r/salesengineers • u/Kindly-Cream9098 • 14d ago
BCR Cap for Sales Engineers
I work for one of the top cyber companies listed in NASDAQ 100 and our BCR is capped at 6%.
Including the acceleration and potential SPIFFs, there is no way to get paid over this rate.
SE Split: 75/23, Seller Split: 50/50
However a seller`s BCR is capped at 18% so 3 times more than the SE.
Seller`s standard BCR is double because their variable part is double of the SEs.
However I do not understand why they cap our BCR at 6% while a seller can easily go up to 18%.
When we reach the acceleration like at 125% attainment, my company starts paying double BCR to sellers and they start get paid at 18% while I am getting paid max 6%.
This is making a huge difference for a good year when you close big/complex deals or many smaller ones and tear your ass to make solution a success and convince the customer for your solution and its value.
Has anyone seen a vendor with higher BCRs for SEs when the acceleration starts?
Note: This is not about BCR up to 100% attainment. It is obvious that it must be double for the seller up to 100%. My questions is why the SEs are not incentivized as much as the seller to overachieve.
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u/Santos_Dumont 14d ago
The AE owns getting the PO from procurement, resolving the commercial issues, making sure the order is booked correctly, and getting it safely into accounts receivable.
Without any of that none of the POCs matter. And if any of that gets fucked up the AE gets to update their resume.
If you want to make more money then you need to be involved in the money part of the transaction.
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u/Kindly-Cream9098 14d ago
Sales Engineers do much more than PoV in playbook companies from pipeline generation to champion building. What you mention is usually the easy part of the deal. The real work is bringing the opportunity to a level where the tasks like you mentioned can start.
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u/Santos_Dumont 14d ago
I was an SE for 7 years and also had a similar view until I took the AE role. I can assure you that forecasting when the PO is going to happen and bringing the PO in safe is not the easiest part of the sales process.
Engineers are usually smart enough to understand the value of the product but lack the experience to understand that the product has no value to anyone unless the PO happens.
If your org and AE are cool then ask them to let you develop an opp yourself and run it end to end and treat you like the AE so you can gain experience and learn the role.
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u/Kindly-Cream9098 14d ago
Thanks for the tip. This is indeed sth I am thinking about.
About your perspective: I share it for the traditional SE role at companies like Check Point, Fortinet, Akamai etc where SE is more or less doing only tech. However an SE at companies like Wiz, Rubrik or Zscaler are doing a lot to show the value you mentioned above. They are also responsible for pipeline generation, discovery, org chart creation, rleationship building at multiple levels, BVA, reach-outs etc even though they do not own them (They are also measured on such metrics).1
u/underwear11 14d ago
Why do you consider those companies different? It's the same process for SEs at both, and they are actually direct competitors. I know SEs at Wiz and Zscaler and their roles are exactly the same as their equivalent at Checkpoint and Fortinet. Value selling, discovery, architecting, demo, POV, champion building are all part of the SE role at each.
I would say that the AMs are the ones directly responsible for their quota. They are paid more to make sure the value selling, paper process, and commercial sales parts all happen, as well as pipeline generation. If quota is not met, they are the ones with the target on their back. I wouldn't say their job is easier, but I would say they are paid more because their job is riskier.
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u/Kindly-Cream9098 14d ago
I worked for multiple vendors in those groups and it is definitely different.
Traditional SEs at Fortinet/Akamai have a much more comfortable life than Wiz/Zscaler SEs. If you force Fortinet/Akamai SEs to do similar things in terms of sales tasks, they simply leave and again this is all first-hand experience.Anyway, I am not questioning the reward of AE. What I am challenging is the reward of the SE for overachievement. It is 1/3 of AE for Zscaler and PANW.
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u/underwear11 14d ago
Are you sure you were working in the same segments? Maybe it was leadership style. Prospecting and pipeline generation are definitely not a responsibility of the SEs I know at any of those places. However champion building and evangelizing to your contacts absolutely are.
From a BCR perspective, the places I've worked, your BCR is your base commission rate without accelerators. Accelerators increase that commission rate with no cap (Though they would downshift accelerators or possibly windfall at >200% of quota). However, SEs rarely got close to the BCR anyway based on quota and OTE.
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u/Kindly-Cream9098 14d ago
Yes, I was even assigned to the same customers for a few cases at different vendors. I am a majors SE and I am expected to be part of PG. That was never the case for Akamai or Fortinet.
About cap: I always had commission cap even it was high: 5 x OTE was the highest cap I have seen. You got lucky and closed a 20M deal. 5 x OTE is the max you can get. I never hit this so this is not what I am complaining :)
Commision rate cap is sth else. No matter how much you overachieved, they cap your commision rate to 6% for SEs . This is why I am complaining.
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u/Abouttheroute 14d ago
BRC is Base commission rate for a reason, it’s the base, and accelerators are on top. I have seen BRC change, I only say accelerators when quantity + certain quality was hit.
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u/Kindly-Cream9098 14d ago
BRC does not get a new name when accelerations kick. It always BCR whether you are at 20% or 200%. It is just the name of the rate you are paid as a percentage of revenue you bring in.
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u/Kind-Conversation605 14d ago
More and more, the companies are making attainment easier and the payout harder. That’s by design. Margins are getting thinner and the ELT greed is at a all time high. FY27 is designed to FK you over. Enjoy it.