Rallier profile picture
Rallier profile picture

Rallier

SDR Manager and Consultant

Politicker
Valued Contributor
Acclaimed Answer
+8

When applications (credit cards, apartment, etc.) ask how much you make, what do you put? Just your base? Total OTE? Somewhere in the middle?

Pretend you just started a new job. You apply for a new credit card. In the application it asks for your income. Given that sales jobs are base + commission, what do you put as your income?


Just the base? Something in the middle? Total OTE?

💰 Compensation
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20 comments

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CoorsKing
WR Officer
16
Retired King of the Coors Knights
OTE, because I don't ever earn less than 100%. 
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
BDE!
FlintIronstag
Notorious Answer
2
Chief Marketing Officer
hey @BigMeech , change your name from BigMeech to BigChungus. *bows down*
Jimsalestheblue
Opinionated
1
Sales development representative
Agreed!
funcoupons
WR Officer
8
👑
OTE. Unless you're applying for a very high limit card, they won't ask for proof.
FlintIronstag
Notorious Answer
1
Chief Marketing Officer
PigglyWiggly SuperSavers Card
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
🦊
Hey man don't come at the pig 😆
FlintIronstag
Notorious Answer
1
Chief Marketing Officer
Can I still float a check?
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
8
☕️
A great example here: When applying for a mortgage, you can use your OTE number, but you have to have 12+ months of commission earnings from your current employer for some lenders. I had only been earning commission from my employer at the time for 8 months, so I qualified on my base salary alone.

However, when applying for almost any other financial tool or apartment, I've used my OTE. No one has ever asked for a stub or W2 to prove it.
Do.it.for.the.checks
Politicker
1
Account Executive
OTE. Note certain applications like a mortgage will need past W2s and pay stubs for verification.

If I just had a bad month or something that doesn't align, I provide my employee agreement too

Smaller amounts than mortgages (like credit cards or rental agreements) don't usually dig as deep and you can just say what your OTE is and that's good enough.
Incognito
WR Officer
1
Master of Disaster
Whatever was on your last W2…?
Rallier
Politicker
0
SDR Manager and Consultant
That's kind of the challenge though. I started at a new company in a role that pays more. So I don't have a previous W2
SADNES5
Politicker
1
down voters are marketing spies
5 year average of your gross income. It's good enough for a mortgage, has to be good enough to rent a crappy bachelor suite in Omaha. 
ounceoz
WR Officer
0
US Sales Director
For mortgages, car loans etc, they will want proof. Some mortgage lenders are sticklers with commissions. If you have consistent OTE (3+ years) I would use OTE.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
0
SaaS Eater
OTE all day and twice on Sunday. But like others have said for mortgage types of credit be ready to back it up or you will have to qualify based on base alone.
CaneWolf
Politicker
0
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
For unimportant shit, base. For important shit, I typically do an average of the last two-three years.
FeedTheKids
Politicker
0
Solutions Consultant
I normally lowball my average monthly after taxes. 

Bought a house last year and when they went to actually run the numbers for approval they said "you said you make X, but according to your paystubs you really made Y last year".... at the end of the day they fact-checked me anyway, so not worth lying. 

OTE means nothing.... that's a worst-case scenario of what a sales rep should make. But some companies have un-obtainable quotas, so not always the case. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
OTE. It's income.
KendallRoy
Politicker
0
AM
What I made in the previous financial year, most recently about double OTE

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