SaaStr · 2019-10-14
· 2424d
Implementing Variable Compensation Plans Across All Revenue-Impacting Roles
Jason Lemkin argues that SaaS companies should extend variable compensation beyond sales to all employees who materially influence revenue, including product, marketing, customer success, and engineering leaders. He provides specific variable comp percentages for each role and shares personal anecdotes demonstrating how financial incentives drive alignment with revenue goals and organizational priorities.
Metrics in this report
Engineering Leadership Variable Compensation
10-20%
recommended range
of base salary for hitting plan
VP Customer Success Variable Compensation
30+%
recommended minimum
of base salary for upsell and retention
VP Engineering Bonus - Plan Exceeded 10%
20%
upside
bonus for 10% plan overachievement
VP Engineering Bonus - Plan Hit
5%
at-target
bonus for hitting exact plan
VP Engineering Bonus - Plan Miss
-10%
downside
salary reduction for missing annual plan
VP Marketing Variable Compensation
20%%
recommended
of base salary tied to leads/opportunities
VP Product Variable Compensation
15%%
recommended
of base salary for revenue plan alignment