compensation-plan-templates.md

Compensation Plan Templates

B2B SaaS (€15M-€150M ARR) - European Market

1. SDR/BDR Compensation Plan

Role: Sales Development Representative / Business Development Representative

OTE Range: €30,000 - €42,000 (varies by experience, geography, segment)

Structure:

Base Salary: 70% (€21,000 - €29,400)
Variable/Commission: 30% (€9,000 - €12,600)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Monthly qualified meetings booked: 8-12 per SDR (varies by segment)
SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads) per month: 15-25 depending on vertical
Response time to inbound: <2 hours
Demo attendance rate: 60% minimum

Commission Structure:

€85-€120 per meeting booked (€200+ value deals only)
€45-€65 per SQL delivered
Monthly bonus pool if team hits 100% of meetings target: +10-15% of variable pay
Accelerator at 120% of target: 1.5x commission multiplier

Ramp Period:

Months 1-2: 50% quota (4-6 meetings/week expected)
Months 3-4: 75% quota
Month 5+: 100% quota (full OTE achievable)
New hire draw: €2,000-€3,000/month during ramp

Benefits & Bonuses:

Quarterly attainment bonus (team-based)
SPIFs (Special Performance Incentive Funds) for product launches
Leaderboard incentives (€500-€1,000 monthly for top performer)

2. AE (SMB - €5K-€20K ACV) Compensation Plan

Role: Account Executive - Small Business Segment

OTE Range: €45,000 - €65,000 (city-dependent: Amsterdam +10%, regional -5%)

Structure:

Base Salary: 60% (€27,000 - €39,000)
Variable/Commission: 40% (€18,000 - €26,000)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Annual revenue quota: €300,000 - €400,000 per AE
Deal count: 15-20 deals/year (avg deal €18-€25K ACV)
Win rate: 25-30% expected
Sales cycle: 45-60 days average

Commission Structure:

Commission rate: 5-6% of first-year ACV
Example: €20K deal = €1,000-€1,200 commission
Accelerator at 120% of annual quota: 1.25x multiplier
Decelerator at <80% of quota: 0.75x multiplier

Quota-to-OTE Ratio: 5.5:1 to 6:1 (€400K quota generates ~€30-36K variable at 100%)

Ramp Period:

Months 1-3: 40% quota + €1,500/month draw
Months 4-6: 60% quota + €1,000/month draw
Months 7-9: 80% quota
Month 10+: 100% quota (full OTE achievable by year-end)

Benefits & Bonuses:

Quarterly SPIFs (new product, named account wins)
Upsell bonus: 3% commission on expansion deals
Team attainment bonus: +8% if team hits 110% of target
Annual President's Club (top 10%): €2,000-€5,000 + trip

3. AE (Mid-Market - €25K-€75K ACV) Compensation Plan

Role: Account Executive - Mid-Market Segment

OTE Range: €65,000 - €95,000 (city-dependent: Amsterdam +12%, regional -5%)

Structure:

Base Salary: 55% (€35,750 - €52,250)
Variable/Commission: 45% (€29,250 - €42,750)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Annual revenue quota: €500,000 - €650,000 per AE
Deal count: 8-12 deals/year (avg deal €50-€65K ACV)
Win rate: 28-35% expected
Sales cycle: 75-120 days average

Commission Structure:

Commission rate: 5-5.5% of first-year ACV
Example: €60K deal = €3,000-€3,300 commission
Accelerator at 120% of quota: 1.35x multiplier (higher leverage)
Decelerator at <75% of quota: 0.75x multiplier
Multi-year deals: additional 0.5% for commitment >2 years

Quota-to-OTE Ratio: 5.5:1 to 6:1 (€575K quota generates ~€38-45K variable at 100%)

Ramp Period:

Months 1-4: 35% quota + €2,000/month draw
Months 5-8: 60% quota + €1,500/month draw
Months 9-12: 85% quota
Month 13+: 100% quota (full OTE achievable by month 12-13)

Benefits & Bonuses:

Quarterly SPIFs: new verticals, customer success stories
Upsell bonus: 4% commission on expansion deals to existing accounts
Team attainment bonus: +10% if team achieves 110%+ of target
President's Club (top 15%): €3,000-€7,500 + trip

4. AE (Enterprise - €100K+ ACV) Compensation Plan

Role: Account Executive - Enterprise Segment

OTE Range: €100,000 - €150,000 (city-dependent: Amsterdam +15%, regional +5%)

Structure:

Base Salary: 50% (€50,000 - €75,000)
Variable/Commission: 50% (€50,000 - €75,000)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Annual revenue quota: €1,000,000 - €1,500,000 per AE
Deal count: 5-8 deals/year (avg deal €150-€250K ACV)
Win rate: 30-40% expected
Sales cycle: 120-180 days average

Commission Structure:

Commission rate: 4.5-5% of first-year ACV
Example: €200K deal = €9,000-€10,000 commission
Accelerator at 120% of quota: 1.5x multiplier (highest leverage)
Decelerator at <70% of quota: 0.7x multiplier
Multi-year deals: +0.25% per additional year (3-year = +0.75%)
Expansion quota (existing accounts): weighted at 6% commission

Quota-to-OTE Ratio: 5.5:1 to 6:1 (€1.2M quota generates ~€60-75K variable at 100%)

Ramp Period:

Months 1-6: 25% quota + €3,000/month draw
Months 7-12: 50% quota + €2,000/month draw
Months 13-18: 75% quota
Month 19+: 100% quota (full OTE achievable by month 18-20)

Benefits & Bonuses:

Quarterly SPIFs: strategic accounts, reference customers, multi-year deals
Account retention bonus: 2% commission if renewal rate >95% on book
Team attainment bonus: +12% if team hits 110%+ of target
President's Club (top 10%): €5,000-€10,000 + trip + equity
Annual mid-year review for comp plan adjustment based on market

5. Customer Success Manager (CSM) Compensation Plan

Role: Customer Success Manager (Onboarding & Growth)

OTE Range: €42,000 - €58,000 (varies by segment managed, geography)

Structure:

Base Salary: 75% (€31,500 - €43,500)
Variable/Commission: 25% (€10,500 - €14,500)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

NRR (Net Revenue Retention) target: 105-115% assigned segment
Customer health score: 90%+ in Green/Yellow (max 10% Red)
Expansion MRR: €15,000-€25,000/quarter per CSM
CSAT score: 8.0+ (0-10 scale)
Churn rate: <5% annually on book

Commission Structure:

NRR bonus: +€1,500 if team NRR >110% annually
Expansion commission: 3% on incremental expansion revenue delivered
Upsell bonus: €500-€1,000 per successfully closed expansion deal
Health score bonus: +€800/quarter if >95% Green + Yellow accounts
Churn prevention bonus: €400 per at-risk account successfully saved

Ramp Period:

Months 1-3: Onboarding phase (assigned team of 3-5 accounts)
Months 4-6: Growing to 8-10 accounts, some commission at 50%
Months 7-12: Full book of 12-15 accounts, 100% commission

Benefits & Bonuses:

Quarterly attainment bonus: +8% if personal NRR >110%
Annual Customer Champion award: €1,000-€2,000 + recognition
Peer recognition bonus pool: €500/month distributed by peers

6. Sales Manager / Team Lead Compensation Plan

Role: Sales Manager (manages 4-6 AEs)

OTE Range: €70,000 - €105,000 (varies by team segment)

Structure:

Base Salary: 65% (€45,500 - €68,250)
Variable/Commission: 35% (€24,500 - €36,750)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Team quota: €2,500,000 - €3,500,000 (aggregate team target)
Individual close quota (required to remain hands-on): 20% of team quota
Pipeline coverage ratio: 4:1 minimum (€4 pipeline per €1 quota)
Win rate (team): 25-30% maintained
AE turnover: <15% annually

Commission Structure:

Team attainment commission: 8% on dollars over 100% of team quota
Personal deal commission: 3% on personal closes (reduced rate vs AE)
Team override: 1% of all team revenue (regardless of personal attainment)
Quarterly bonuses tied to:
- Team quota attainment (40% weight)
- Deal quality/win rate (30% weight)
- Pipeline development (20% weight)
- Team retention (10% weight)

Quota-to-OTE Ratio: 4.5:1 to 5.5:1 (€1.5-1.6M team quota generates ~€30-35K variable at 100%)

Benefits & Bonuses:

Annual discretionary bonus pool: €5,000-€10,000 based on business results
Management training allowance: €1,500/year
President's Club (top managers): €3,000-€8,000 + trip
Equity consideration for long-term retention

7. VP Sales / Chief Revenue Officer Compensation Plan

Role: VP Sales or Chief Revenue Officer

OTE Range: €130,000 - €220,000 (depends on company stage, market)

Structure:

Base Salary: 55-60% (€71,500 - €132,000)
Cash Variable/Bonus: 25-30% (€32,500 - €66,000)
Equity: 0.2% - 0.8% (depending on company stage & funding)

Key Metrics & Quotas:

Revenue quota: €5,000,000 - €15,000,000+ (entire sales organization)
Company-wide revenue targets aligned with corporate OKRs
Pipeline-to-quota coverage: 4:1 minimum maintained
Quota-to-plan accuracy: ±5% variance accepted
Sales organization health: AE retention >85%, quota attainment >90%

Bonus Structure (typically paid quarterly/annually):

Revenue attainment: 50% weight
- 100% of target = 100% bonus earned
- 110%+ = 1.5x bonus multiplier
- <80% = 0.5x bonus multiplier
Strategic MBOs: 50% weight (set quarterly)
- Sales process improvements
- Market expansion / new vertical launch
- Sales team development / bench building
- Customer retention / NRR targets

Example: €130K OTE (€65K base + €65K bonus)

At 100% revenue quota + 100% MBO: €65K bonus earned
At 110% revenue quota + 125% MBO: €130K bonus earned (1.5x)

Ramp Period:

Month 1-3: Onboarding & assessment phase, 100% base paid
Month 4+: Full variable kicks in based on quarterly attainment
Annual reset of targets at fiscal year start

Equity & Long-term:

0.3-0.5% equity grant typical for growth stage (€15M-€100M ARR)
4-year vest, 1-year cliff standard
Equity reviews annually based on company valuation & role expansion

Benefits & Bonuses:

Annual discretionary bonus pool: €10,000-€30,000+ for business results exceeding targets
Executive healthcare package (premium)
Car allowance: €800-€1,200/month or actual car provision
Conference/training budget: €5,000-€10,000 annually
Deferred compensation / retention bonus if applicable

Notes on Implementation

Commission & Ramp Pacing:

All commissions paid on invoice or cash received (industry standard)
Ramp schedules can flex based on candidate experience (experienced hires ramp faster)
Draw advances recovered through future commissions or forfeited on separation

Quota Setting:

Bottom-up quota setting recommended (territory potential × achievement factor)
Annual quota set by Q4, communicated by Dec 15 for new fiscal year
Mid-year adjustments allowed (+/- 10%) only if market conditions warrant

Regional Adjustments (Multiplicative):

Amsterdam / Utrecht: Base +10-12%
DACH region (Germany): Base +5-8%
UK: Base +3-5%
Nordics: Base +5-10%
Rest of NL: Base -3% to -5%

Plan Reviews:

Annual compensation review: Q4 (October-November)
Market benchmarking: yearly against Radford, Mercer, or custom surveys
Individual adjustments: merit-based, no more than +8-10% annually to avoid compression