New report shows companies are increasingly relying on experienced sellers

Sales has long been a popular entry point for young professionals looking to learn a business by understanding its most important component: the customer. However, a recent report from revenue intelligence platform Xactly has highlighted how it could be tough times for entry-level sellers looking to cut their teeth.

Xactly’s 2026 “State of Sales Compensation” report shows early-career account executives are facing declining on-target earnings (OTE)—total compensation if all performance targets are hit—as more experienced reps take advantage. Account executives with one to three years of experience have seen OTE decline across all percentiles since 2021, while AEs with five or more years gained an average of $26,000.

Another key finding was the compensation cost of sales (CCOS)—this is effectively the cost of a company achieving its revenue goals—for AEs increased for the 90th percentile performers over the past five years, while dropping for the lowest-tier performers. The takeaway here is that companies seem to be relying more intensely on a smaller cohort of sellers to get the job done in a difficult market.

The report also shows that despite some increases, in 2025 CCOS for account manager and lead generation roles have mostly returned to 2021 levels. (In the case of 25th percentile lead gen roles, CCOS dropped from 49.1% in 2021 to 4.5% in 2025.)

“In a market defined by tighter ROI scrutiny, revenue and finance leaders are prioritizing faster ramp and predictable output. AI may improve productivity, but compensation strategy right now is about reducing risk in the number,” Jason Godley, Xactly CFO, told Revenue Brew in an email. 

Godley said that focusing compensation on experienced AEs is appealing to CROs and CFOs because it can “stabilize revenue in the near term,” but it also suggests that early-career investment is being deprioritized.

“Revenue leaders need to ask whether they’re optimizing for this quarter’s certainty or building durable capacity for the next five years,” Godley wrote.

The elephant in the room: No conversation about the changing face of sales would be complete without at least one mention of AI, and the infusion of the technology into sales workflows. Godley says AI-enabled tools are “compressing the performance curve.”

“Organizations are disproportionately rewarding sellers who can translate data and AI insights into closed revenue. It’s less about being technical for technical’s sake and more about being operationally fluent in a data-driven motion,” Godley wrote.

Risk management: Xactly’s report tracks with the idea that business leaders are trying to keep their compensation strategies in line with a precarious economy, where sudden market shifts have become the norm. It also tells a story of a more unforgiving sales cycle, where buyer awareness has increased, and AI-powered search engines are shortening the sales runway. It hints at fundamental changes in how leaders are treating the practice of selling, which for so long has been the ground floor for hungry and motivated workers.