How to Set Salaries and Commissions

In this course, you’ll learn how to build a compensation plan that rewards sales reps based on their performance. Industry veteran, Sara Wyman, takes you step by step through the process of establishing a rock solid sales comp plan.

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Meet Your Instructor

Sara Wyman

VP of Enterprise Sales, Affirm

Sara Wyman was VP of Enterprise Sales at Affirm, a multi-billion dollar tech startup, where she led and scaled the enterprise sales and strategic partnerships teams. Before Affirm she led sales teams at Etsy and Reformation.

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Curriculum

01

Determining Your OTE (On-Target Earnings)

Sales reps should be compensated based on the amount of revenue they bring in. Consider the sales cycle, how much control reps have over their deals, and the type of mentality you want to promote at your company.

02

Step 2: Top-Down Sales Quota

Sara walks you through the basic mechanics of quotas.

03

Step 2: Quotas Based on ROI

The top-down method begins with finding the right ROI for your company and then working backwards to set quotas for your team.

04

Step 3: Setting Realistic & Achievable Quotas

Quotas for Account Executives are based on bookings and revenue, whereas quotas for Account Managers come from existing customers. What’s the best way to accommodate different sales roles?

05

Step 3: Account Executive Quotas (From the Bottom Up)

Sara lays out the five key metrics for building a quota from the bottom up: lead volume, sales team size, sales cycle, close rate, and average order value. Then, she gives an example of the sales funnel in action.

06

Step 3: Account Manager Quotas (From the Bottom Up)

AM quotas can be similar to AE quotas, but there are new factors to consider. How many customers do you have? What if a customer leaves? We’re going to need some more math.

07

Comp Plan Nuances & Other Options

Sara walks you through a list of common mistakes to avoid when creating your comp plans.

08

Comp Doc & Closing Thoughts

Finally! The comp doc is how you present the comp plan to your sales team, and a great opportunity to show off everything you’ve learned in this course!

What people are saying about this course…

"FANTASTIC course and INSTRUCTOR!"
Kris L Sarasota, FL
"As a Founder preparing to scale my business, I found myself struggling to understand how to prepare a strategy for a sales team. This topic helped me understand multiple ways to calculate compensation in a way that will help us grow while protecting profitability! Thank you Sara and the Pareto Labs Team!"
Erik H CEO
"Great content and explanations, extremely insightful and easy to digest."
James S Account Director