Inside Sales Salary Guide Trends 2023:
Compensation continues to rise

The shift to the inside sales model has caused demand for talent to outstrip supply. Attracting, hiring and retaining people is harder than ever before as companies compete for the same, small, limited pool of revenue-generating talent.

Demand is driving inside sales compensation higher. Companies are not just hiring one inside sales rep at a time — they are hiring in increments of 10’s, 40’s and more and absorbing the workforce at an astonishing rate. One Illinois technology company is hiring 282 inside sales reps in accordance with the CEO’s directive to double revenues.

We have published Inside Salary Salary Guide so that the employers:

  • Gain an accurate perspective on inside sales compensation
  • Can develop a talent acquisition strategy based on current data
  • Are viable in the hiring market in which they compete

Observations

Companies paying below market values find they can’t hire anyone or are forced to hire the least talented people. As the world’s leading inside sales recruiting agency, we have seen companies quickly fill a seat that has been empty for months simply by raising their base salary.

Experience shows us employers that offer a compensation range (e.g. $49,000-$53,700) will have an easier time hiring than if they offer a fixed number (e.g. $49,000). An inherently flexible comp plan will help win the day (and the candidate).

Case study

A worldwide banking client originally was offering a $49,000 base salary for an open inside sales role. They decided to hire a candidate that was in high demand and upped the offer to $69,000. The candidate accepted.

Inside sales compensation by job title

The figures represented here are national compensation averages for the four most common inside sales roles. These numbers do not include commissions, bonuses, profit sharing, or insurance plans. Certain sectors and geographic regions skew higher/lower and command higher/lower wages than what is reflected in this guide.

There are a number of variables that impact a company’s ability to hire inside sales talent. That information is beyond the scope of this Salary Guide and can be found in our white paper: “How to Attract, Hire, and Retain Inside Sales Talent During the Biggest Hiring Frenzy in History.”

INSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

Range: $39,300 - $71,900
National Average: $49,000

Inside sales roles fragment and morph into all kinds of other job titles including Business Development Rep (BDR), Lead Generator, Senior Inside Sales Rep, Sales Development Rep (SDR), Inbound SDR, Account Executive, and other titles not listed here. Some roles are outbound, others inbound and some are a hybrid role. For the sake of simplicity, we have incorporated all of those titles into one.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Sales
  • Appointment setting
  • Lead qualification (Inbound/Outbound)
  • Online demos
  • Contract and account renewal

Inside Sales Supervisors, Mangers, Directors and VPs

Inside Sales Supervisors, Managers, Directors and VPs often times wear many hats. They are responsible for integrating inside sales into the overall marketing mix of the company, developing long-range and annual plans, determining revenue projections, implementation of the infrastructure including database and technology integration, and reporting to other executives within the organization.

Inside Sales Staff

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Set the strategy and vision for the inside sales department
  • Identify target markets
  • Develop tracking and reporting mechanisms
  • Hire/Train/Coach
  • Monitor sales metrics
  • Forecast revenue and sales numbers
  • Determine quotas
  • Help design compensation plans
  • Provide tools and technology for the team
  • Design and calibrate the inside sales process
  • Write/test email templates
  • Write/test call scripts

INSIDE SALES SUPERVISOR:

Range: $63,000 - $72,000
National Average: $68,200

INSIDE SALES DIRECTOR:

Range: $120,980 - $157,700
National Average: $143,600

INSIDE SALES MANAGER:

Range: $86,100 - $102,100
National Average: $90,000

VP INSIDE SALES:

Range: $157,000 - $207,000
National Average: $175,000

Methodology

Our compensation data is based on five combined sources: our own database of 9000+ resumes, 100+ client assignments, glassdoor.com, and payscale.com. More than 3789 data inputs are used to configure this salary information.

About the author

Joe Culotta is President of Inside Sales Staff, the world’s leading inside sales recruiters. He is a speaker and mentor at the prestigious 1871 business incubator, a mentor at the American Society of Inside Sales Professionals, and the publisher of the Inside Sales Salary Guide and several other hiring white papers for the inside sales industry. He started his career as the Director of Inside Sales for Cellular One.

Over the past two decades, Inside Sales Staff has recruited more inside sales professionals than any other recruitment firm in the world for more then 250 organizations. Clients include Waste Management, IBM, Oracle, Bradford Exchange, Citibank, American Red Cross, American Medical Association, and others.

 

Inside Sales Staff
1150 N. State Street #302
Chicago, IL 60610
312-451-5488
jc@insidesalesstaff.com
www.insidesalesstaff.com