With 64% of sales professionals willing to leave their jobs for higher pay, setting the right commission rate has become a critical retention strategy. Yet many leaders fall into the trap of searching for a magic average number. The most effective commission plans are not built on industry averages. They are designed to drive your specific go-to-market strategy.
This guide provides the 2025 benchmarks you need to stay competitive. More importantly, it offers a strategic framework for designing a sales compensation plan that motivates your team, aligns with company goals, and turns compensation into a clear, reliable way to hit targets. We will break down typical rates by industry, explore the key factors that shape them, and show you how to build a plan that drives performance.
What is the Average B2B Sales Commission Rate in 2025?
You will see averages cited between 5 and 15 percent of a deal’s value, but that range is only a starting point. The right number for your business depends on your industry, sales model, margins, and goals. Industry sources, including Salesforce, commonly reference these ranges in their guidance on average sales commission, but you should tune your plan to your economics and market motion.
Think of commission as the variable pay that rewards the revenue you want reps to create. Use it to focus effort on the right deals at the right time, not just to pay for closed business.
Typical B2B Sales Commission Rates by Industry
Industry dynamics are one of the biggest drivers of commission rates. Product margin, deal size, sales cycle length, and market maturity all change what “good” looks like in your world.
At a glance:
- Lower-margin, high-volume motions often land in the low single digits.
- High-margin, complex deals support higher rates or accelerators.
- New logo acquisition often pays more than renewals or expansions.
SaaS and Technology
The SaaS and technology sectors often base commissions on a percentage of Annual Contract Value (ACV) or Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). Given the recurring revenue model, rates for B2B sales in technology and SaaS can range anywhere from 5% to 20% of the total contract value, with higher percentages often reserved for new logo acquisition.
Professional Services & Consulting
In professional services, commissions are frequently tied to project values, long-term retainers, or even gross margin to protect profitability. Rates often range from five to 10 percent, reflecting the complex nature of the sale and the cost of delivery.
Other B2B Industries (Manufacturing, Logistics, etc.)
For industries like manufacturing or logistics, commission rates are heavily influenced by product margins and deal volume. A lower-margin product sold in high volume might carry two to five percent commission, while a high-margin, complex equipment sale could command 10 percent or more.
4 Key Factors That Influence Commission Rates
Beyond benchmarks, you need a plan that motivates your team and supports predictable growth. These factors should guide your design choices from day one.
Role and Seniority (AE vs. SDR vs. Manager)
Commission structures should reflect the different contributions of each role in the sales process. An Account Executive (AE) who owns closing will usually earn the highest rate. The standard commission rate for an AE is typically 10% of the deal value.
A Sales Development Rep (SDR) who qualifies leads and sets meetings might earn a smaller percentage or a flat fee per qualified opportunity. Sales managers can earn team overrides tied to overall performance.
Deal Size, Complexity, and Sales Cycle
The effort required to win a deal should influence the reward. Large, enterprise deals with long, complex sales cycles demand more skill and persistence. Many teams use higher percentages or accelerators on these deals to keep reps engaged through a longer path to close.
Compensation Model (Base Salary + Commission)
Most B2B sales roles use a mix of base salary and variable commission. This gives reps stable income while keeping performance front and center. The ratio between base and variable pay determines On-Target Earnings (OTE). A common framework for structuring OTE is the 10%/10% model, where reps make about 10 percent of their quota in base salary and another 10 percent in commission.
Company Goals and GTM Strategy
This is the most important factor. Pay for the behaviors your company needs right now. If you are entering new markets, pay more for new logos. If profitability is the priority, tie commission to higher-margin products or to gross margin.
Why Getting Commissions Right is More Critical Than Ever
A strong commission plan does more than cut checks. It sets the day-to-day focus on the sales floor and shapes how reps spend their time. When pay does not match the work or the math is wrong, trust erodes and your best people start looking elsewhere.
On an episode of The Go-to-Market Podcast, host Amy Cook and guest Jim Sbarra discussed the intense focus commissions create for sales reps. “You know, people who don’t work on commission… don’t understand what that means to somebody,” Sbarra explained. “Anything that doesn’t involve closing a deal seems like noise.” This is why clarity, fairness, and accuracy are non-negotiable.
Our 2025 Benchmarks Report found that nearly 77 percent of sellers still missed quota. The problem is not only target setting. It is execution. A well-built commission plan helps close that gap by pointing effort at the right work.
The Hidden Costs of Misaligned Commission Plans
When commission plans are managed with spreadsheets or disconnected systems, the true cost goes well beyond payout errors. Manual work slows everything down and creates confusion that hurts morale.
Common sales compensation mistakes like unclear rules or delayed payments push reps into shadow accounting, where they track every deal to verify payouts. That busywork, plus the disputes that follow, breaks trust between sales and operations. The real cost of bad commission tracking shows up as lost selling time, losing your best reps, and a culture that questions every number.
While there are many different commission structures to choose from, none will work without accuracy and transparency built in from the start.
From Average Rates to a High-Performance Plan
Moving beyond averages means connecting your GTM plan directly to what and how you pay. Build a plan that is competitive, simple to understand, and tied to the outcomes that matter most.
Create a single workflow from territory and quota planning all the way through to commission calculation and payment. When planning, performance, and pay are connected, you reduce disputes, speed up payouts, and keep reps focused on selling. For a step-by-step approach, see our guide on how to build a sales compensation plan that drives results.
Align Your Commissions to Your GTM Strategy with Fullcast
The takeaway is clear: the right commission rate is far more powerful than the average one. A strategic compensation plan aligns incentives with your go-to-market goals and turns your sales team into a consistent engine for growth. No tool can rescue a plan that does not fit your strategy, but spreadsheets make even good plans hard to run. Manual processes lead to errors, slow payouts, and a breakdown of trust between sales and operations.
This is why leading revenue teams are moving to a unified Revenue Command Center. Companies like Qualtrics use Fullcast to manage their entire plan-to-pay process in one platform and turn end-of-year chaos into an automated advantage. By connecting planning, performance, and pay, you can ensure your compensation strategy always supports your revenue strategy.
See how Fullcast Pay eliminates errors, reduces commission disputes, and gives your sales team the real-time visibility they need to stay motivated and focused on hitting their number. Stop managing compensation and start driving performance.
FAQ
1. What is the average B2B sales commission rate?
The average B2B sales commission rate varies by industry and role, but this figure should only be used as a general benchmark. The most effective commission plans are not built on industry averages. Instead, they are designed to drive your specific go-to-market strategy and reflect your company’s unique sales model and strategic goals.
2. How do commission rates differ across industries like SaaS, professional services, and manufacturing?
Commission rates vary significantly by industry due to differences in revenue models, profit margins, and sales cycle lengths. For example, SaaS and technology companies often have higher commission ranges due to recurring revenue, while professional services typically operate with lower rates that reflect different margin structures.
3. What factors should influence my company’s commission rate structure?
Several key factors should shape your commission rates, including the employee’s role, deal complexity, the balance between base salary and variable pay, and your overarching company goals. Aligning compensation with your GTM strategy is the core of effective incentive compensation management.
4. Why do Account Executives and SDRs have different commission rates?
Different sales roles have different commission structures because they perform distinct functions in the sales process. Account Executives are typically responsible to close deals and manage the full sales cycle, while SDRs focus on lead generation and qualification, requiring different incentives to reward each role’s contributions.
5. How important is commission structure to sales team retention?
A well-designed commission structure is extremely important for sales team retention. Because pay is a primary driver for sales professionals, an accurate and aligned commission plan is a critical tool for motivation and is essential to keeping top talent engaged and loyal.
6. What are the hidden costs of poorly managed commission plans?
Poorly managed commission plans create significant hidden costs, including payout errors, sales rep disputes, lost productivity from reps doing “shadow accounting,” and a general culture of mistrust. The true cost is measured in lost productivity, rep attrition, and a breakdown in trust that undermines team performance.
7. Why do manual spreadsheet-based commission tracking systems fail sales teams?
Manual spreadsheet systems are prone to errors and create an administrative burden that distracts sales teams from selling. When commission calculations are opaque or inaccurate, sales professionals lose trust in the system and spend valuable time verifying their own numbers instead of closing deals.
8. How does commission plan design affect quota attainment?
Commission plan design directly impacts whether sales teams hit their quotas by aligning incentives with the right behaviors and goals. A well-designed commission plan helps close the gap between goal-setting and execution by motivating reps to focus on the activities that drive results.
9. What does “aligning compensation with GTM strategy” actually mean?
Aligning compensation with your go-to-market strategy means designing commission structures that incentivize the specific sales behaviors and outcomes your business model requires. Your plan should reflect your company’s unique focus, whether it’s new customer acquisition, upsells, market expansion, or other strategic priorities.
10. Why do sales professionals care so much about commission accuracy?
Sales professionals care about commission accuracy because their variable pay is a core part of their expected earnings and livelihood, not just a bonus. Inaccuracies or delays in commission payments directly impact their financial security and their trust in the organization.
