Sales Commission Models

Logic

Account-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Anniversary Commission

Additional commission tied to customer contract anniversaries.

Structure

Logic

Time-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Base Salary + Commission

Fixed salary plus additional commission on sales.

Structure

Base + Commission

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Blended Commission

Commission based on a weighted average of multiple performance factors.

Structure

Logic

Weighted Average

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Multi-Factor

Target Role

Sales Motion

Bonus-Based Commission

Lump-sum bonuses for hitting goals.

Structure

Base + Bonus

Logic

Threshold

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Goal-Based

Target Role

Sales Motion

Capped Commission

Maximum earnings limit per period or deal.

Structure

Logic

Capped

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

High-Volume

Customer Acquisition Commission

Commission based on number of new customers rather than revenue.

Structure

Fixed Amount

Logic

Per Customer

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Customer-Based

Target Role

SDRs / BDRs

Sales Motion

Prospecting

Customer Satisfaction Commission

Commission structure that incorporates customer feedback scores or satisfaction metrics as a direct component of the compensation calculation.

Structure

Logic

Multiplier-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Satisfaction-Adjusted

Target Role

Sales Motion

Consultative

Customer Success Commission

Commission structure that rewards sales and customer success teams for achieving specific post-sale client outcomes such as implementation milestones, adoption metrics, and retention goals.

Structure

Customer Success Managers

Logic

Milestone-Based

Payout Timing

Staged/Deferred

Revenue Basis

Customer Lifecycle Value

Target Role

Sales Motion

Deferred Commission

Payments spread over time (e.g., post-delivery).

Structure

Logic

Staged

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Complex Sales

Sales Motion

Discretionary Commission

Manager-determined payout based on performance.

Structure

Variable

Logic

Subjective

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Performance

Target Role

Sales Motion

Varied

Draw Against Commission

Advance paid upfront, later deducted from earned commissions.

Structure

Draw-Based

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

New Sales Hires

Sales Motion

Equity/Stock Commission

Compensation includes company shares.

Structure

Base + Equity

Logic

Milestone

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Goal-Based

Target Role

Enterprise AEs

Sales Motion

Flat Fee per Sale

Fixed amount per transaction, regardless of sale size.

Structure

Fixed Amount

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Unit-Based

Target Role

Inside Sales

Sales Motion

Transactional

Gross Margin Commission

Based on profit after direct costs.

Structure

Logic

Margin-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Profit-Based

Target Role

Sales Motion

Hybrid Commission Model

Combination of multiple commission types tailored to specific business needs.

Structure

Logic

Custom

Payout Timing

Multi-Stage

Revenue Basis

Multi-Factor

Target Role

Complex Sales

Sales Motion

MBO-Based Commission (Management by Objectives)

Commission based on achievement of pre-defined objectives.

Structure

Goal-Based

Logic

Objective Count

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Objective-Based

Target Role

Strategic Roles

Sales Motion

Milestone Commission

Commissions paid as project or implementation reaches key milestones.

Structure

Staged

Logic

Milestone-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Project-Based

Target Role

Solution Sales

Sales Motion

Multi-Product Commission

Enhanced commission for selling multiple product lines or solutions.

Structure

Logic

Product Mix

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Solution Sales

Sales Motion

Cross-Selling

Multiplier Model

Commission adjusted by performance metrics.

Structure

Logic

Multi-Factor

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

New Business Commission

Higher commission rate for acquiring new customers vs. existing.

Structure

Logic

Customer Type

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

New Business AEs

Sales Motion

Hunting

Non-Monetary Rewards

Prizes, trips, or gifts instead of cash.

Structure

Prize-Based

Logic

Contest

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Recognition

Target Role

Sales Motion

Varied

Non-Retroactive Commission

Higher commission rate applies only to sales above threshold.

Structure

Logic

Non-Retroactive

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Performance Override Commission

Additional commission rate earned when exceeding performance metrics.

Structure

Logic

Performance-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Performance

Target Role

Experienced AEs

Sales Motion

Performance-Based Commission

Commission triggered by sales & multiple dimensions of performance metrics.

Structure

Logic

Performance-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Performance

Target Role

Customer-Facing

Sales Motion

Pooled Commission

Shared commission pool distributed based on contribution or equally.

Structure

Pool-Based

Logic

Contribution Share

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Team-Based

Target Role

Sales Teams

Sales Motion

Product-Specific Commission

Different rates for different products.

Structure

Logic

Product-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Product Specialists

Sales Motion

Profit-Based Commission

Commission calculated on profit margin, not revenue.

Structure

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Profit-Based

Target Role

Sales Motion

Quota-Based Commission

Commissions activate only after hitting a quota.

Structure

Threshold-Based

Logic

Quota Trigger

Payout Timing

Delayed

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Ramp Commission Model

Gradually increasing commission structure for new hires.

Structure

Logic

Tenure-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

New Sales Hires

Sales Motion

Varied

Recovery Commission

Commission earned on accounts recovered from inactive or at-risk status.

Structure

Logic

Recovery-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Account Recovery

Sales Motion

Renewal Commission

Commission specifically for securing contract renewals.

Structure

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Residual/Recurring Commission

Ongoing payments for subscriptions or renewals.

Structure

Logic

Payout Timing

Recurring

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Subscription

Retention-Based Commission

Commission based on customer retention rates or renewal success.

Structure

Logic

Retention-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Customer Success

Sales Motion

Retroactive Commission

Higher commission rate applies to all sales once threshold is reached.

Structure

Logic

Retroactive

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Revenue Share Commission

Commission calculated as a percentage of total company or business unit revenue.

Structure

Revenue Share

Logic

Shared Pool

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Leadership

Sales Motion

Revenue vs. Profit Commission

Choice between revenue-based or profit-based models.

Structure

Dual Option

Logic

Maximum

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Variable

Target Role

Sales Motion

Sliding Scale Commission

Rate varies by deal size or seasonality.

Structure

Logic

Deal Size

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

SPIFF Commission

Short-term incentive for selling specific products or services.

Structure

Bonus

Logic

Product-Based

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Unit-Based

Target Role

Sales Motion

Transactional

Split Commission

Shared between roles (e.g., closer vs. account manager).

Structure

Split Rate

Logic

Percentage Split

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Mixed Roles

Sales Motion

Straight Commission

Earnings solely from commissions with no base salary.,

Structure

Logic

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Transactional

Team-Based Commission

Commission split among team members.

Structure

Logic

Split

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Teams

Sales Motion

Threshold Commission

Commission only activates after reaching minimum sales threshold.

Structure

Threshold-Based

Logic

Minimum Required

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Tiered/Graduated Commission

Commission rate increases as sales volume rises.

Structure

Logic

Tiered

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion

Upsell/Cross-Sell Commission

Commission for expanding product usage within existing accounts.

Structure

Logic

Account Growth

Payout Timing

Revenue Basis

Target Role

Sales Motion