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I work as an account manager and have had direct contact with customer for over 10 years.

It is a house account but my work with this customer has grown them from a $1 million/year to a $8 million/year account over the past 10 years.

Recently I was able to negotiate sales on a new product that added $1.7M in revenue in a 3 month period and the sell price I negotiated is about 15% higher than normal sale price should be. I feel like I deserve some sort of commission for this. Any thoughts?

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  • Are you wondering if you should get a commission in this specific case, or are you hoping to begin receiving commissions on all accounts you work from this point forward?
    – Upper_Case
    Nov 6, 2018 at 20:01
  • Have you tried talking to your manager about this?
    – Isaiah3015
    Nov 6, 2018 at 20:07
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    Are you authorized to do that negotiations? Because if clients found out you are selling the same product 15% cheaper to other customer you will be in a big trouble.
    – Juan Carlos Oropeza
    Nov 6, 2018 at 20:09
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    To clarify my earlier comment (it's too late to edit): do you want a commission-based compensation structure (as described by Joe Strazzere), or would you be OK trying to get a one-off or special case bonus?
    – Upper_Case
    Nov 6, 2018 at 20:17

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I feel like I deserve some sort of commission for this. Any thoughts?

Given that you have indeed improved the sales and accounts, getting some commission on such makes sense.

However, it is irrelevant if we think you deserve it, as this depends on how you negotiated your contract. If your contract does not specify getting commissions you will unlikely get them even if you deserve such.

In case your contract doesn't specify a commission rate, and you would want to get them, seems that you should consider approaching your manager to re-negotiate your contract in such way you get commissions from the sales, etc., you land.

Have in mind that, as in any negotiation, you manager may not like the idea. If such thing happens, you have to consider and weight your options and decide what is best for you (keep the job, look for other where you get commissions, etc.).

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  • Good point Joe, most (if not all) cases I know of sales jobs mean a lower base salary plus commissions... it's unlikely OP will get their current salary plus new commissions... OP has to see what option is better for them when discussing with their manager.
    – DarkCygnus ♦
    Nov 6, 2018 at 20:18
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Generally speaking, most sales reps are paid a very low basic salary (in comparison to other positions) which is supplemented by the commissions they earn on sales in order to motivate them to sell more.

Most employment contracts stipulate that you may be required to do any reasonable task that is within your ability as part of your normal job, for your normal salary. Depending on what the exact stipulations of your contract are, you may or may not be eligible to earn such commissions.

The best would be to schedule a meeting with your superior(s) and inquire in a polite manner about the possibility of you earning such commissions. However, be prepared for a no, as in my experience, companies rarely hand out such commissions if they don't have to.

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