How Often Should You Review Your Sales Comp Plan?
Updated July 6, 2026
Most companies review their sales comp plan when they build it, and then again only when something breaks: a wave of resignations, a recruiter’s benchmarking report, a board question about turnover. In between those moments, the plan stays the same while the paycheck’s real value keeps moving.
A comp plan built to be competitive at hire can fall behind over time. Nobody cut anyone’s pay. The cost of living and the market rate for that role kept moving while the plan stood still.
Why Comp Plans Go Stale
Base salaries and on-target earnings (OTE) get set once, during a hiring push or a budget cycle, and then get left alone unless someone forces a conversation. Most companies don’t have a standing process to check comp against current market rate or cost of living. They revisit it when finance asks about margin, not when a rep’s real purchasing power has slipped.
The plan looks the same on paper year after year. What it buys the person earning it keeps shrinking.
Reps Notice Before You Do
We worked with a sales leader who took over a team where reps had stuck around for an average of five-plus years. Performance was strong. Base salaries had fallen under market the whole time. Nobody planned it that way. Tenure had outlasted the last real comp review.
Then leadership changed, and the team went through some churn. That’s when recruiters started calling. Reps who’d been comfortable for years found out what the market paid, and one of them left for a $20,000 base salary increase.
This is the pattern. A leadership change, or even rumors of one, is enough to get reps taking calls from recruiters. That’s when they find out what the market pays. Some take the first offer that beats their number. Others stay longer because they don’t interview well, or because they value the security. The underpayment doesn’t disappear just because they haven’t left. They just take longer to walk out the door.
The Retention Risk Nobody Tracks
The comp gap in that story wasn’t a mystery. It was already known and sitting on a list. It just wasn’t urgent until it cost the team its two strongest performers. Only then did every salary on the team get adjusted.
Comp erosion isn’t only about base pay. Commission caps, changed accelerators, and clawback language erode take-home just as much, and reps notice those changes fast.
How to Keep Comp Current
Set a standing cadence to benchmark comp against the current market, not just against your own budget. Annually at minimum, more often in a fast-moving market.
Talk to reps about comp before they bring it up. A short conversation about where the plan stands costs less than the search you’ll run after they leave.
Loop in an experienced software sales recruiter when you’re setting or revisiting comp. Real-time market data on what comparable reps are being offered is more useful than an internal benchmark that’s a year or two old.
The Bottom Line
A comp plan is a promise about what the work is worth. If you let that promise lose value while the job stays the same, don’t be surprised when the people doing the job go find someone willing to keep it current.
