Q: Are VP sales paid on commission or bonus?
For startups, most VPs of Sales are paid on a 50/50 structure, or at least some variant thereof:
An OTE (“On Target Earnings Target”) of say $250,000 (or less, or more).
- With 50% of that a base salary.
- And 50% tied to hitting the annual ARR plan for the year.
If a VPS tries to put the ratio up too much higher than 50% base, I’d be worried.
If a VPS tries to push the OTE up higher — but not the base portion — in exchange for hitting a crazy high plan, I’d be worried. But maybe take the risk 🙂
A bit more here: A Basic Structure for a VP, Sales Comp Plan: 50/50/25+ (Updated) | SaaStr