The Q4 Sales Salary Guide

Published: Wed, 11/22/23

November 22, 2023

TOGETHER WITH

Tomorrow, we’ll join our families around the kitchen table and express gratitude for abundant leads, generous comp plans, and responsive, agreeable prospects. Then we’ll wake up from our afternoon nap and come back to reality, where sales is still (and always will be) a grind. But before you eat enough stuffing to kill a small horse, sit back and enjoy this week’s issue of The Quota.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

48% of sales calls end without an attempt to close the sale.

Source: Salesmate.io

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

In what might be a harbinger of things to come, Hyundai and Amazon have announced a partnership that will see the car manufacturer selling vehicles directly on the retail giant’s website. After a customer purchases a vehicle through Amazon, delivery or pickup will be handled by local dealerships. Sales will start with the 2024 model year, and the entire lineup is planned to be available through the site. You can read more about it here.
Google recently announced some major changes in their email spam policy, which has companies that rely on (and provide) high-volume email prospecting quaking in their boots. The announcement from Google states that Organizations sending over 5,000 emails per day will face potential blocking starting in Q1 2024 if complaint rates are too high. For many BDR/SDR teams, this means they’ll have to rethink their entire strategy. You can read about the announcement and what it might mean for sales teams here.

FEATURE

Here’s the average base salary and quota attainment data for sales reps in November 2023

Selling in 2023 has been “unique” to say the least. While the news of massive layoffs has seemed to quiet down, there are still notable findings on how the overall sales industry is holding up.

If you’ve been in sales for at least a year, there’s a good chance your base pay has increased – even if you’re still in the same position. On the flip side, it’s also likely that during the same time period, your quota attainment has gone down.

We wanted to better understand what was happening in the sales world, so we reached out to RepVue, who gave us base salary and quota attainment data for 11 different sales positions below. You can also check out salary data by metro and country + use a free salary calculator to see if you’re being paid fairly here.

(Data current as of 11/14/23)

Account Manager

Median base salary: 95k (Up 12 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 50.3 (Down 6 percent in the past year)

Customer Success Manager

Median base salary: 95k (Up 12 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 60.7 (Down 8 percent in the past year)

Enterprise AE

Median base salary: 130k (Up 8 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 38.2 (Down 5 percent in the past year)

Mid-Market AE

Median base salary: 85k (Up 6 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 40.1 (Down 10 percent in the past year)

Sales Development Manager

Median base salary: 95k (Up 6 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 66.6 (Up 15 percent in the past year)

Sales Development Representative

Median base salary: 55k (no change in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 53.2 (Up 4 percent in the past year)

Sales Engineer

Median base salary: 135k (Up 4 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 52.6 (Down 15 percent in the past year)

Sales Manager

Median base salary: 135k (Up 8 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 46.3 (Down 13 percent in the past year)

SLED AE

Median base salary: 105k (Up 17 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 45.2 (Down 16 percent in the past year)

SMB AE

Median base salary: 65k (No change in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 44 (Down 3 percent in the past year)

Strategic AE

Median base salary: 140k (Up 8 percent in the past year)
Percent that attain quota: 34.6 (Down 18 percent in the past year)

See all salary data

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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

LOOKING FOR A NEW SALES JOB?

Tired of unreachable prospects? Overbearing managers? Too many meetings that could have been an email?

Try a fresh start with a role at Cox Business! Cox offers:

Competitive salary plus top-notch bonus & incentive plans
Full benefits (including healthcare from day one)
Extra perks (like free home internet, cable and smart home automation)
Career advancement and professional development

Browse open sales roles from entry-level to leadership positions here.

Browse open roles!

QUIZ

Which of the following movies stars Tom Hanks as an American salesman?

A. The Salesman
B. The Circle
C. A Hologram for the King
D. Cast Away

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

I was working for a small HVAC company a few years ago. It was my first sales job, and I was basically learning the ropes and trying to get some experience before trying to move to a more established role at a bigger company. The company’s owner was this really serious guy who didn’t give people too many chances and was known for firing people quickly. He was nice enough to me, but he also seemed like he couldn’t care less about anything except how many deals I closed.

One day, I was at a young couple’s house writing up a quote. The job was more complicated than the ones I was used to because of the way their house was built. That week, the technician who normally helped answer my questions was on vacation, so I didn’t want to call him. Instead, I went out to my truck and called the owner of the company and described the issue and asked how he wanted me to price it out.

For some reason, he got extremely angry. His response was essentially, “Why are you bothering me with this, it’s something you should already understand.” Well, I was tired and hungry and had sat in traffic to get to the couple’s house, so I put the phone on mute while he was talking and said, “Great leadership, %&*#-face.”

Well, the phone was not on mute, and he heard me say it. He stopped and said, “What the hell did you just say to me?” I told him I didn’t say anything and that it was my radio on in the background. He told me he wanted to see me in the office first thing in the morning. I wrote up the quote the way he explained, and the next day, met him at the office, ready to get fired.

He showed up and very calmly told me that if I ever said anything like that to him again, I’d get fired for cause and wouldn’t be able to collect unemployment. But he didn’t even write me up. I stayed there for another few months then got an inside sales job. To this day, it’s still my best sales story ever.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- November 2023

WORTH A PEEK

The holiday season kills deals. But does that have to be the case? A great article from built in tackles the holiday sales slump, with 5 ways to make your prospecting more effective during the holiday season. Check it out here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team

Less than a year ago, I was recruited by the CEO of a small technology startup to come join their sales team, which was being put together at the time. I agreed because of the promises of equity and the ability to become part of a founding team that would eventually grow.

Since then, the woman who was brought in as the head of sales has quit, as have two other reps. Now, it’s only me and another sales rep who are left. And we only started “selling” a few months ago. The rest of the time was spent waiting for engineering to release new features, so we were basically acting as customer success for all of our free trial participants.

Now that we’re starting to sell, it feels like the product is a nice-to-have and not a need-to-have. This is coming directly from our trial customers as well as the new leads which me and the other sales rep have sourced ourselves. The CEO said he hears us, but that we need to get more customers in the pipeline so we can start earning revenue.

I am wondering if I made the right decision coming here, and, more importantly, whether I should stick it out and see what happens or find a job with a company that is actually closing deals. My base pay here is actually pretty good, and my personal expenses are low so I can stick it out, but I am looking for a career and am wondering if I’m just wasting my time. Thanks in advance.

Pondering on the East coast

Dear Pondering,

The answer depends on whether you want to prioritize learning and having an impact, or climbing the traditional career and income ladder. And to be clear: there is no right answer. Different people want different things. The key is to align your decisions with your personal goals.

Even if it’s hard to sell your current product, you’re learning things that can’t be learned anywhere else. The early-stage experience you’re getting can show you how to build a sales organization, develop a process, and, just as importantly, what not to do when building a company. You can take this experience anywhere, whether it’s to another startup, or to starting your own business somewhere down the line. And, who knows, there’s a chance that your company will figure out the product and eventually take off.

On the other hand, there’s lots of money and success to be had in a more traditional sales role. Established companies have saleable products, frameworks and systems in place to ensure success, and a very clear trajectory. Most people find this option a better way to go, especially since sales itself is full of risk and uncertainty.

Ultimately, the decision will come down to what you want out of work (and life). And since you’re getting paid fairly, the decision is actually a bit harder, rather than easier. Think about where you want to be in five years and make your decision that way. You can do it. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: C. A Hologram for the King — (you can read the source article here)

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How did you like today's story?

Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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