Guaranteed pay is a fixed amount of money that a salesperson is paid, regardless of their sales performance. You will also hear guaranteed pay referred to as a rep’s “base pay.”
Guaranteed pay is often used to supplement commission-based pay, or to provide a base salary for new salespeople who are still building their book of business.
To come up with your sales reps’ guaranteed pay, look at the average salary for salespeople in the same industry. Salary.com and Glassdoor are great places to start as are annual compensation reports. You can also look at how much budget your company actually has to spend on base pay.
Factors to consider when determining base pay:
- Cost of living where salesperson resides
- Experience
- Company’s budget
- Title, role and responsibilities
- Total on-target earnings (OTE)
- Pay mix
- Industry
Guaranteed pay can be a valuable tool for attracting and retaining top sales talent. It can also help to ensure that salespeople have a steady income, even if they are not meeting their sales goals. Pay attention to industry trends and pay mix splits within your space to ensure you come up with a fair and competitive base pay rate.