) Pipeline closed.

To clarify - majority of my commission is based on hitting pipeline numbers & closed/won numbers on a quarterly basis, not how many quality meetings I set.

We sell cloud which can mean a million different things. The biggest opps require revamping a company's infrastructure which is a long ass sales cycle.

I fought my manager on this today when he presented it to us. I'm mostly fighting comp based on closed/won because that's not my job.

SDRs - how are you compensated? Trying to figure out if I'm being a diva or if this is absurd

💰 Compensation

15

30 comments

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SaaSam

Politicker

9

Account Executive

As an AE I would hate to have my commissions based on how competent a coworker was on a call. Personally I think SDR commission should be based on if said prospect was truly qualified and if the demo was agreed to with a modicum of real intent.

paddy

WR Officer

8

Director of Business Development

I don't really have an issue with this except holding the $15k threshold above your head is bullshit since you're not comped on closed deals. You should try to lower that number if you can. How are you responsible for the deal size after doing your main job successfully which is to secure a meeting??

bendandsnack

Politicker

2

Account Exec

We also work with cloud so it's often about getting our foot in the door and then cross-selling. Right now I have a deal sitting at $8k for an Enterprise Account that no one could crack with huge potential spend.

Thank you for validating my frustrations lol.

BmajoR

Arsonist

3

Account Executive

It sounds like there was a lot of bullshit being passed to AEs and they all get fed up and management was tired of hearing about it.

I don't think your payment should be based on if they're in a buying stage, however you should not be compensated for unqualified meetings. Not saying you're doing that but it could be result of others bad practices.

bendandsnack

Politicker

1

Account Exec

Fair assessment on the unqualified meetings, I'll admit I booked some trash meetings when I first started.

My biggest gripe is that we're being comp'd mostly on closed/won business in terms of pipeline, so essentially deal size.

Oh well, we'll see what happens.

BmajoR

Arsonist

1

Account Executive

Your response is natural, and a good chance to highlight how it can be helpful to take a step back and assess why the business is making these moves.

#1 - they want more qualified meetings and better practices from their SDR team, #2 - they want to increase their revenue, #3 - its very possible that the resources required to close something under 15k aren't worth it

When you start thinking about the business in those terms and you align your goals with theirs, you will find great success *read in Borat's voice*

CaneWolf

Politicker

1

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

Thresholds are BULLSHIT and so is any place that has them. Very confused about your differentiation between ISR and BDR, btw.

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

You & me both lol

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

technically an ISR is more like a jr AE at my company. But they fired most of the BDR team & haven’t replaced anyone so I still have to prospect

LordBusiness

Politicker

1

Chief Revenue Officer

Sounds like a pretty bullshit compensation plan. Your job is to create opportunities and open doors, not line up sales for sellers. There’s plenty of places hiring, if you have talent get out and find a better gig.

NoSuperhero

Politicker

1

BDR LEAD

Yeah, I don't like how this is looking. First, they have to define clearly what an SQL is at your company if your AE isn't doing anything with those... then is a problem with the AE, or how they've set up to be the base lever for an SQL. How are you getting paid per appointment? Are all SDRs complaining about the same?

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

I’m getting paid for meetings that move forward but majority of my comp is based on quality pipeline and closed/won pipeline. All SDRs who are left are pissed about the plan, we just went through a merger and they fired half the team

NoSuperhero

Politicker

0

BDR LEAD

I hate seeing this happen, you guys must feel like if you speak up it's your ass and that's not how things should be run and well you might want to think of a way that you guys can talk about it with managers and maybe financing. A sales team with low morale is bound to not create opportunities and firing people won't solve the problem in the long run. Are they changing everything in terms of product or are you guys the best guys to do the job now?

bendandsnack

Politicker

1

Account Exec

We're the best guys to do the job now, so fortunately I'm in a position where I can speak up. I voiced my frustrations to my manager in front of the team yesterday and he's going to try to get it changed but we'll see.

Firing people definitely ruined morale.

NoSuperhero

Politicker

0

BDR LEAD

It's a start! Hopefully he can say the right things to his superiors to get the ship turned on the right direction, Best of luck!

HindsightHarry

Praised Answer

1

Account Executive

You’re not being a diva. That being said you shouldn’t be compensated for just setting up meetings. If you’re setting up meetings that don’t progress then you’re literally costing the company and the AE money

KendallRoy

Politicker

1

AM

Sweetener at the end based on qualified opps closing? Sure.

Majority of comp tied to someone else being competent at their job, in what sounds like a complex sales cycle? Start job hunting immediately.

MikeHawk

Executive

1

Sales Development Representative

My comp is based on meetings set and meetings held.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

What was the outcome?

bendandsnack

Politicker

2

Account Exec

Our pipeline was set at $300k in quality pipeline per quarter, aka I lost.

However, after 2 quarters of realizing I was right, my manager has changed the pipeline back to 20 qualified/progressed meetings for the newbies coming on board.

& my manager has to deal with certain AEs bitching to him bc I stopped prospecting for them when they couldn’t progress opportunities. Ooooooops

MajorB

WR Lieutenant

0

AE

You should be compensated for sales qualified meeting, and get a kicker if the deal closes.

Are you selling to publicly traded orgs? 10ks would make it easy to understand if companies are buying, and in that case, makes sense to add in the qual criteria. Otherwise, it's a dumb rule.

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

Selling to everyone under the sun. I've recently been doing more Enterprise including several publicly traded orgs.

10ks make it easy to understand if a company is buying?

MajorB

WR Lieutenant

0

AE

They file information on plans for future projects on top of their financial reporting, cash flow, etc. Looking at what a company is planning to do in the coming year is a good indicator of what they may / may not be in the market for.

With publicly traded companies, I reference 10ks, quarterly earnings reports, and investor calls in my outreach. My prospect will usually fill in the gaps for me & it makes it easier to know where to spend my time (continue prospecting into the account or move on to the next).

Have you looked at 10ks or earnings reports in past / present sales jobs?

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

First real sales job, I'll skim through earnings calls but I've never looked at a 10k.

I'll have to take a look at them, thank you!

MajorB

WR Lieutenant

1

AE

SeekingAlpha ( https://seekingalpha.com/) is a great way to get your hands on transcripts & search for relevant news.

CheetahIQ I've never used before, but it's designed for sales people to aggregate data form earnings calls, 10ks, press releases, etc. ( https://www.cheetahiq.com/)

MCP

Valued Contributor

0

Sales Director

Don’t stay anywhere you’re not happy with comp.

DrunkenArt

Politicker

0

Sales Representative

Cloud BDR here. Our national sales manager has 0 control over our comp since we do a ton of other things. But the mindset always is, just get them in front of a prospect and they'll do the rest. We get paid out on meetings/proposals/wins on a monthly basis. The way our org structure is, if they don't show up to the meeting, we still get paid out, since we technically did our jobs by setting the meeting. The AE's always will tell us that it's their job to keep them engaged and interested.

bendandsnack

Politicker

0

Account Exec

Another cloud BDR lol nice to meet you!!! But really I've been dying to talk to another cloud BDR because outbounding for something so vast can be a struggle.

The AE's tell us it's our job to keep them engaged and aware of the product as well since it can be a very long sales cycle.

You still get paid if they don't show up?

DrunkenArt

Politicker

0

Sales Representative

Today is actually my last day within this role, but it was a good ride. But yes, we do still get paid whether or not the prospect shows up, which was an extremely nice perk. I always connect with the AE's and ask them what they'd like me to handle once I've connected them, usually it's a reminder email/call about the meeting and that's about it.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Suuuper unpopular opinion: I really feel bad for these kids that have to try to qualify garbage and try to pretend it isn't with absolutely no work experience for the most part. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt and just take the meeting as a mitzvah.

I will agree that some SDRs/BDRs are total morons and really need to find another career path, but on the whole their job is as lame as an AE but without any recognition

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