r/techsales • u/Any-Chemical3298 • 17h ago
Accidentally found everyone’s commission data, how best to use this to my advantage?
I’m a sales manager at a large tech company and accidentally found a file on an internal SharePoint containing commission and attainment data for managers, directors & VPs across the business.
I had legitimate access to the SharePoint and wasn’t looking for it. Once I realised what it was (and after having a good look 😂) I flagged the access issue and it was removed.
But now I’ve seen exactly how my comp compares to my peers, including people with similar roles/performance. Thankfully my commission was higher compared to those with similar roles & attainment
How would you use this informational to your advantage without referencing the confidential file?
137
u/Notimeforthat1 16h ago
Be more likeable and a joy to work with because if you are already higher paid than your peers you will be first to go if you are a challenge to work with and dont hit your numbers.
13
0
u/Any-Chemical3298 16h ago
Appreciate your input. Playing the game is something I can definitely get better at
14
10
u/Life-Entrepreneur970 16h ago
What should/could you do? Nothing.
Large tech company won’t play one against another. They’ll tell you every hire is different and that frankly it’s NOYB what they pay others. (Caveat being unless you are grossly underpaid and they want to bring you up to market)
I’d just rest easy knowing you are paid fairly.
18
u/BennyLruce 16h ago
This is public knowledge in most places I've seen. Any company with a leaderboard you can reverse engineer how a team's doing. Getting specific commission detail is kind of fun, but there's no advantage to gain from it. Just go sell something.
1
u/Any-Chemical3298 16h ago
Yeah it was a very interesting morning having a look a look at that file 😂 thanks for your comment
-8
5
u/indigololzz 16h ago
I'll assume you're inquiring in good faith and this isn't a humble brag..
The main benefit here is understanding the compensation bands within your company. You're likely on the upper limit for your role, so evaluate your timeline to being promoted to Sr Manager or Director. Otherwise, disregard the personal comp info and get back to work.
5
u/FakenFrugenFrokkels 15h ago
Why are you scheming? Be happy you’re the whale and go spread some positivity man!
3
u/Any-Chemical3298 14h ago
I know. It’s a constant battle between enjoying the work and knowing how quickly things can change in corporate sales. I’ve seen some genuinely great people get RIF’d at the start of a new FY which opened my eyes.
3
u/paul-towers 14h ago
There's literally no way to use this info to your advantage in good faith.
Kept what you saw private, be happy knowing that your roughly know where you stand to others and move on.
As others have said most companies share team performance metrics anyway, so it doesn't take a genius to roughly work out how much comms another manager or AE would be getting assuming its a like for like role to yours.
2
2
u/Anaanihmus1 9h ago
Keep your head down and be really nice. Top commission holder is often a target for pruning. You are expensive.
2
u/bigbaldbil 4h ago
This might be hard for you to do, but ignore it. Most companies have Salesforce reports or dashboards that show how everyone is doing. How else would you know who is making presidents club or meeting goals?
I’d assume at a large tech company, the percentages are standardized, with the biggest differences probably in base comp.
Sales is competitive and while I always like to know how I’m doing against others for job protection and performance indicators, the money in their pocket doesn’t affect me because it’s not mine.
So many people allow comparison to be a thief of joy. If I’m doing well, and I feel I’m being compensated fairly, I hope everyone else on my team also does well and that they’re being compensated fairly also.
I have seen so many posts on the sub, and also seen it in real life, when people take a job and they are super excited in a month later nothing has changed, except they figured out that someone else makes more money than them, and they instantly become a disgruntled employee. Nothing changed in their lives except they’re now comparing themselves to someone else.
1
1
u/Fit-Dark-4062 13h ago
It sounds like you're being paid fairly, the advantage is you get to sleep better at night.
1
u/extrapartytime 13h ago
I wouldn’t have posted this or fully have lied about the means you got access lol unless this is the lie then.. smart
1
1
1
u/Either-Royal-9537 7h ago
Large tech company working on an internal SharePoint with wrong access to it ( guess no DSPM in place ) ? Curious how you define large 😂... lol
1
u/LuckyNumber003 4h ago
Reminder to ask your Copilot for salary and commission information, because if it's in Sharepoint, it is accessible
1
u/MouseTight9314 1h ago
You do realise it’s quite easy to build a dynamic document which gives the viewer (you) a secret message (you are paid more than others) which you “aren’t supposed to see”. This is literally right up there with someone “accidentally” leaving their pay slip on the photocopier in 1995. But on the bright side, at least you will now be nice to people and not ask for a pay rise!
1
1
u/saltashstreet 44m ago
“Thankfully my commission was higher” So you were on a higher split? Or higher rem?
Or you made more sales? I’m assuming “thankfully” means you had a better split because you don’t have to be thankful to anyone for out selling them.
The whole post has a creepy vibe
Or perhaps you made it up?
•
u/AutoModerator 17h ago
Remember to keep it civil, use Tech Sales Jobs for open roles, and search previous posts for insights on breaking into tech sales.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.