Negotiating Your Tech Sales Offer: OTE, Base, and Equity

Tech sales compensation has more levers than most candidates realize. Understanding them gives you negotiating power.

Understanding the Components

Base Salary: Guaranteed pay regardless of performance.

Variable/Commission: Performance-based pay tied to quota attainment.

OTE (On-Target Earnings): Base + Variable assuming 100% quota attainment.

Accelerators: Higher commission rates for performance above quota.

Equity: Stock options or RSUs, more common at startups.

The Base-to-Variable Split

Typical splits by role:

• SDR: 70/30 or 60/40 (Base/Variable)
• AE (SMB): 50/50
• AE (Enterprise): 50/50 or 60/40
• Sales Leadership: 60/40 or 70/30

Higher base = more stability. Higher variable = more upside.

When to Negotiate

SDR roles: Limited room. Most companies have standardized comp bands. Focus on start date or title if anything.

AE roles: More flexibility, especially on base salary and signing bonus.

Leadership roles: Everything is negotiable—base, OTE, equity, accelerators, guaranteed first-year earnings.

How to Negotiate

1. 1Wait for the offer. Never negotiate before they've committed.

1. 1Express enthusiasm first. "I'm really excited about this opportunity."

1. 1Ask, don't demand. "Is there flexibility on the base salary?"

1. 1Use competing offers strategically. Only mention if you actually have them.

1. 1Focus on base. It's easier to adjust than OTE restructuring.

The Quota Question

Always ask: "What was quota attainment for the team last year?"

This tells you the real OTE. A $150K OTE means nothing if only 40% of reps hit quota.

What Not to Do

• Don't negotiate the initial SDR offer aggressively (you haven't proven yourself)
• Don't use cost of living as your only argument
• Don't threaten to walk unless you mean it
• Don't forget about non-comp benefits (PTO, flexibility, development budget)

The best negotiation leverage: being the candidate they can't lose.