Commission glossary

Pay mix

Pay mix is the split of on-target earnings between guaranteed base salary and at-risk variable pay, written as two numbers such as 60/40. The first number is the base share. A 60/40 mix on $120,000 of on-target earnings means $72,000 of salary and $48,000 of commission payable at full quota.

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Two offers can arrive in the same week quoting $100,000 on-target, one at 80/20 and one at 50/50, and they are different jobs wearing the same headline. Pay mix is the ratio that separates them: the first number is the share of on-target earnings paid as salary whatever happens, the second is the share that has to be sold for. Risk, motivation and how badly a slow quarter lands all sit inside those two numbers, and none of it is visible in the on-target figure by itself.

The split is a statement about how much of the outcome the company believes the rep controls. Roles where one person can genuinely swing the number carry aggressive mixes. Roles where revenue mostly arrives through renewal, service or a team carry conservative ones. Across business to business sales the common range runs from about 50/50 for new-business hunters to 80/20 or 90/10 for account management and customer success, with 60/40 the most frequently quoted midpoint. Those are typical ranges rather than standards, and they move with industry, market and how confident a company is in its own quota setting.

Mix only means something read alongside quota difficulty. A 50/50 package against a target two thirds of the team clear is a well-paid job with real variance. The same 50/50 against a target a quarter of the team clear is a low-salary job with a lottery ticket attached, and the ratio on its own will not tell you which of those you are holding. Ask the attainment rate in the same breath as the split, because one number is meaningless without the other.

The same $100,000 offer at two mixes

Two packages, both quoting $100,000 of on-target earnings against the same quota. One is 80/20, the other 50/50. Commission is a flat rate with no accelerator, so variable pay tracks attainment one for one.

80/20: base plus variable at target
$80,000 + $20,000
50/50: base plus variable at target
$50,000 + $50,000
A 60% year, 80/20 then 50/50
$92,000 and $80,000
A 140% year, 80/20 then 50/50
$108,000 and $120,000
Spread between the bad year and the good one
$16,000 on 80/20 · $40,000 on 50/50

One headline, two and a half times the volatility. Whether the aggressive mix is attractive depends less on appetite for risk than on how many people on that team cleared quota last year.

A mix change is a pay change, even when on-target earnings hold

Comp redesigns often keep on-target earnings flat and move the mix, and the deck calls this cost neutral. For the rep it is a transfer of risk priced at zero. Shifting a $120,000 package from 70/30 to 50/50 takes $24,000 out of guaranteed salary and makes it conditional on a target that person did not set. If the change is worth making, fund it: a move toward variable usually needs higher on-target earnings, a guarantee over the transition, or both, to survive its first slow quarter without losing the people it was meant to motivate.

What is a good pay mix for a sales role?
It depends on how much of the result the rep controls. New-business roles in business to business sales commonly sit between 50/50 and 60/40. Account management, renewals and customer success commonly sit between 70/30 and 90/10. Those are typical ranges observed across the market rather than a rule, and the right split for a given team also depends on how attainable its quota is.
How do I calculate pay mix from a job offer?
Divide base salary by total on-target earnings to get the first number, then subtract from 100 for the second. A $72,000 base inside a $120,000 on-target package is 60% base, giving a 60/40 mix. Where an advert quotes only the on-target figure, ask for the base directly, because the same $120,000 headline can hide anything from $96,000 of salary down to $60,000.

Nearby terms

On-target earnings (OTE)Total pay if a rep hits target exactly. A forecast, and frequently mistaken for a promise.Variable compensationThe part of pay that moves with performance, and the part finance cannot budget exactly.Sales quotaThe number a rep is expected to sell in a period, and the spine of the whole plan.Sales compensation planThe whole design: quota, rates, timing, reversals. Usually written once and patched for years.

The long form lives in the guides: Plan templates.

Knowing the word is
the easy half

Commish pays pay mix the way your plan describes it, shows the arithmetic on every line, and traces each payment back to the deal that earned it.