Compensation is critical no matter your stage, segment, or industry and can be the difference between attracting & retaining top talent you need to successfully grow your business quarter over quarter and year over year.
We've compiled this guide based on our conversations with our clients and hundreds of SaaS salespeople at (mostly) Seed - Series B startups in 2023 to provide you with a baseline on what "good" compensation might look like.
Table of Contents
Overview of sales compensation structure
Typical structure:
SDR's/BDR's:
70-75% salary, 25-30% commission
85-95% of commission is typically based on delivering meetings that become qualified sales opportunities, 5-15% based on closed won revenue
Compensation plans are typically set up this way to ensure the majority of goals are in the SDR/BDR's control while providing them 'upside' for qualifying deals that ultimately become customers (especially larger deals!)
Some companies use SDR/BDR interchangably while others classify SDR's as qualifying inbound leads and BDR's as qualifying outbound leads
Account Executives:
50% salary, 50% commission
10-15% of closed won ARR is typically paid out in commission
For example, an $840k annual quota could have a $120k salary, $120k commission = $240k OTE
Account Executives are typically broken down into three segments based on their expected average contract values (ACV), however, some organizations choose to use employee count segments instead (i.e. Enterprise = companies with 5,000+ employees)
SMB: ACV less than $10,000
Mid-Market: ACV between $10,000 and $100,000
Enterprise: ACV is greater than $100,000
Account Executive revenue targets are typically set up as 4-5x their On-Target earnings (salary + commission)
For example, if an Account Executive has a $600,000 annual quota, their On-target earnings range should be somewhere between $120,000 - $150,000
SDR/BDR Compensation Overview
SDR/BDR (recent grad or new to sales)
Salary range: $45,000 - $65,000 (Target: $50,000)
Typically, salaries are lower at companies who focus on small, transactional deals whereas they're higher at companies who focus on larger, complex deals
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $65,000 - $80,000 (Target: $70,000)
Sr SDR/BDR (6+ months of strong performance)
Salary range: $60,000 - $70,000 (Target: $60,000)
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $70,000-$100,000 (Target: $80,000)
Account Executive Compensation Overview
SMB Account Executive (1-2 years of closing experience)
Salary range: $60,000 - $80,000 (Target: $70,000)
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $120,000 - $160,000 (Target: $140,000)
Annual quota range for $140,000 OTE: $420,000 - $560,000
Mid-Market Account Executive (1-3 years of closing experience)
Salary range: $80,000 - $100,000 (Target: $90,000)
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $160,000 - $200,000 (Target: $180,000)
Annual quota range for $180,000 OTE: $540,000 - $720,000
Mid-Market Account Executive (3-5 years of closing experience)
Salary range: $80,000 - $125,000 (Target: $100,000)
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $160,000 - $250,000 (Target: $200,000)
Annual quota range for $200,000 OTE: $600,000 - $800,000
Enterprise Account Executive (5-10 years of closing experience)
Salary range: $120,000 - $150,000 (Target: $140,000)
On-Target earnings (Salary + Commission): $240,000 - $300,000 (Target: $280,000)
Annual quota range for $280,000 OTE: $840,000 - $1,120,000
About ClosedWon Talent
We help startups build revenue teams for long-term success by avoiding mis-hires on core functions to maintaining growth rates, preserve cash, and ensure strong employee morale.
We're not traditional recruiters. Led by a founding team with a blend of GTM leadership at bootstrapped, Seed, and Series A startups along with deep expertise in GTM recruiting by supporting 150+ funded startups since 2019.
We'll help you build your team like we'd build our own. To learn more about how we might be able to help your startup grow, choose a time convenient for you here.
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