What Is The Average Tech Sales Salary? Here’s The Data For 2023

You might have heard rumors that you can make a lot of money in tech sales. But maybe that’s just the top performers being extra loud about their big commission checks. So what is the average tech sales salary for real?

Well, it depends …

On a lot of things, actually.

But mainly, your salary in tech sales will depend on a few things:

  • Your position / job title
  • Your tenure / level of experience
  • Your city / where you’re located

In this post, we break it down position-by-position and city-by-city.

Where we got our data

Note: this post has been updated with new data for 2023. It now includes compensation data for remote tech sales jobs.

Our data comes from the 2023 Compensation Guide created by Betts Recruiting, a recruiting firm that specializes in tech sales.

And here’s how Betts gathered the data:

“In our updated guide, you will read our update to sales … compensation with all data sourced from our thousands of placements last year.”

In case that’s not clear, Betts got this data from the candidates that they personally placed in tech sales positions.

So it’s basically the most accurate tech sales compensation data you can possibly get.

Tech sales salary data for these job titles and experience levels: 

  1. Sales Development Representative (SDR) (Recent Grad)
  2. Sales Development Representative (SDR) (6+ Months)
  3. Account Executive (AE) (0-3 Years)
  4. Account Executive (AE) (3-5 Years)
  5. Enterprise Account Executive (EAE) (5-10 Years)
  6. SDR Manager (0-2 Years)
  7. SDR Manager (3-5 Years)
  8. Sales Manager (0-2 Years)
  9. Sales Manager (3-5 Years)
  10. VP of Sales
  11. Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

Sales Development Representative (SDR) (Recent Grad)

Sales Development Representative (SDR) is the most common entry-level position in tech sales.

If you’re just getting started in your tech sales career, chances are you’ll be applying to mostly SDR positions. 

Business Development Representative (BDR) and Account Development Representative (ADR) are two other titles for very similar entry-level tech sales positions.

Click here to learn more about tech sales job titles like SDR, BDR, and ADR. 

In most of these roles, you’ll be handling the wide-mouthed top of the sales funnel. 

This means making hundreds of cold calls and sending out mass email campaigns in an effort to set meetings with qualified prospects for an Account Executive (AE) to then pitch and close.

SDR (Recent Grad) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 50-65K 75-90K
New York 50-65K 75-90K
Pacific 50-65K 75-90K
Mountain 50-65K 65-80K
Central 50-65K 65-80K
Eastern 50-65K 75-90K
Remote 40-50K 70-90K

*On-Target Earnings (OTE) refers to a tech salesperson’s total cash compensation, which is usually made up of a base salary and an additional variable component (in sales, this usually means commission).


Sales Development Representative (SDR) (6+ Months)

As you would expect, base salary and OTE are slightly higher for SDRs with at least 6 months of experience, when compared to recent grad SDRs.

Most high-performing SDRs are promoted to AE within 1-2 years.

Tech companies should wait at least one year before promoting their SDRs to AEs, according to The Bridge Group:

“The post-promotion failure rate for SDRs with 11 or fewer months experience [when promoted to AE] was 55%. The failure rate for SDRs with 16+ months experience [when promoted to AE] was just 6%.”

As an SDR, it’s good to be aware of your increase in value as you gain experience.

If you hit your 6-month mark and you’re performing well, you can expect a small pay bump. ⬆️

Otherwise, you can probably find another tech company that is willing to pay you more.

SDR (6+ Months) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 60-75K 80-100K
New York 60-75K 80-100K
Pacific 60-75K 80-100K
Mountain 55-70K 70-90K
Central 55-70K 70-90K
Eastern 60-75K 80-100K
Remote 60-80K 80-100K

Account Executive (AE) (0-3 Years)

At some companies, there are entry-level AE positions, but this is rare, and companies offering AE positions to their entry-level sales hires usually have shorter sales cycles and smaller deal sizes (often selling to B2C or SMB clientele).

In most cases, you will need previous sales experience as an SDR or other entry-level sales rep, before you can win a spot as a tech sales Account Executive. 

Note: OTE is higher for AEs as a % of total compensation, compared to SDRs.

According to data from Betts Recruiting, the typical compensation structure (base / commission) for SDRs is 65% / 35%.

For AEs, it’s 50% / 50%.

This is because AEs are “closers,” and their compensation is set up accordingly.

If an AE closes a deal, they make the commission.

If they lose the deal, they don’t make the commission.

AE (0-3 Years) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 75-100K 150-200K
New York 75-100K 150-200K
Pacific 75-110K 150-200K
Mountain 60-90K 120-180K
Central 60-90K 120-180K
Eastern 75-110K 150-220K
Remote 70-100K 140-200K

Account Executive (AE) (3-5 Years)

After you’ve been an AE for three years, you’ve probably developed a battle-tested ability to close deals, which is one of the most valuable skills in the business world.

As an AE, your compensation is performance-based. In other words, you make more commission when you close more deals.

So, as you get better at selling and you start closing more deals and bigger deals, your compensation will naturally increase.

Also, you’ll probably get a bump in base salary. Most companies have tiered systems to promote AEs based on the amount of revenue you’ve closed during your tenure.

AE (3-5 Years) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 90-125K 180-250K
New York 90-125K 180-250K
Pacific 90-125K 180-250K
Mountain 80-110K 160-220K
Central 80-110K 160-220K
Eastern 90-125K 180-250K
Remote 80-110K 160-220K

Enterprise Account Executive (EAE) (5-10 Years)

Tech sales companies usually split up their AEs by account size.

Account size is most commonly determined by annual revenue and/or employee headcount.

These are the most common account sizes in tech sales:

  • SMB
  • Mid-Market
  • Enterprise

And this is how they’re defined, according to Gartner:

  • SMB: fewer than 100 employees & less than $50 million in annual revenue
  • Mid-Market: 100 to 999 employees & $50 million to $1 billion in annual revenue
  • Enterprise: anything larger than Mid-Market

Bigger deals mean bigger commission checks for the salesperson.

Most AEs with 3-5 years of experience are probably in Mid-Market.

AEs with 5-10 years of experience work on Enterprise deals (the biggest deals), which is why they make the most.

EAE (5-10 Years) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 120-200K 240-400K
New York 120-200K 240-400K
Pacific 120-200K 240-400K
Mountain 120-150K 240-300K
Central 120-150K 240-300K
Eastern 120-200K 240-400K
Remote 120-200K 240-400K

SDR Manager (0-2 Years)

At some point in your tech sales career, you’ll have to decide between staying an “individual contributor” (SDRs and AEs who do the prospecting and selling) or going into management.

Some SDRs get promoted straight into SDR Management and never become AEs.

Being an SDR Manager is exactly what it sounds like—managing a team of SDRs. 

In addition to flexing the skills that you learned as an SDR, you’ll also have to acquire a whole new set of management skills.

SDR Manager (0-2) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 110-140K 170-210K
New York 110-140K 170-210K
Pacific 100-140K 170-210K
Mountain 100-140K 170-210K
Central 100-140K 170-210K
Eastern 100-140K 170-210K
Remote 100-140K 170-210K

SDR Manager (3-5 Years)

No surprises here.

An SDR Manager with 3-5 years of experience will make more than an SDR manager with 0-2 years of experience.

SDR Manager (3-5) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 140-180K 170-250K
New York 140-180K 170-250K
Pacific 140-180K 170-250K
Mountain 140-180K 170-250K
Central 140-180K 170-250K
Eastern 140-180K 170-250K
Remote 140-180K 170-250K

Sales Manager (0-2 Years)

Typically, a Sales Manager will be managing a team of Account Executives.

Just like AEs are paid more than SDRs, a Sales Manager will usually make more than an SDR Manager.

Sales Manager (0-2) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 120-160K 220-320K
New York 120-160K 220-320K
Pacific 120-160K 220-320K
Mountain 120-160K 220-320K
Central 120-160K 220-320K
Eastern 120-160K 220-320K
Remote 120-160K 220-320K

Sales Manager (3-5 Years)

Again, more experience, higher compensation.

Sales Manager (3-5) Base Salary On-Target Earnings
San Francisco 140-200K 280-400K
New York 140-200K 280-400K
Pacific 140-200K 280-400K
Mountain 140-200K 280-400K
Central 140-200K 280-400K
Eastern 140-200K 280-400K
Remote 140-200K 280-400K

VP of Sales

Note: Betts Recruiting has a separate compensation guide for executives, so the format of the data for VP of Sales and Chief Revenue Officer looks a little different. 

Break Into Tech Sales is mainly focused on entry-level tech sales roles, but we’ll still provide the base salary and OTE data for these more senior tech sales positions.

Hey, we can dream, right? 🙂

Once you have 10+ years of experience in tech sales, you’ll probably consider climbing the corporate ladder to become a tech sales executive.

This career path usually starts with being a Sales Manager so that you can gain some management experience.

Then you might become a Sales Director or Head of Sales.

After that, you’ll be next in line for VP of Sales.

Source: Betts Recruiting, 2023 Executive Compensation Guide

Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

If you’re hired as a CRO, you can give yourself a big pat on the back.

In terms of a tech sales career, you’ve made it.

Source: Betts Recruiting, 2023 Executive Compensation Guide

Be prepared to talk about compensation.

Tech sales recruiters and hiring managers will often ask,

“What range are you targeting for OTE?”

Whether you’re breaking into your first job in tech sales or trying to get promoted from SDR to AE, it’s important to have a sense of what you should be paid, based on data from the labor market.

Empowered with this data, you’ll feel more confident pushing back if the company is suggesting compensation that is lower than the market average.

Tech sales is a great career to hit your financial goals!

You control how much you make.

It’s not based on waiting your turn for a promotion or asking your boss for a raise.

Your earnings are directly correlated with your work output. 

And your earnings are “uncapped” in the sense that there is no limit (for most tech sales roles) on how much commission you can make. 

Ready to get a job in tech sales? 

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