The offer says $200K. What does it actually pay?
In tech sales, the headline number assumes you hit 100% of quota. Change the numbers to match your offer and see what you'd earn at a realistic attainment.
My offer is on-target earnings, with as base salary. If I hit of quota, I'll earn
- Base
- Commission earned
- Commission left on the table
Plan details
Commission starts at of quota.
Above 100%, commission pays the normal rate.
Every comp plan is different. This assumes commission pays in a straight line up to quota. Some plans pay nothing below a threshold, many pay more above 100% (accelerators), and some cap earnings. Check your plan document. Taxes aren't included.For scale: about 43% of cloud sales reps hit quota in Q3 2025, down from 53% in early 2022.
So before you sign, ask: what share of this team hit quota last year?
Source: RepVue Cloud Sales Index, Q1 2022 to Q3 2025 (self-reported by ~49,000 reps at 249 companies).
What every rung pays
On-target earnings for US tech sales roles, from public benchmarks. Ranges, not promises: company, segment and city all move the number.
The biggest jump on the ladder isn't a title change. It's SDR to enterprise AE, roughly 3× the on-target pay.
Sources: Betts Recruiting 2026 Compensation Guide (SDR); SalesCookie State of B2B Sales Compensation 2026 (AE through regional VP). For comparison, the US median for all sales managers is $148,270 (BLS, May 2025).
What you'll find here
Short videos from inside a top AI SaaS company. Every number is sourced.
Breaking in
What hiring managers screen for when you've never sold before.
Getting promoted
SDR to AE, mid-market to enterprise, and what changes at each step.
Pay, negotiation and equity
Reading an offer, negotiating it, and what your stock options are really worth.
Picking where to work
The numbers to check before you join a startup or a pre-IPO company.