How to review an offer, and push back on it
An offer letter shows you the OTE. That's what you make if you hit 100%, and about half of AEs don't. Before you sign, figure out what the job pays in a normal year.
Get the whole plan, not the summary
- Base, variable and OTE, and how the variable pays: monthly, quarterly, or when the customer pays
- The quota, and what it's measured on: bookings, run rate, or the whole book
- The comp plan document itself, including accelerators, caps and crediting rules
- The ramp: how long, what the ramped quota is, and whether there's a guarantee or a draw while you ramp
- The territory: what's in it, and who had it before you
If they won't show you the plan until after you sign, that tells you something.
Do the math for a normal year
Run the quota and OTE through Quota Check to see whether the multiple is in the normal range for how it's measured. Then put the plan through Pay Check and look at the 75% and 100% rows. That's closer to what you'll make than the number in the offer.
For year one, count the ramp. If you start in April with a six-month ramp, you'll sell for about three months at full quota before the year ends. A guarantee or a draw changes that math a lot, so ask exactly how yours works.
Ask the questions nobody likes
- What share of the team hit quota last year?
- Why is this role open, and what happened to the last person in the territory?
- How often has the plan changed mid-year?
- Has anyone on the team hit the cap, if there is one?
A good hiring manager will answer these without flinching. If they dodge all of them, you learned something.
Stock, RSUs and ESPPs
Plenty of cloud and SaaS offers include stock: RSU grants, options, or an employee stock purchase plan. They can be worth a lot, and they get complicated fast: vesting schedules, cliffs, refresh grants, purchase windows, taxes. I don't value them here, and I'm not giving financial advice. Get the grant details in writing, and if the equity is a big part of the decision, talk to a financial professional.
How to push back
Pick the one or two things that matter most to you and ask for those. Base often moves more easily than quota. A ramp guarantee, a lower first-year number, or a start date that lines up with the plan year are all reasonable asks. So is asking them to put a verbal promise into the offer letter.
Ask plainly, give your reason, and be ready to hear no. Don't bluff about a competing offer you don't have, and don't negotiate against yourself by offering a lower number before they answer.
