This is for sales professionals who are weighing up a job offer, a renewal conversation or a counter-offer, and want to read a commission plan the way an employer's finance team reads it. By the end you'll be able to pick apart any plan in about an hour, spot the clauses that cost you money, and ask for changes in wording a sales director can say yes to. Good sales commission structures pay you more as you outperform and don't claw it back when the business changes its mind. Most plans only manage the first half of that.
A word on why I'm writing this at all. Most of my work is on visibility and positioning, so I'm not a compensation consultant. But the people who build a reputation in sales tend to be the ones who stay long enough to bank the results, and a plan that quietly leaks your earnings makes that impossible.
1. Get the plan document, not the summary
Ask for the written commission plan before you sign anything. A job advert saying "OTE £90k" tells you nothing about how that figure gets paid. Ask for the full document, including the definitions page, because that's where the real terms hide.
You'll know this step has worked when you can find, in writing, how a deal is credited, when commission is paid and what happens if you leave. If the employer says the plan is "still being finalised" for a role they want filled next month, treat that as information.
Something you can send: "Could you share the current commission plan and the territory or account allocation for this role? I'd like to understand how OTE is typically achieved before I decide."
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2. Check the split between base and variable
A 50/50 split suits a hunter in a growing market. It's a poor fit for someone selling long-cycle enterprise software where deals take nine months. A rough rule from what I see: the longer your sales cycle, the more base you should push for.
Graduates and early-career reps should lean towards a higher base, because you haven't yet got the pipeline or the product knowledge to hit quota reliably. Senior closers with a proven book can afford to take more risk for a steeper upside.
How you'll know it's worked: you can say, in one sentence, what you'd earn in a month where you close nothing.
3. Read the accelerators and the caps
Accelerators are the clause that decides whether top performers stay. A plan that pays a higher rate once you pass quota tells you the employer wants overperformance. A plan with a cap, or one that quietly resets quota mid-year after you smash it, tells you the opposite.
Caps get overlooked constantly. If a plan stops paying at a fixed multiple of target, your best year is financed by you.
Ask: "Is there a ceiling on commission, and is there an accelerator above 100%?" If the answer is a pause and a glance at someone else on the call, you've learned something.
4. Pin down credit, clawbacks and timing
Three small clauses cause most of the arguments. Who gets credit when two reps touch the same account? When is commission paid: on signature, on invoice, or on cash received? And does it get clawed back if the customer cancels in the first year?
Clawbacks aren't unreasonable in themselves. A sensible one covers a short window after a deal collapses. A clawback that runs for 24 months and also applies after you've left is a retention trap dressed as risk management.
Check whether the plan survives a restructure. Ask: "If my territory or accounts change mid-year, how is my quota adjusted?" Nobody enjoys that question, which is exactly why you should ask it before you start, not after.
5. Look for the things money doesn't capture
The plans that retain people well usually pair cash with something else: a clear route to a team lead role, a say in account allocation, or deferred bonuses that vest over time. I've watched strong reps stay through a mediocre plan because the career path was visible, and leave a generous one because the territory was handed to someone's favourite. For more on this side of it, the earlier piece on sales team retention strategies beyond salary is worth ten minutes.
Compare the full package, not just the headline. The CIPD has long made the point that reward is broader than pay, and sales is one area where that holds up in practice.
6. Make the ask, in words that land
Once you've found the weak clause, pick one or two changes, not eight. Employers can say yes to a single accelerator tweak. They can't say yes to a rewrite.
In an interview, if asked about earnings expectations, try: "I'm comfortable with a variable-heavy plan if the quota is based on a realistic territory and there's an accelerator above target. Can we talk through how quota is set?"
On your CV, make past performance legible to a plan-reader: "Exceeded quota in three of four years, closing deals averaging £60k in a nine-month cycle." Use your real figures only, and keep them specific enough that a hiring manager can map them to their own plan. If you're on the market, browse current sales roles on The Opportunity Hub and compare how different employers describe their pay structures before you apply.
When a step goes wrong
If the employer won't share the plan before an offer, ask for it before you resign from your current job. If they still refuse, that tells you how they'll behave once you've signed.
If you've asked for a change and been told no, find out whether the plan is fixed company-wide or just inflexible for you. The first is a policy. The second is a negotiation you can still win with a competing offer.
If you're already in a role and the plan changes mid-year, ask for the new terms in writing and a date they take effect. A verbal "don't worry, it'll be fine" isn't a contract. And if the change leaves you materially worse off, the broader picture in sales talent retention may help you decide whether to push back or move.
This week: take your current commission plan, or the one you've been offered, and highlight every clause about caps, clawbacks and quota changes. Pick the one that worries you most and write the single question you'd ask about it.
