What is the Average SaaS Sales Rep’s Salary? | 27 Facts About Inside Sales Rep Compensation

What’s the average salary of an inside sales rep at a SaaS company?

According to the latest research, the average salary of an inside sales rep at a SaaS company is $60K (Base Salary) and $118K total on-target earnings.

Recruiting and hiring new reps is one of the biggest challenges facing inside sales leaders at SaaS companies. One of the top questions I hear get asked is how much should you compensate the respective members of an inside sales team? If you’re in the process of growing an inside sales team, you may be wondering what the average salary is for inside sales reps. The Bridge Group just released the latest version of their Periodic Table of Inside Sales Metrics, which reveals the average salaries and sales compensation data for inside sales reps across a variety of roles. It also details their average quotas and ramp times. While the amount that reps are compensated will vary based on industry and experience, we thought the Bridge Group’s data could help you establish reasonable benchmarks in order to roll out equitable compensation plans that inspire reps to sell at peak performance.

Some of the biggest differences from last year include a drop in SDR tenure. As competition to recruit reps has increased, turnover for this role has become higher. Another key difference is that the on-target earnings (OTE) for account executives has shot up. I suppose this is only fair, considering that average quotas have grown (in fact they have crossed into the seven-figure range!)

SaaS-Specific Metrics

Here are some SaaS-specific metrics.

• Average Ramp time for SaaS Inside Sales Rep: 5.3 months
• Average Tenure for SaaS Inisde Sales Rep: 2.5 years
• Average Base Salary for SaaS Inside Sales Rep: $60K
• Average On-target earnings for SaaS Inside Sales Rep: $118K
• Average ARR Quota: $705K
• Average Selling Price: $28K (ARR)

What is the Average salary for Inside Sales Reps?

Here are some more inside sales compensation facts form The Bridge Group’s research that are not SaaS-specific. We’ve separated compensation metrics by individual sales roles:

Click this image to see a full-size version of this table and more amazing research from The Bridge Group!

Sales Development Reps

Sales development reps (SDRs) are sometimes called pre-sales reps. Their goal is to prospect for business and qualify leads before handing opportunities off to quota-carrying account executives.

• Average Ramp Time for an SDR: 3.3 months
• Average SDR Tenure: 1.4 years
• Average Base Salary: $46K
• Average Total Compensation: $72K
• Average Daily Calls for SDRs: 46
• SDR Monthly Quota: (Opps): 13
• SDR Monthly Quota: (Appointments): 21

For more of the latest research about sales development reps, including compensation, quota, activity metrics and more, I highly recommend checking out The Bridge Group’s 2016 Sales Development Metrics and Compensation Report.

Inside Sales Account Executives

Account executives (AEs) are your quota-carrying salespeople who are tasked with selling to sales-qualified leads. Here are some metrics revealing the average compensation for inside sales account executives.

• Average Ramp Time for an AE: 4.9 months
• Average AE Tenure: 2.5 years
• Average base salary for AEs: $57K
• Average On-target Earnings: $112K
• Average Annual Quota: $1.2M
• Average percentage of account executives at quota: 66% 

SDR Managers

Here are some compensation metrics for reps that are in charge of managing teams of sales development reps.

• Average Base Salary for SDR Managers: $89K
• Average On-target Earnings for SDR Managers:$129K
• Average Base Salary for SDR Directors: $115K
• Average On-Target Earnings for SDR Directors: $174K

Inside Sales Managers

Naturally, managers and directors in charge of account executives tend to command a higher salary than those who are managing teams of sales development reps. Here are some average salaries for sales management positions.

• Average Base Salary for Inside Sales Managers: $91K
• Average On-target earnings for Inside Sales Managers: $140K
• Average Base Salary Inside Sales Directors: $107K
•  Average On-target earnings for Inside Sales Directors: $178K

The Top Challenge Facing Inside Sales Teams

The Bridge Group’s research also revealed some of the top challenges facing inside sales teams today. It’s not surprising that the number one challenge facing inside sales teams is improving productivity and performance. According to the table, only two thirds of reps hit quota (other reports have estimated that even fewer reps hit their numbers). In this increasingly competitive landscape, sales development reps need tools that can help them dial and connect with more key decision makers. Account executives need tools that can help them have smarter sales conversations. Managers need tools that can empower them to make smarter revenue predictions and coach reps to success. Revenue.io is a complete sales acceleration platform that can help inside sales reps in every role do a much better job of driving revenue.

For more insight into how to roll out an inside sales compensation plan that motivates reps to drive more revenue, check out our eBook.