Base salary or commission: how much fixed pay does a salesperson need?

The short answer

Base salary or commission is the wrong question. The right one is: how much of the result can this salesperson influence themselves? That part you pay variably, the rest fixed. Anyone looking after existing customers, working long cycles or still being onboarded needs a high base salary. Anyone who brings about short deals on their own can handle a high variable share. Two legal guard rails always apply: employees are entitled to the minimum wage, gross 13.90 euros per hour since 1 January 2026. And anyone working on commission only must genuinely be self-employed — otherwise they are an employee, whatever the contract says.

How the variable side is built — signing, recurring and tiered commission — is covered in the article on commission models that last. This one is about the ratio between fixed and variable.

What decides the ratio

I have run sales teams on almost pure commission and sales teams with high fixed salaries. Both work if the ratio fits the job. Five questions are enough to set it:

Question	points to more base salary	points to more commission
How long is the sales cycle?	months, several decision-makers	days to a few weeks
How much account management is part of the role?	existing customers, service, renewals	almost only new business
Who influences the deal?	team, technical staff, price approval from above	the salesperson alone
How long does onboarding take?	several months to the first deal	weeks
How seasonal is the business?	strongly, with months without a deal	evenly spread

If three or more answers land on the left, keep the variable share rather small. A high variable share with a long cycle punishes the salesperson for things they do not control. They will then chase the quick deals and leave the good ones.

What the law requires

Employees: Under § 1 MiLoG (German Minimum Wage Act) every employee is entitled to at least the minimum wage. Since 1 January 2026 that is gross 13.90 euros per hour worked, from 1 January 2027 14.60 euros (Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung, the fifth minimum wage adjustment regulation). At 40 hours a week that averages around 2,410 euros a month. An employed salesperson on pure commission quickly drops below that in a weak month. For employed salespeople on commission, § 65 HGB refers to the commission rules for commercial agents. How commission counts towards the minimum wage in the individual case, and when it has to be topped up, belongs in the hands of an employment lawyer. For planning purposes it is enough to know: the base salary should cover the minimum wage for the agreed working hours on its own.

Independent commercial agents: Pure commission is permitted, but only for the genuinely self-employed. § 84(1) HGB sets the standard: self-employed is whoever is essentially free to organise their activity and set their working hours. Anyone who has to be in the office at eight, works through a call list and applies for holiday is an employee under § 84(2) HGB. The company carries the risk: back payment of social security contributions and minimum wage. If in doubt, apply for a status determination procedure under § 7a SGB IV with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance) before the model starts.

Model calculation: three months, three models

The following calculation is an example with freely chosen figures. In one month the salesperson brings in new business with a contribution margin of 6,000, 12,000 or 20,000 euros. Employer social security contributions are not included.

Model	weak month (€6,000)	normal month (€12,000)	strong month (€20,000)
A: €4,000 base + 10%	€4,600	€5,200	€6,000
B: €2,500 base + 25%	€4,000	€5,500	€7,500
C: commission only, 40%	€2,400	€4,800	€8,000

The table shows three things. First, A and B are level at a contribution margin of 10,000 euros; below that A is better for the salesperson, above it B. Anyone offering B therefore has to believe that the salesperson will regularly clear this threshold — and tell them so. Second, in model C the salesperson carries the entire risk: in the weak month 2,400 euros remain. For a full-time employee that would already be just below the minimum wage. Third, C costs the company the most in the strong month. Pure commission is not automatically cheap; it is only easy to plan relative to the result.

Treat the onboarding phase separately

The most common mistake I have seen: a new salesperson starts straight on the target model. In the first three months they have hardly any deals, earn little and leave before they get good. You have then paid for recruiting and onboarding and got nothing back.

Better is a fixed onboarding phase with a higher base salary or a guaranteed minimum pay that moves into the target model after three to six months. The date of the switch belongs in the contract, not in a verbal promise. If you pay commission advances that are offset later instead, have the clawback checked by a lawyer beforehand. A salesperson in debt to their employer rarely sells better. What the first weeks look like in content is covered in the article on onboarding new salespeople.

Sentences for the salary conversation

“The base salary covers your living costs, the commission is your lever. At what monthly income would you be satisfied, and how much of it are you confident taking as variable pay?”

That tells you more about the candidate than any CV. Anyone who immediately wants the highest base salary is planning for weak months. Anyone who negotiates the variable share up should bring the numbers to back it.

“At a contribution margin of 10,000 euros a month you earn the same in both models. Where do you see yourself after six months?”

Makes the threshold visible and lets the candidate choose. Anyone who picks B and misses the threshold has no grounds to complain.

“For the first four months the onboarding salary applies, from the fifth the target model. That is how it is written in the contract.”

Prevents the disappointment in month four.

Action list

1. Answer the five questions from the table for the specific role, not for sales in general. An account manager and a new-business hunter in the same team need different ratios.
2. Set the base salary at least high enough to cover the minimum wage for the agreed working hours on its own.
3. Estimate the contribution margin of a normal month and work out the threshold above which the more variable model is better for the salesperson. Name this figure in the conversation.
4. For new salespeople, set out an onboarding phase with a fixed end date in the contract.
5. For independent sales partners, check whether working hours and activity are genuinely free. If in doubt, apply for a status determination procedure before the model starts.
6. Tie the variable part to results that last: contribution margin after payment received rather than revenue after signature.
7. Review the ratio once a year. If the best salespeople leave, the variable part is usually too flat; if turnover among new hires is high, the base salary during onboarding is too low.