What changed in sales pay this year, and what the salary tables don't tell you

An Enterprise Account Executive used to cost you 150 plus 150. 150K base, 150K variable.

This year it's 200 plus 200. Even with five to eight years of experience.

Imagine that. Same job, same quota conversations, and the price went up by a third.

The short answer: sales pay jumped this year. Enterprise Account Executives now reach about 400K OTE, Business Development Representatives about 100 to 120K. Guaranteed commissions for senior hires are becoming standard, equity has no norm at all, and remote pay follows the candidate's city. The number on the offer matters less than one thing: whether the candidate believes your comp plan.

What moved

Here's my read of this year's market:

Role	What it used to cost	What it costs now
Enterprise Account Executive	150K base + 150K variable	200K base + 200K variable (about 400K OTE)
Business Development Representative	50 to 60K base	70 to 80K base, 100 to 120K OTE

These are my numbers from the field. For the full benchmarks by role, seniority and city, in the US and Canada, use the TrackRec sales salary guide. It puts a tier 1 Enterprise Account Executive with eight years at about 348K USD. My read of this year sits above that.

Why it moved

Money. A lot of it, in a few hands.

So many new AI businesses are popping up with insane rounds of funding. They can offer more right out of the gate, and they do. Every strong seller now has three or four of those offers in their inbox, and your offer gets compared to theirs.

Guarantees are the new normal

Senior sales hires leave a live pipeline behind when they join you. Deals they worked for months, commissions they'll never see.

Three to six months of guaranteed commissions is becoming the norm for them. Get used to it.

You have options:

• A guaranteed commission for the first three to six months, paid whether they close or not.
• An unrecoverable draw: an advance on commissions they never pay back if they fall short.
• A signing bonus with a one-year clawback: they stay at least a year, or they refund it.

You can get very creative. The more senior the hire, the more you'll have to.

Equity: there is no normal

It's sad, but it's all over the place. I've seen 50K in equity, and I've seen a lot more.

Nobody can tell you "the market is X". If a recruiter gives you one equity number for a role, ask where it comes from.

Remote pay follows the candidate

Remote salaries follow the city the candidate lives in. You can't ask for New York money if you live in Omaha, Nebraska.

Companies are happy to save 10 to 30 percent on salaries for the same skills in lower cost of living areas. That's the deal they're making with remote.

On the other side, location doesn't cap a great seller. The more niche your profile, the more same-industry experience you bring, the closer you can push your ask to tier 1 or tier 2 city pay.

Two things candidates forget:

• Travel. Remote roles often come with up to 50 percent mobility. Face to face is back.
• The airport. Tell them you live less than an hour from one, and that you're mobile. It matters more than you think.

Why candidates turn down offers that look great

Plain and simple: they don't believe your comp plan.

Your OTE says 400K. Their gut says Excel money. Candidates can smell a number that was built in a spreadsheet the night before the offer.

Show them what's under the hood:

• The signals. Benchmarks, and anyone already hitting or beating their number. If you have two reps above plan, lead with them.
• The build. How you came up with that quota and that OTE.
• The assumptions. What you assumed, and why.
• The wiggle room. What you can move, and what you can't.
• The safety net. Will you revise the plan if the market doesn't behave the way you hoped?

A plan they believe wins against a bigger number. Every single time.

What the salary tables don't tell you

Salary tables give you the price. They miss the parts that decide whether someone signs:

• the guarantee that covers the pipeline they're walking away from
• the equity story, since there's no benchmark to hide behind
• the travel, and how close they live to an airport
• the niche premium that lets a seller in Minnesota get paid like New York
• and above all, whether your comp plan looks real

Get the price from the TrackRec guide. Get the rest right yourself.

The market moved. Your offer has to move with it, or your best candidate signs with the startup that raised 50 million last Tuesday.

Talk soon!✌️

FAQ

How much does an Enterprise Account Executive earn in 2026?

In Victor Vatus's read of this year's market, about 200K base plus 200K variable, or roughly 400K OTE, even with five to eight years of experience. The TrackRec sales salary guide puts a tier 1 Enterprise Account Executive with eight years at about 348K USD.

What guaranteed commission should I offer a senior sales hire?

Three to six months of guaranteed commissions is becoming the norm for senior hires who leave a live pipeline behind. Alternatives are an unrecoverable draw, or a signing bonus with a one-year clawback.

What does a BDR earn in 2026?

A Business Development Representative base moved from 50 to 60K to about 70 to 80K, for an OTE of 100 to 120K.

Why do sales candidates turn down offers?

Most often because they don't believe the comp plan. Show the benchmarks, anyone already hitting their number, how the quota and OTE were built, the assumptions, the wiggle room, and whether the plan will be revised if the market moves.