SaaStr

AUGUST 25, 2023

Dear SaaStr: As An Employee, As an acquired employee, How Do I Negotiate My Compensation in an Acquisition? They will likely get special retention packages that stretch out over 2-3+ years. The reality the golden handcuffs, the big retention packages, etc. Especially below the VP level. Right or wrong.

Compensation 185

Compensation Acquisition Sales Hiring Finance 185

SaaStr

JUNE 13, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Does paying higher salaries increase employee retention? Moderate overpaying does not appear to create any stronger retention. Year-end and time-based bonuses lead to some retention, but maybe not the right kind. Massive overpaying increases retention of the so-so and mediocre. Otherwise — maybe not.

Retention 276

Retention Startup Investment Sales 276

SaaStr

MARCH 23, 2025

Create Compelling Economic Incentives For sales talent, compensation is critical. Founder-led sales provides invaluable dat a When founders sell the first $2-3M, they generate critical insights on customers, conversion rates, and retention that inform the GTM strategy. Hire “good humans” who are exceptional operators.

Sales Recruiting 242

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale AI 242

Tom Tunguz

JULY 10, 2022

Later, lower NPS (net promoter score) and weakened NDR (net dollar retention) mar the company’s financials. In the second scenario, the company enjoys faster sales cycles, greater NDR, and better customer retention, plus a referral. In the first scenario, the sales team records terrific initial bookings.

Strategy 356

Strategy Sales Compensation Retention 356

SaaStr

APRIL 15, 2025

I’ll dig in, but a really great deep dive with MongoDB’s head of sales ops here: Four Sales Compensation Tactics for Consumption-Based GTM with MongoDB’s SVP of Sales MongoDB us a blended commission model for their consumption-based GTM. Increasing customer consumption and retention. based on deal size).

Scale 147

Scale Compensation Retention Churn 147

Sales Hacker

APRIL 19, 2022

In this article, I’ll outline the principles of compensation design , how to build sales compensation plans , and include resources to set OTEs and quotas that keep your reps happy and hungry for more. Why Sales Comp Planning is Key to Rep Retention. Who should be responsible for sales compensation planning?

Compensation 98

Compensation Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Retention 98

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 14, 2022

First, Deliberately Underselling means optimizing the sales process for Net Dollar Retention (NDR). Last, the plan compensates those responsible for growing accounts with a quota - in line with Frank Slootman’s philosophy. I asked him to share his views on land & expand team structure & quotas. But we covered much more.

Startup 342

Startup Construction Sales Compensation 342

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Free user retention. Stage 2: Prove free user retention. But this should come at last, where you focus on metrics such as paid user percentage or net dollar retention. Mistake #3: Not designing a sales compensation plan for PLG. “We This adoption funnel goes through: . Free user acquisition. Monetization.

Technical Review 290

Technical Review Technical Advisors Scale Compensation 290

SaaStr

JULY 22, 2019

Almost always, compensation distributions are fixed the moment you sign a term sheet to be acquired (and really, a bit before that). For any retention payments, you can try to influence who gets what. The post When offering equity compensation, what should founders consider to make sure employees benefit fairly from a liquidity event?

Compensation 150

Compensation Acquisition Retention 150

SaaStr

DECEMBER 19, 2022

Compensate Democratically: Managing up culture brings us all down. Muralidharan says, “Compensation is a very powerful motivator, so if there are certain behaviors you want to incentivize, then make sure that your compensation process is kind of aligned with those behaviors.” However, many companies participate in “managing up.”

Compensation 264

Compensation Leadership Company Culture Headcount 264

SaaStr

OCTOBER 30, 2022

SaaStr 603: SaaStr CRO Confidential Presents the Ultimate Guide to Sales Compensation, Quotas and Recruiting with SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin. How to Build a Super High-Retention Sales Team with Twilio SVP & GM Alice Katwan. Top Podcasts This Week: 1. Hosted by Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund. ? ?.

Sales Recruiting 306

Sales Recruiting CTO Compensation Software Review 306

Sales Hacker

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Sales compensation planning can be a tricky beast to tame — but know that you’re not alone. Then, I’ll help you take it to the next level with QuotaPath’s newest free resource — our Compensation Hub. Then, I’ll help you take it to the next level with QuotaPath’s newest free resource — our Compensation Hub.

Compensation 123

Compensation Sales Recruiting Sales Finance 123

SaaStr

JUNE 12, 2020

Many founders like to tie compensation to results and like bonuses for overachievers. No CEO I’ve talked to that has implemented profit-sharing got the retention or employee NPS benefits they’d hoped for. Equity doesn’t really work as a retention vehicle for most employees. Not for retention. That includes us.

Compensation 258

Compensation Banking Retention Startup 258

SaaStr

OCTOBER 27, 2022

They will likely get special retention packages that stretch out over 2-3+ years. Don’t expect nothin’ The reality the golden handcuffs, the big retention packages, etc. Because it’s seen as their money, as “extra” compensation on top of the deal price. This will be a handful of key employees.

Startup 305

Startup Sales Hiring Compensation Finance 305

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

SaaStr 603: SaaStr CRO Confidential Presents the Ultimate Guide to Sales Compensation, Quotas and Recruiting with SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin. How to Build a Super High-Retention Sales Team | Twilio SVP & GM Alice Katwan. Hosted by Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund. ? ? ?.

Sales Recruiting 297

Sales Recruiting Compensation Cloud Retention 297

Tom Tunguz

JULY 11, 2024

Annual prepaid contracts are free loans to software companies ; seat-based pricing is a tangible metric for pricing ; as a client grows so does this account, producing good net dollar retention. It will require changing sales compensation plans & customer contracts, which database companies have navigated successfully.

AI 240

AI Pricing Software Compensation 240

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

If that $500-a-month customer has an 80% retention rate at the end of the year on average, then that’s essentially a $4,800 deal. Don’t do it once cash is a little less tight. The second is to pay annualized commissions, with an allowance for churn. And maybe add clawbacks. And may seem more appealing in the early days.

Scale 299

Scale Sales Payments Compensation 299

SaaStr

JULY 18, 2022

The reasons for this kind of nomadism can be complex—compensation, a growing remote-first workplace, morale, or a company’s reputation might contribute to their decision to leave. But for Notion’s Manapat, retention of engineers boils down to three main criteria: Company Success. Individual Growth. Key Takeaways.

CTO Coach 278

CTO Coach CTO Hire New CTO Engineering 278

Tom Tunguz

MAY 12, 2015

Year Adoption Retention Expansion. In 2014, his team spent 70% of their time on retention with the remaining 30% split between adoption and expansion. In the early years, Hubspot prioritized growth and consequently compensated their sales teams exclusively on new bookings. 2014 20% 70% 10%. 2015 35% 55% 10%.

Compensation 100

Compensation Customer Success Sales Recruiting Churn 100

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 29, 2015

For example, as Mark Roberge, CRO of Hubspot, wrote in The Sales Acceleration Formula , Hubspot adopted three different sales compensation plans throughout its early evolution which embody the three key ingredients of a sales compensation plan. Account executives were divided into quartiles by customer retention.

Compensation 100

Compensation Scale Payments Sales 100

SaaStr

OCTOBER 10, 2023

While it’s good to focus on hiring great salespeople to drive net new revenue growth, you also need to think about how to drive customer success and customer retention. Well, of course, they might be over-indexing on driving initial ACV higher than necessary, which might lead to lower retention over time. What are the North Stars?

Scale 283

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Sales 283

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 4, 2016

It’s the most provocative idea about employee compensation I’ve found. But, this compensation strategy must be complemented with a plan to reward the exceptions, the 10xers. As Daniel Kahneman showed in Thinking Fast and Slow , humans think in normal distributions.

Compensation 100

Compensation Startup Benchmarks Engineering 100

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

It’s 2021, but surprisingly, a significant number of SaaS companies still use outdated sales compensation plans. Salespeople are often compensated at the highest rate when they win brand new business, but that might not be good for revenue expansion and might contribute to churn. Roberge recommends starting with product-market fit.

Sales Hiring 260

Sales Hiring Scale Compensation Sales 260

SaaStr

JUNE 12, 2022

And that was customer success managers who were really just farmers — compensated 100% or close to it for Upsells, not Retention. Incent Sales Reps to close leads , but also give them the compensation to properly treat the prospective customers with respect. These guys — I don’t know. A lot of them are smarmy.

Compensation 298

Compensation Customer Success Interviewing Sales 298

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

Tie compensation to these metrics to incentivize performance. A classic on founder compensation, always one of the most searched topics. These include blaming others for missed numbers, dropping quota attainment, top reps leaving, making unrealistic plans, declining revenue retention, and showing fear.

Sales Hiring 289

Sales Hiring Technical Advisors Compensation Outsourced Development 289

ChurnZero

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

There are several different models of compensation plans , but not all can be guaranteed to produce the same results for your organization. We’ve found that, when looking to build a strong team of Customer Success Managers (CSMs), an incentive compensation plan , otherwise called a variable compensation plan , produces the best results.

Compensation 97

Compensation Customer Success Churn Retention 97

SaaStr

JANUARY 27, 2023

In addition to creating a thriving business with impressive growth, opening paths for career development, and staying resilient, companies must focus on compensating their sales teams generously and fairly. We found that we had incredible retention at Flexport when we paired career progression with meaningful equity grants.”

Sales Recruiting 244

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Compensation 244

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Folks that increased quotas to compensate for sales comp inflation and lower margins ended up in many cases with low attainment. If you sell to SMBs and have 70% revenue retention over the year, you just can’t pay the same as enterprise reps that close 140% NRR deals. But where does that 20% magically come from?

Scale 345

Scale Venture Capital Sales Hiring Sales 345

SaaStr

JULY 24, 2019

The theme of today’s talk is How to Build the CSM Team that Generates 130% plus Net Retention. At Talkdesk, we have achieved really amazing customer retention, net retention, advocacy, loyalty. You have to nail all of these items in order to be able to boost net retention within your organization.

Retention 161

Retention VP of Engineering Sales Hiring Scale 161

SaaStr

JULY 8, 2024

So, net of churn, net of retention, net of expansion over long periods, coupled with an AE progression plan with highly quantifiable metrics and a scope that expands in terms of tenure. It’s increased Justworks’ employee retention and decreased overall turnover because they’re getting an incredible paycheck on an annual basis.

Sales Hiring 293

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Education 293

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

Otherwise, they may leave the business, lured by the promise of greater compensation elsewhere. By granting more options at the end of the second year equal to or greater than market comparables, the startup will ensure its compensation packages are competitive. And the outcome is higher retention and greater employee satisfaction.

Startup 190

Startup Compensation Retention Pricing 190

User Pilot

JULY 25, 2024

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the field, understanding the nuances of retention managers is essential for success. In this guide, we’ll delve into the core responsibilities, salary insights, essential skills, and more, providing you with the knowledge and tools you need to excel as a retention manager.

Retention 95

Retention Management Customer Lifetime Value Telecommunications 95

Sales Hacker

MARCH 29, 2022

These 3 trends have many sales, revenue, and finance leaders wondering how to build compensation plans that hit on all three AND align to business strategies. The post The Comp Plan Recipe that Doubles Rep Productivity & Retention appeared first on Sales Hacker.

Retention 95

Retention Compensation Finance Trends 95

ChurnZero

JULY 2, 2021

Choosing between Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) as your north-star growth metric isn’t an either-or question. In this article, you’ll learn: Differences between Net Revenue Retention, Gross Revenue Retention, and Customer Retention with definitions and examples.

Retention 97

Retention Revenue Sales Hiring Churn 97

User Pilot

JULY 21, 2024

According to our benchmark, the average month-1 retention rate in SaaS companies is 46.9%. Let’s explore our product metrics benchmark and learn: The definition of month-1 retention rate and why it matters. Average month-1 retention statistics for different segments. Strategies to improve your month-1 retention rate.

Benchmarks 105

Benchmarks Retention Healthcare Scale 105

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 14, 2022

If they aren’t happy, they may leave, which can spell problems for your employee retention rate, which in turn can negatively impact your business as a whole. In a special presentation, Secureframe COO Seema Kumar shares common leadership challenges in today’s modern workforce, best practices, and tips for talent retention.

Retention 130

Retention Leadership Compensation Communication 130

Tom Tunguz

JULY 28, 2018

80%+ of startup operating expense flows to compensation. All managers in a company influence employee retention - from the C-level to the line manager. Seven people’s compensation might total an annual budget of $1.5M Talent is the largest investment of an early stage company. Retaining these employees is good business.

Investment 183

Investment Management Compensation Market Research 183