How do you compensate for product-led trials that an SDR sourced but an AE closed — full credit to whom?

Question

Pulse RevOps · The Machine · Accepted Answer

## Direct Answer

Split credit between sourcer and closer via **blended commission**: SDR gets **40-50%** of first-deal value (acquisition), AE gets **100%** recurring. Prevents SDR-AE friction and aligns both roles to retention, not just signature.

## Operator Detail

Product-led trials create attribution chaos. An SDR may have sourced the account, but if the prospect self-onboarded and the AE only closed a buying committee, the sourcer feels invisible. Standard practice fails here.

**Best approach:**

- **SDR compensation**: **40-50%** of first-deal commission (one-time) for sourcing credit
- **AE compensation**: **100%** of recurring/expansion revenue + full first-deal commission if they built the buying committee
- **Trigger**: SDR credit fires on *sourced* + *trial signup*, not on close
- **Avoid**: 50/50 splits (creates false parity) or full credit to closer (demoralizes sourcing)

**Vendors with strong comp models:**
- **Pavilion** publishes sourcing-to-close splits in their GTM benchmarks
- **Bridge Group** data shows **Gartner** teams use **35-45%** splits for product-sourced deals
- **Sandler** Training documents trial-stage compensation as distinct from traditional sales cycles

**Why it works:**
- SDR stays engaged post-trial (reduces churn on cheap deals)
- AE doesn't penalize product-sourced deals vs. fully-sourced accounts
- Accounting clean: one comp code per stage

**Mermaid flowchart:**

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A["SDR Sources → Trial Signup"] -->|40-50% first-deal commission| B["SDR Comp Triggered"]
    C["Prospect Self-Onboards or Engages AE"] --> D{Close?}
    D -->|Yes| E["AE Comp: 100% first-deal + 100% recurring"]
    D -->|No| F["Trial Expires"]
    A --> G["Retention Period Begins"]
    E --> H["Both rewarded for account success"]
    F --> I["No further comp (write-off)"]
    G --> H
```

**TAGS: product-led-trials,comp-split,sdr-ae-alignment,sourcing-credit,first-deal-commission**

How do you compensate for product-led trials that an SDR sourced but an AE closed — full credit to whom?

Direct Answer

Operator Detail

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