The era of ‘grow now, profit later’ is over. Today’s B2B sales leaders face a new reality: growth must be profitable, sustainable, and efficient. This change requires companies to consider every part of their revenue operations, especially sales compensation.  

Your compensation strategy isn't just about paying your team. It's about communicating priorities, shaping behaviors, and ensuring your go-to-market approach delivers the results your business needs. The challenge? Many organizations are still running outdated compensation playbooks designed for a different landscape.

Our 2025 Sales Compensation Benchmarks Report reveals how top revenue teams are reengineering compensation strategies to drive performance and profitability. Our data shows clear patterns among the top performers: how they structure their plans, what technology they invest in, and which opportunities they seize to stay ahead of the curve.

Download our 2025 Sales Compensation Benchmark Report.

5 Eye-Opening Trends From This Year’s Benchmarks

Our 2025 Compensation Benchmarks Report offers an insider’s look into how companies approach compensation. Here’s a sneak peek at five standout findings shaping sales compensation this year — each one signals how the best are staying agile, motivated, and aligned with the most important benchmarks. 

1. The 50/50 Pay Mix Still Reigns Supreme

Despite market evolution, the classic 50/50 split between base and variable compensation remains the dominant approach for most sales organizations. Our data shows that this balanced structure provides the right mix of security and upside for most sales roles, with average on-target earnings (OTE) falling between $150,000 and $175,000.

Interestingly, while the ratio itself has remained constant, how organizations implement this structure has evolved significantly. Top-performing teams are getting more strategic about distributing variable compensation across different performance tiers, creating more nuanced acceleration models that better reward exceptional performers.

The 50/50 structure provides a foundation, but the real differentiators lie in how the variables are adjusted to account for region, role, or risk tolerance. The pay for a rep in California selling enterprise accounts will look much different than a rep in the Midwest doing B2C sales. 

2. Simpler Plans = Smarter Sellers

If one clear trend emerges from high-performing organizations, it's the move toward simplification. Our data is clear: most compensation plans now include just three core metrics, a major streamlining from the five or six common metrics just a few years ago.

This simplification isn't about lowering expectations but about clarity and focus. When sellers understand what drives their compensation, they make better decisions faster. Simpler compensation plans reduce the "analysis paralysis" that often plagues complex multi-metric structures.

The data in our report shows teams with less to track may be able to focus on the right behaviors (in this case, selling).  

3. Quota Attainment Isn't Quite Where It Should Be

Here's a concerning trend: despite increased focus on performance, the numbers show most organizations aren't quite hitting the mark on quota attainment. Our benchmarks reveal average quota attainment is at 74%, with only 39% of organizations seeing between 51-75% of their sellers reaching quota.

While industry-specific quota standards vary widely, teams commonly operate just below optimal levels. This small gap represents a sizable opportunity — even tiny improvements in attainment rates can deliver outsized impacts on revenue performance and even boost seller retention.

Is this a performance issue or a planning failure? The data from our report shows that benchmarks may be to blame, and some benchmarks are more powerful than others. Recalibrating quotas to more achievable levels often drives better overall results than keeping “pie in the sky” targets that few can reach.

4. Compensation Processing Still Eats Up Valuable Time

It's surprising how much manual effort still goes into compensation management. Teams report spending approximately 36 hours per payout period just on commissions processing. That’s around four business days that could be redirected to strategic activities.

When you factor in related activities like handling disputes, managing exceptions, and running analyses, the total time investment becomes even more substantial. This operational burden doesn't just represent a productivity drain — it introduces errors that damage trust in the compensation system and ultimately impact seller motivation.

Forward-thinking organizations address this challenge head-on. Our report shows how these orgs implement automated compensation tools to cut processing time, improve accuracy, and build transparency.

5. AI and Automation are Reshaping Comp Strategies

The technology gap between leaders and laggards is widening. Only 20% of companies have successfully implemented revenue technology that genuinely drives growth, giving them a significant competitive advantage.

AI adoption is part of the trend, with analytics, reporting, and cost modeling emerging as the top areas where organizations apply these technologies. (Our report shares even more examples.)

The potential is enormous, from predictive modeling that optimizes quotas to automated workflows that cut down on manual processes.

What's especially notable is that high-performing organizations aren't just automating existing processes; they're using AI to reimagine their entire approach to compensation management. As early adopters, they use this tech to create more responsive, data-driven systems that adapt to changing conditions in real time.

How Top Revenue Teams are Standing Out

What separates the leaders from the followers when it comes to compensation? Our research reveals that top-performing revenue teams aren't just incrementally improving their approaches. They're fundamentally rethinking how compensation drives business outcomes.

These high-performing organizations share several key traits. First, they're ruthless about simplification, stripping away complexity to create compensation plans that sellers can instantly understand and apply. This clarity creates effective sales behaviors and better decision-making in the field.

Second, they view compensation not as an administrative function but as a strategic growth lever. Their comp plans match evolving business priorities and motivate sellers to target the most valuable activities and deals. 

Third, top performers recognize that static, annual compensation plans no longer match the pace of business change. They're embracing adaptation with regular reviews and adjustments that keep compensation aligned with market conditions and company priorities.

Finally, these leading teams are making significant investments in technology, such as AI and automation tools, to reduce administrative burden while enhancing decision quality. This technology doesn't just improve efficiency; it creates space for more strategic thinking about how compensation can drive business results.

The gap between organizations that embrace these principles and those still operating with outdated approaches is widening. The question for revenue leaders becomes: Which side of this divide does your team fall on?

3 Big Opportunities You Can Act on Now

This year’s benchmarks make clear that even the most forward-thinking sales organizations have room to grow. Many teams have embraced best practices around plan simplicity, operational discipline, and strategic alignment. Our data reveals three standout opportunities where leaders can make an immediate impact.

1. Recalibrate Quotas for Realistic Motivation

When nearly two-thirds of your sellers miss quota, it’s not a performance problem — it’s a planning problem. Our data suggests many organizations are setting quotas that are just out of reach for most of their team, creating a demotivating environment where even strong performers feel they're falling short.

The solution isn't lowering standards. It’s right-sizing expectations with winnable challenges that push sellers to excel, but not into impossible territory. Organizations that adjust their quotas report not only improved attainment but also better seller retention and more predictable revenue performance.

The benchmarks in our latest report provide a valuable reality check: If your attainment rates are significantly below the 74% average, it's time to revisit your methodology. Small adjustments here can yield substantial improvements in both performance and morale.

2. Automate the Tedious, Free Up Your Talent

The 4 days per pay period that teams spend on commission processing are just the tip of the iceberg. When you add in related activities like dispute resolution, adjustments, and analytics, many organizations invest 80+ hours monthly in compensation administration. 

Progressive organizations tackle this challenge through intelligent automation, using platforms like CaptivateIQ to streamline their processes. The impact extends beyond simple time savings. Automation reduces errors, improves transparency, and ultimately builds greater trust in the compensation system.

Consider this: For every hour you reclaim from administrative tasks, you create space for activities that directly drive revenue growth. The ROI on compensation automation isn't just about operational efficiency; it's about unlocking your team's capacity to focus on what truly matters.

3. Align Comp Plans With Changing Priorities

Even the best-intentioned annual compensation plan can quickly become misaligned with company priorities. Yet most organizations only update their plans annually, creating a growing disconnect between compensation incentives and strategic objectives.

Leading companies address this challenge by reviewing plans more often and building greater flexibility into their compensation structures. This doesn't mean constantly changing the rules. It means creating flexible frameworks that can change priorities without requiring complete overhauls.

Our report data shows that organizations with more responsive compensation approaches can match seller behaviors to company missions — it even explores how often is often enough.

Ready to See How You Stack Up?

Our 2025 Sales Compensation Benchmarks Report provides an insider’s view of how to structure compensation strategies to drive efficiency, profitability, and growth. The data offers valuable context to evaluate your current approach and find opportunities for improvement.

But benchmarks are just the starting point. The real value comes from translating these insights into action. CaptivateIQ helps revenue leaders across industries transform how they design, manage, and optimize their sales compensation programs. Our platform combines powerful automation capabilities with intuitive modeling tools and comprehensive analytics, creating the foundation for compensation strategies that truly drive business results.

Download the full 2025 Sales Compensation Benchmarks Report today to access detailed insights on role-specific metrics, regional variations, and the specific techniques top-performing organizations use to pull ahead of the competition. Use this report to benchmark your comp strategy, discover gaps, and apply proven tactics.

Don't just compensate your team. Motivate, align, and empower them with a compensation strategy built for today's efficiency-focused, profit-driven business environment.