How do you improve sales rep retention?
Sales rep retention comes down to removing the reasons good reps leave: commission they cannot follow, payouts that are late or wrong, quotas that change mid-period and a long ramp with no safety net. Add development, regular feedback and a manager who talks to reps about their future before they decide to go.
This article is for sales leaders and founders who want to reduce sales rep turnover. It covers why reps leave, what turnover costs in a worked example, and what to do and measure. We focus on the causes linked to pay and commission, because those are fully within management's control.
Why do sales reps leave?
There is rarely a single reason. In a Gartner survey of 908 B2B sellers (December 2021 to January 2022), 89% said they felt burned out and 54% were actively looking for a new job. Gartner identified four sources of what it calls "drag": too few development opportunities, feeling like a cog in a machine, little clear feedback from managers, and administrative work that adds no value (Gartner, 2022).
Much of it is preventable. According to Gallup, 52% of voluntarily exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to keep them, and 51% say no manager or leader spoke with them about their job satisfaction or future in the three months before they left (Gallup, 2019). Gallup's figures cover employees in general, not only salespeople.
For reps there is an extra category: pay. When a large part of pay is variable, commission becomes a question of trust every month. These are the five compensation-related causes we see most often.
1. Commission they cannot follow
If a rep only sees her commission on the payslip, she cannot check it and cannot use it to prioritize. Many reps keep their own spreadsheet on the side, and every time the numbers do not match, trust drops a little. It is rarely the amount alone that makes a rep leave. It is not knowing whether the number is right. Our article on real-time commission visibility covers why this matters for performance as well.
2. Late or wrong payouts
Commission paid a month late, or corrected afterwards, hits the rep's household budget directly. One mistake can be explained. Several in a row become a story about a company that does not have things under control, and that story gets told to colleagues too.
3. Commission disputes
Arguments about who gets credit for a deal, when a deal counts, or how a cancellation is deducted wear down the relationship between rep and manager. They also take time away from selling. See how to prevent and resolve commission disputes with written rules and a fixed process.
4. Quotas and plans that change mid-period
When quota goes up halfway through the period, or the commission plan changes after the rep has planned her year around it, it feels like a broken promise, even when there are good reasons. Give notice, explain why, and check the employment contract before you change anything significant, because some changes need notice or the rep's agreement.
5. The ramp
New reps often earn less in their first months while they build pipeline. According to The Bridge Group, average ramp is 3.0 months for SDRs and 6.2 months for account executives, the highest in the study's history (Bridge Group 2025, Bridge Group 2026). The data comes mainly from US B2B and SaaS companies. Without a clear plan for the ramp period, such as a guaranteed minimum or reduced targets in the first months, this is where many new reps give up.
What is a normal sales rep turnover rate?
There is no official benchmark for sales rep turnover in Denmark. The best figures we found:
- Denmark overall: In Q4 2024, 22.2% of employed people had started their current job within the past year. In trade and transport, the share was 30.1%, the highest of any industry (Statistics Denmark, 2025). This measures people new in their job, not resignations, and the industry is broader than sales.
- US SDRs: Median annual turnover of 40% in 2024, made up of 13% involuntary, 11% voluntary and 16% promotions. Average tenure was 1.9 years (The Bridge Group, 2025).
Note the split in the Bridge Group figure: only a small part of turnover is reps choosing to leave. When you measure your own turnover, keep the three groups apart. Figures such as "35% annual sales turnover" and "the average rep stays 18 months" are repeated widely, but we could not trace either to an original study. See more sourced figures in our sales commission statistics.
What does sales rep turnover cost?
Gallup estimates that replacing an employee costs between one-half and two times their annual salary, and calls this a conservative estimate (Gallup, 2019). For reps, the biggest item is rarely recruiting. It is the gross margin that is missing while the seat is empty and while the new hire ramps.
Example: An account executive with total pay of DKK 55,000 a month (DKK 660,000 a year) is expected to generate DKK 2,400,000 in gross margin a year, or DKK 200,000 a month once fully ramped. All figures are made up for illustration; replace them with your own.
| Item | Assumption | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost gross margin while the seat is empty | 2 months; colleagues cover half | 2 × DKK 200,000 × 50% | DKK 200,000 |
| Recruiting | Agency, job ads or internal time | Fixed amount | DKK 90,000 |
| Lost gross margin during ramp | 6 months at 50% productivity on average | 6 × DKK 200,000 × 50% | DKK 600,000 |
| Manager time for hiring and onboarding | 50 hours at DKK 600 | 50 × DKK 600 | DKK 30,000 |
| Total | 200,000 + 90,000 + 600,000 + 30,000 | DKK 920,000 |
In the example, one resignation costs DKK 920,000, about 1.4 times annual pay (920,000 / 660,000). The ramp accounts for two thirds of it. That is why it pays to keep reps who are already ramped, and to shorten the ramp for those who start. The example leaves out customers who follow a departing rep and deals lost in the handover.
Sales rep retention checklist
The list starts with pay, because that is usually where the quickest improvements are.
- Write the commission plan down before the period starts, with worked examples and a definition of when a deal counts.
- Give reps ongoing visibility of their commission, updated when a deal closes, not just on the payslip.
- Pay on the same date every time, and say so in advance if anything will be late.
- Handle corrections and clawbacks as fixed rules with an explanation on the statement, not as surprises.
- Have a fixed process for disagreements: who the rep contacts, and how fast she gets an answer.
- Do not change quotas or plans mid-period without notice and an explanation.
- Set quotas most reps can hit. If only a minority hits quota year after year, the quota is the problem.
- Plan the ramp with reduced targets or guaranteed commission in the first months.
- Hold stay interviews with the reps you cannot afford to lose, at least every quarter. Ask what would make them stay and what could make them leave.
- Show a path forward: what it takes to become senior, key account manager or manager, and how pay follows.
- Run exit interviews and categorize the reasons, so you can spot patterns over time.
What to measure
Turnover alone tells you something is wrong, but not what. Also measure the things that come before a resignation.
| Metric | How to calculate it | Why | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voluntary turnover | Reps who resigned in the last 12 months divided by average rep headcount | The core of retention; keep dismissals and promotions out | Quarterly |
| Regretted turnover | Share of resignations where you wanted to keep the rep | Shows whether the right people are leaving | Quarterly |
| Tenure | Average time in role for current and departed reps | Shows whether people leave early or late | Twice a year |
| Time to full productivity | Months from start until the rep hits full quota | The biggest cost of a new hire | Per new hire |
| Share of reps at quota | Reps at 100% attainment or more divided by all reps | Unreachable quotas are a classic reason to leave | Per period |
| Corrections per statement | Number of corrections and commission questions per payout | Early sign of distrust | Per payout |
| On-time payout rate | Share of payouts that were correct and arrived on the agreed date | What reps feel directly | Per payout |
| Exit reasons | Categorized answers from exit interviews | Shows patterns you can act on | Twice a year |
How Prowi helps
Prowi calculates commission live from your CRM data, and reps see their earnings in a mobile app, so they do not need a shadow spreadsheet. Admins approve statements and send one approved file to payroll, and corrections and clawbacks are handled as rules, so they do not arrive as surprises. That addresses three of the five causes above. Book a demo to see it on your own numbers.
FAQ
Why do sales reps leave?
The most common reasons are a lack of development, too little feedback, too much admin and pay they do not trust. For reps, commission weighs heavily: opaque calculations, late or wrong payouts, disputes and quotas that change mid-period. Many resignations could have been prevented by a conversation in time.
What does it cost to lose a sales rep?
Gallup estimates that replacing an employee costs between one-half and two times annual salary. For reps, the largest item is usually lost gross margin while the seat is empty and the new hire ramps. In our worked example it comes to about 1.4 times annual pay.
What is the average sales rep turnover rate?
There is no reliable cross-industry figure for sales reps. The Bridge Group reports median SDR turnover of 40% in 2024 among mostly US B2B companies, and voluntary resignations made up only 11 percentage points of that. In Denmark, 30.1% of people in trade and transport were new in their job in Q4 2024.
How do you retain top sales reps?
Talk to them before they start looking: hold quarterly stay interviews and ask what would make them stay. Make sure commission is transparent and paid correctly and on time, and show a concrete path to the next role or pay level.
Can a better commission plan reduce sales rep turnover?
It can remove some reasons to leave, but it cannot do the job alone. A clear plan, realistic quotas, ongoing visibility and correct payouts build trust. Development, management and workload also need to be right, because they drive many resignations.
Sources
- Gartner (30 August 2022): Press release on a survey of 908 B2B sellers
- Gallup (2019): This Fixable Problem Costs U.S. Businesses $1 Trillion
- The Bridge Group: SDR Models, Motions & Metrics 2025
- The Bridge Group: AE Models, Motions & Metrics 2026
- Statistics Denmark (20 February 2025): Hver femte har været i jobbet i mindre end et år (in Danish)