Top sales talent follows the money. If your compensation package falls short of market expectations, your best performers might already be fielding offers from competitors.

Many sales leaders discover too late that their compensation program isn't competitive. But fear not — using industry-specific sales compensation benchmarks strategically allows you to develop a plan that not only attracts elite talent but keeps them engaged for the long term.

Effective benchmark implementation balances competitive pay with financial sustainability. When paired with the right management tools, you can create a compensation structure that rewards performance while aligning with your overall business objectives.

This guide explores essential sales compensation benchmarks across key roles and industries, providing you with actionable insights to transform your compensation strategy into a powerful competitive advantage.

What are Sales Compensation Benchmarks?

Sales compensation benchmarks are data-driven metrics that show what similar companies pay their sales teams in base salary, commissions, and bonuses. Without these critical market insights, you risk losing your top performers to competitors offering better pay packages — and when your star salespeople leave, your targets become harder to reach, and revenue growth stalls.

Consider this example: A company regularly monitors compensation rates for sales managers across their industry. After comparing these external benchmarks with their internal pay structures and performance data, they might discover declining results alongside below-market compensation. This insight, especially in a competitive job market with limited experienced managers available, would prompt them to adjust their compensation strategy.

If you lack these salary benchmarks — along with market intelligence and performance metrics — you're missing the foundation needed to build compensation structures that keep your best people while meeting business objectives and budget requirements. On the flipside, effective benchmarking gives you the power to act proactively rather than scrambling to adjust after your top talent has already walked out the door.

Key Sales Compensation Benchmarks in 2025

According to the most recent data, monetary compensation, such as cash bonuses and other tangible incentives, is more motivating than non-tangible compensation. It has the following benefits:

• Increase performance by an average of 22% for individuals and 44% for teams.
• Engage participants with a 15% increase in performance for offering benefits upon completing a task and a 27% increase for continued engagement.

Longer incentive programs where reps can work to earn benefits work better. Year-long programs boosted performance by 44%, while shorter ones only improved results by 30%. Week-long programs had the least success, at just a 20% performance improvement.

Base Salary by Role and Industry

Here's a breakdown of typical base salaries for the most common sales positions across key industries, according to different sources:

Sales Support Reps

Glassdoor shares a $73,794 total annual pay for US sales support reps, with salaries making up $52,168 of that amount. Additional pay could include bonuses, commissions, or profit sharing. 

Salary.com shares somewhat different numbers, with an annual salary of between $53,058 to $67,434. 

Sales Reps

Glassdoor quotes the total salary for a U.S.-based sales rep at $76,741, with cash bonuses, commissions, tips, and profit sharing raising the total average to around $152,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) divides up sales rep pay by industry. It estimates $146,080 for those in finance, $144,370 for those in the oil industry, $139,880 for scientific research and development, and $134,280 for audio-video equipment manufacturing sales.

US News cites the median salary of sales representatives at $65,630 in 2023. The highest quarter of earners made $96,090, and the lowest earners just $48,520. 

Sales Managers

US News puts sales managers at making more, with an annual average of $135,160. In industries where their reps earn more, so do these managers.

Salary.com gives an annual average salary of $125,609, with a typical range of $114,576 to $140,061. 

The variation in these numbers shows that there's a lot of wiggle room in the market. The more data sources you use for your compensation benchmarks, the more comprehensive your understanding of the market will be. Consider geography and the site’s target market (startups vs. Fortune 500) when comparing your own pay practices. 

Commission Rates by Industry

Commission rates vary significantly across different industries, reflecting the complexity of sales cycles, product margins, and market dynamics. Below is a breakdown of typical commission rates by each of the top industries:

1. Software and Technology (SaaS)

The long sales cycle and recurring revenue model justify higher commission rates to retain top performers. So, commission rates start at around 10%, but range from 5% to 20% of the annual contract value (ACV). The structure often includes a base salary plus commission, with accelerators for exceeding targets and a small renewal bonus for renewing contracts.

2. Real Estate

The high-ticket sales of a home or commercial property have a long sales cycle, so higher commissions help keep agents earning between sales. Real estate commission rates tend to go lower as the value of the deal goes higher. Currently, the average commission rates range from 5% to 6% of the property’s sale price (up to 8% for commercial property). Agents get paid almost exclusively on commission.

3. Financial Services and Banking

Financial professionals make sales commissions on what they sell, and these rates vary by product. Rates for mutual funds can be as low as .25 to 1% of the investment amount, and annuities net agents up to 10%. Financial advisors also make competitive base salaries that help them avoid bias or pushing products that aren’t a good fit for their clients.

4. Medical and Pharmaceutical Sales

Pharmaceutical reps, some of the highest-paid medical sales professionals, get a substantial base salary in addition to their commissions. They're required to have some basic medical knowledge and understand how their products work to treat different conditions, which is why they can get up to a third of their income from commissions alone. The actual commission rate isn’t widely publicized and can vary so much between companies that there is no standard “average.” 

5. Retail and E-Commerce Sales

Retail sales vary wildly, as products range in price and value. Commissions may be tiered, and go as high as 15% for items like apparel. Retail sales professionals usually earn an hourly wage and must meet quota before their commission kicks in.

6. Insurance Sales

Insurance is a very commission-driven industry, with different rates for auto, home, life, and health. If an agent works with just one company, they're considered "captive" and make up to 5 to 10% of the first year's premium, plus a base salary. Independent agents can work with any company and may not receive a salary. Their rates top 15% or more since they often live on commissions alone.

Quota Attainment

Quota expectations differ by industry, and in 2023, only 43.1% of reps met their quotas across the B2B tech sphere. Other factors, such as sales cycle complexity, product margins, and market dynamics, further affect the quota attainment of each industry.

Here are examples of different markets and their challenges in meeting sales quotas: 

• Data and AI: 50.54%
• Finance and ERP: 40.96 %
• Marketing tools: 45.68%
• HR tools: 47.36%
• DevOps and developer tools: 42.71%
• Cybersecurity: 39.31%

These percentages should inform — but not solely determine — how you structure your commission thresholds. The most effective quota systems balance ambitious internal growth objectives with realistic market conditions.

Non-Monetary Compensation

Non-monetary compensation doesn't pay the bills, but it does contribute in other ways that employees truly value, such as personal growth, recognition, and work-life balance. Strategies for non-monetary incentives include:

1. Public recognition. Regularly recognize team members in front of their peers or the entire company through leaderboards or award programs. It boosts self-esteem and encourages others to strive for similar recognition.
2. Professional growth opportunities. Offer mentorship, leadership development, or skill-building courses. Investing in a salesperson’s future conveys trust and commitment to their long-term success.
3. Team-building activities. Organize retreats, workshops, or informal gatherings to foster camaraderie. This encourages mutual respect and support among team members, reduces burnout, and boosts job satisfaction.
4. Work-life balance incentives. Provide extra vacation days, flexible work arrangements, or family-friendly policies. It improves morale and loyalty by supporting personal well-being.

Incorporate both monetary and non-monetary benchmarks into your comp plan so people know you value their overall well-being and not just their financial security.

How to Revitalize Your Sales Compensation Plan

Has it been a while since you looked at your sales compensation package? Here's a step-by-step guide to help you whip your compensation plan into shape:

1. Gather Market Data

You can't create a competitive compensation package without knowing what others pay (hence, why we’ve been waxing poetic about benchmarks). This step ensures your compensation strategy is aligned with industry standards so you can attract and retain top talent.

Get started by:

• Gathering data from several sources. Use trusted tools like salary surveys, industry reports, and sites like Glassdoor or Payscale to gather pay information.
• Accounting for industry differences. Each industry pays differently. For example, tech and finance jobs usually come with higher salaries and bigger bonuses than other fields.
• Keeping your info fresh. Check compensation data at least once per year. Markets change, and your pay plan should change with them.

Keep your compensation data current and well-rounded to stay competitive and ensure your pay plan works for both your team and your sales budget.

2. Review Internal Performance

Evaluate your team's performance to identify areas for improvement and determine whether your compensation plan rewards the right behaviors:

• Analyze sales data. Conduct a thorough review of key performance metrics through your CRM system, including conversion rates, deal sizes, sales cycle length, and quota attainment patterns. This detailed analysis reveals not just who's hitting targets, but also identifies specific performance strengths and weaknesses across your team.
• Look for pay gaps. Compare your current compensation levels against industry benchmarks to identify positions where pay may be too low or too high relative to market standards.

Analyze performance data alongside compensation trends to refine your pay structure, driving better results while retaining top performers.

3. Collaborate With Finance

Your compensation plan must work within the organization's broader financial framework. Strong partnership with your finance team ensures a plan that remains sustainable while driving sales growth.

How to do it:

• Align strategic objectives. Develop sales targets that directly support company-wide financial goals, including profit margins and revenue growth targets.
• Leverage financial intelligence. Utilize comprehensive financial reports and forecasts to create data-driven incentive structures that reward high-impact behaviors while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Establish ongoing communication channels. Implement regular check-ins with finance stakeholders to monitor plan performance, enabling quick adjustments to compensation structures as market conditions or business priorities evolve.
• Model various scenarios. Work with finance to stress-test your compensation plan against different business outcomes, so it remains viable during both growth periods and potential downturns.

A collaborative approach ensures that your compensation strategy balances motivating top performance with maintaining financial sustainability, creating a framework that scales effectively as your organization grows.

4. Leverage Incentive Compensation Technology

Compensation management technology eliminates manual processes, reduces calculation errors, and provides data-driven insights into sales performance. Implementing the right solution keeps your compensation strategy competitive while supporting both your sales team's success and broader organizational objectives.

Make sure you:

• Select purpose-built solutions. Identify compensation management platforms (ahem, CaptivateIQ) that specifically address your organization's complexity, scale, and integration requirements rather than relying on generic spreadsheet solutions.
• Maximize automation capabilities. Implement systems that automate commission calculations, quota tracking, territory management, and performance analytics to minimize administrative burden and eliminate expensive payout mistakes.
• Monitor performance metrics continuously. Look for real-time dashboards and analytics to track key performance indicators, so you’re able to identify trends, recognize top performers, and address issues before they impact revenue.

Get Great Talent With Competitive Pay

If your compensation plan is anything but generous, you likely won’t know until it's too late (and your best reps have walked out the door). You can avoid this nightmare scenario by using updated benchmarks to shape your compensation plan into something truly competitive.

What was once a time-consuming manual process has been streamlined through technology. CaptivateIQ's platform enables you to effectively test, implement, and monitor your incentive plans with precision. You can quickly model different compensation scenarios, track performance against targets, and make data-driven adjustments to ensure your strategy remains competitive.

Don't lose out on sales talent. Schedule a demo today to see how effective incentive compensation management can transform your sales organization.