Media and advertising
Commission software for media and advertising sales teams
Ad sales comp looks simple on paper. An account executive earns a percentage of what they bill, maybe with a higher rate past goal.
Then digital pays differently from spot, an advertiser stops paying, two AEs both claim a client, and the business office ends up rebuilding the sheet every month to account for it.
How ad sales teams are usually paid
Account executives at radio and TV stations, newspapers, business journals, city magazines and billboard companies typically earn a base plus a percentage of the revenue they bring in. Many plans step the rate up once an AE passes a monthly goal, and some pay more for new business than for renewals.
When the commission counts as earned depends on the shop: some pay on billed revenue, others wait for collection and take commission back on ads that never get paid.
Where the spreadsheet gets painful
Goal ladders
A ladder like 4% on the first $7,000, 8% up to $15,000 and 12% above that is easy to explain to one AE. Keeping it right for twenty AEs with twenty different goals is where the mistakes creep in.
Collections
If you only pay on collected revenue, every unpaid invoice has to be carried forward by hand, and AEs want to know exactly which ones.
How it works in Earnest
Set each AE's monthly goal as their quota and the rate steps as tiers. Earnest's tiers run on percentage of goal rather than dollar amounts, so the ladder above becomes a $15,000 goal with steps at roughly 47% and 100%. Each month, export billed or collected revenue by AE from your traffic and billing system, upload it, and review the drafted payouts before you publish.
AEs log in to see their own revenue and a statement with the math. A sales manager can earn on the whole team's revenue. When an ad goes uncollected after you've already paid on it, post a correction and it comes off that AE's next payout.
What to know before you set it up
- Different rates for new and renewal business are possible but take more setup, because each rate lives in its own plan and deals get tagged to it. Send us your plan before you build it.
- Draws that an AE pays back out of future commission aren't supported. A guaranteed minimum during a new hire's ramp is.
- There's no connection to WideOrbit, Marketron or your billing system; you upload an export.
- Payouts run monthly or quarterly.
Common questions
- Can digital and traditional sales pay different rates?
- Yes, with a plan for each and deals tagged to the right one. It's more setup than a single rate, so if that's your situation, send us the plan first and we'll tell you whether it fits.
- We pay on collected revenue. Does that work?
- Yes. Upload payments by AE, dated when the money arrived, and Earnest calculates on those.
- What does it cost?
- Nothing for up to 5 reps and managers, and admins don't count toward that. After that it's $149 a month for 6 to 19 people, $299 for 20 to 50 and $799 above that, billed month to month with every feature on every plan.
Run one month of AE commissions
Make a free account, add your goals, upload last month's billing by AE and compare the result with what you paid. Free for up to 5 reps and managers, then $149 a month for up to 19.