How satisfied are you with the sales compensation plan at AT&T?

Question

Accepted Answer

Comp looks good on paper but almost no one hits quota and accounts are constantly realigned/comp structure constantly changes so it is hard to maintain numbers

Answer

Their comp plan was one of the main reasons for me leaving. First off, the way quotas are assigned is BS. The executive gets their quota and inflates it as they hand it down, then the next exec inflates theirs and so on. They do this so there is no way they'll miss THEIR goals and get a phat payout. What could start as a $4,000 MRR quota per rep could easily end up being $8,000 by the time it gets to the frontline seller. If you miss and fall below 80% in 90 days, you get put on a plan, btw.

Tons of commission caps, hard and soft. Constant chargebacks/clawbacks on comp. Comp plans are sometimes changed multiple times throughout the year, because the company realized it set goals too low, or in other cases, they wait and see how sellers perform before formalizing a target (which is conveniently high).  We're talking June and you still don't have a finalized comp plan and quota.

Their document of understanding for comp also basically states they can change the policy anytime for any reason. One year their clawed back 12+ months of commissions because they decided a product shouldn't have been included. Sellers went on plans because suddenly products they had been selling didn't count anymore and it was without warning. No grace periods, no "don't sell this going forward" literally, "we decided this doesn't align with company goals, sorry."

This also means if the comp plan changes while you're being paid out (they pay over several months versus one big comp check), you don't get anything. You can try their commission review board, but they deny 110% of requests. They're literally there for vanity purposes. Rarely does anyone ever get anything out of going to them.

It's a little known fact their comp teams expect to pay sellers around 80% or less of their total at risk. Even when sellers ball out, the company always digs through couch cushions before earnings calls to find ways to take back comp or hold it. They HATE paying sellers for selling products and will often defer to their "market competitive base pay" over paying a commission for product sold. Except their base pay is often below market.

If you work on a deal for a 12-18 months and land a massive sale, it will likely trigger an audit from their asset protection team to investigate any shady dealings - anything to avoid paying people or delay payouts.

All this is also after they take out 10%+ for incentives, like P-Club. You're basically sacrificing 10% of your variable to pay for those other incentives. So even if you get a spiff, you're just collecting 10% that should be owed to you.

Most of their products are paid on INSTALL now too. Which in many cases can take months, or fail as the footprint hitting saturation points (most serviceable customers have products) . And this also means if the comp plan changes by the time you're eligible to get paid, you won't or you'll get less. BUT you signed that document of understanding.

Frontline employees get shafted while the execs collect. If you're not getting a high base, you're going to get screwed by the company.

Answer

Somewhat satisfied. Could be much better with the difficulty of today’s environment.

Answer

10+ year employee perspective.  In the AT&T Business - enterprise space - difficult if not impossible to really drive the variable comp plan by design.  The company changes the account decks every few years which makes it challenging to achieve.  From a base salary perspective the average merit increases seem to be around inflation.  Some increases a bit above, some below.  According to many, many sales directors & comp calls I've been on with HR there is also no such thing as a salary "true up".  If you want a meaningful increase in your salary you need to leave the company and come back.  Generally speaking though the base salaries are the highest amongst the telcos & cable companies.

Answer

The sales compensation plan was a good one 20 years ago when I last received a bonus check. Today; totally outdated. People who are with the company today would be better to provide a response to this. According to the companies track record, Pretty sure it is on par with today's standards.

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Anonymous Q&A

How satisfied are you with the sales compensation plan at AT&T?