Most sales teams pay every rep the same way, then wonder why their best people leave. I wanted a different system, so we built one around tiers. Here is how it works and why I think it holds up.
The core problem is that a rep’s work is only as valuable as the campaign they sit on. A meeting booked on a starter campaign paying $650 is not the same job as a meeting booked on a top-tier campaign paying up to $1,200. Most reps have no idea how to move from one to the other. Without a visible path, the best work goes to whoever the manager likes most, and everyone else assumes the game is rigged.
So we made the rule explicit. Everyone starts on the starter campaign. Access to higher-paying work is earned by proving performance on the one metric that matters: revenue per 1,000 dials. Not meetings alone, and not activity alone. Revenue per 1,000 dials tells us whether a rep’s time is turning into money for the business.
The team-wide target is above $69 per 1,000 dials. That is our break-even point, so anything below it means we are spending more on dialing than we earn back. I like it as an anchor because it is not a judgment call. A rep either clears it or they don’t, and they can see their own number.
This matters for the rep as much as for the manager. Our top performers are earning around $200 an hour. One rep booked 40 meetings in five days. That is what a visible career path looks like in practice: a clear next campaign, a clear rate, and a clear metric to hit to get there. When a rep asks what they need to do to get better work, the answer is a number, not a favour.
It also gives managers a rule they can defend. When a higher-tier campaign opens, I do not have to justify the decision case by case. The question is simple: who has proven they can turn dials into revenue on the current work? That removes a lot of politics, and a lot of the quiet favouritism that wrecks morale.
Tiering only works if the basics are protected. One thing I will not tolerate is the “fumble block.” That is when a rep claims a dial block and then does not use it. It sounds minor, but clients plan their service levels around those blocks. A missed block throws off the whole plan, so it is treated as a serious violation, and two instances can lead to termination. Strong numbers do not excuse it.
If you are building something similar, start with three questions. What is the one metric that proves a rep is creating value? What is the break-even number, so everyone knows the floor? And what is the next rung on the ladder, written down where the rep can see it? Get those right and the tiers do most of the managing for you.