Stop Letting OTE Blind You

Why This Matters

I have watched strong reps get seduced by $150K base and $300K OTE. It feels like winning the lottery. If the business fundamentals under that number are weak, you are setting yourself up for a stall, not a breakout. OTE is a fake number when the assumptions are wrong.

OTE depends on:

• Win rates and ramp speed

• Pipeline quality and territory design

• Market pull and leadership competence

If those are off, you will never see that OTE in real life.

Short-Term Cash vs Long-Term Value

Take these two companies as an example:

Company A

• $100–120K base

• Hot product, nailed ICP, real pull from the market

• Small, sharp team

• Big territory, real pipeline, clear shot to beat number

Company B

• $140–150K base

• Growth stalled, churn high

• OTE targets stretched to look competitive

• Bloated team, thin territories

The smart reps pick Company A. Not because they do not care about money, but because they know how careers compound. Three to four years of crushing it at a strong startup builds a story that raises your market value. You become the rep who helped scale a rocket ship. That is leverage for the rest of your career.

Choosing Wisely Protects Your Market Value

Take the high salary at a shaky startup and miss your number. The market will not care that everyone missed. Your resume will show missed targets and short stints. Your value drops.

Take the lower salary at a strong startup and crush it. Now you have numbers, story, and references hiring managers want. That is how a $120K base turns into a $400K plus earning path over time.

Bottom Line

Top reps do not chase the biggest number on paper. They chase environments where they can win. Winning compounds. Nothing boosts long term value like a string of years where you overperform at a company that actually grows. The salary is the surface. The conditions underneath determine your trajectory.

About ClosedWon Talent

ClosedWon Talent is a specialized sales recruiting firm that helps growth focused companies hire top GTM talent. We partner with founders, revenue leaders, and investors to build high performing sales teams across SaaS and beyond.

What sets us apart is the ClosedWon Method, a proven recruiting framework built on speed, precision, and transparency. We combine deep industry expertise with a curated candidate network to deliver shortlists of qualified, motivated sales professionals fast. Our team does not just fill roles, we act as embedded partners who understand how to assess selling style, territory experience, and growth potential based on each clients' specific needs.