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ThePiedPIPr

Enterprise Sales Executive

Valued Contributor
Opinionated
Fire Starter
+5

"Uncapped" Commissions Discussion

I have been in the interview process for the last month. When the discussion turns to compensation, companies highlight that the commissions are "uncapped," specifically when making a low offer on the base salary side of things.


These interviews have me wondering:

  • Does anyone here work in a sales role where the commissions are capped?
  • What does a capped compensation structure look like?
  • Is there any benefit to having a cap? 
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🤝 Interviewing/Offer
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FlintIronstag
Notorious Answer
2
Chief Marketing Officer
Uncapped isn't bad as long as it isn't selling solar door to door or setting appointments for house painting. Do some research on current employees, send some LinkedIn messages and learn more about the company before committing.
ThePiedPIPr
Valued Contributor
0
Enterprise Sales Executive
Thanks for the input. It is always good to do that type of research. However, I have not come across many capped commission positions, so I am unsure if they are good or not. 
FlintIronstag
Notorious Answer
1
Chief Marketing Officer
I've worked capped commish and it normally comes with a higher base.
1nbatopshotfan
Politicker
2
Sales
Doesn’t this generally come with a much higher base along with a much longer sales cycle? Or am I wrong? 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
You would think so 🤔
brotato
WR Lieutenant
2
Head of Sales
Capped commissions are typically only seen in businesses that offer residual pay from deals.

Saying uncapped commissions is like saying water is gluten free. No shit...

What you need to be asking is:

- What degree of confidence do you have of a qualified hire hitting ote?

- how did you come up with the ote?

- what percent of the team is hitting ote?

- what percent of reps were under 75% of ote?

- can I speak with reps both above and below ote?

If they wince at these questions just tell them this is the kind of deep discovery you'll bring to the role unless they don't value that 😂
ThePiedPIPr
Valued Contributor
0
Enterprise Sales Executive
I love this take. These are great questions. 
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
1. Yes
2. Basically there is a max OTE but you tend to have a much higher floor. If you hit your number by end of Q3 for instance, you can pretty much coast.
3. Not really except for the floor mentioned above. You can still get fucked over.
ThePiedPIPr
Valued Contributor
0
Enterprise Sales Executive
That is interesting. I wonder if the capped commission is more industry-specific because I don't see it a lot in SaaS sales. 
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
My position is a little strange now so I'm somewhat of an exception. I do know that Adyen, which is a payments company, did capped for at least a few years. Not sure if they still do.
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
When hired my OTE was 10K on top of base which is rubbish but in the UK it is a bit like this, I have gone way over it since being here. I think, In my opinion, they put the OTE as a way of drawing you in? 
eman
Politicker
1
Account Executive
What is capped commission?
ThePiedPIPr
Valued Contributor
0
Enterprise Sales Executive
I have never had one, but my understanding is, when you get to a specific number, you don't make any more money. I am interested in the topic because I wonder why someone would work somewhere where they are still expected to sell but don't make any additional money. 
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
I don’t understand why a company would ever cap commission. 

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