Write a Sales Hire Offer Letter Template

You are a head of sales at a digital marketing agency who has written 20+ sales offer letters. You know that vague offers slow close, and that the commission plan should be embedded — not 'sent later by ops.'
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Candidate: [CANDIDATE_NAME] | Role: [ROLE_TITLE] | Start date: [START_DATE] | Base: [BASE] | OTE: [OTE] | Quota: [QUOTA] | Ramp period: [RAMP_PERIOD] | Ramp comp: [RAMP_COMP] | Commission rate: [COMM_RATE] | Accelerators: [ACCELERATORS] | Equity: [EQUITY] | Benefits: [BENEFITS] | Reports to: [REPORTS_TO] | Offer expiration: [OFFER_EXPIRATION]
Write a complete agency sales offer letter for [CANDIDATE_NAME] for the [ROLE_TITLE] role.

- No legalese-only template (this is a sales document AND a legal document)
- Comp plan must be embedded, not 'attached separately' — include ramp, quota, commission rate, accelerators, draws if any
- Must include a 'why we're hiring you' personal paragraph (closes 20% faster than generic offers)
- Transparent about what quota is and how it scales over year 1
- Include clawback policy in plain English (not buried)
- Standard at-will language with state-appropriate caveats noted
- No misrepresentations of equity, vesting, or benefits

Output the offer letter as a complete document with these sections: (1) Personal opening paragraph (why we're hiring you), (2) Role & reporting, (3) Start date & location, (4) Base + variable comp, (5) Commission plan (rate, accelerators, ramp, draws, clawback), (6) Equity if applicable, (7) Benefits, (8) PTO, (9) At-will + IP/confidentiality references, (10) Offer expiration + signature block. Plain English, agency-warm tone.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [SERVICES] — Service offering
• [CANDIDATE_NAME] — Candidate's name
• [ROLE_TITLE] — Exact title
• [START_DATE] — Start date
• [BASE] — Annual base salary
• [OTE] — On-target earnings
• [QUOTA] — Year-1 quota (and how it scales after ramp)
• [RAMP_PERIOD] — Length of ramp in months
• [RAMP_COMP] — Comp protection during ramp (draw, guaranteed variable, etc.)
• [COMM_RATE] — Commission rate (% of revenue or flat dollars per deal)
• [ACCELERATORS] — Thresholds and accelerator rates
• [EQUITY] — Equity grant if any (or none)
• [BENEFITS] — Health/dental/vision/401k summary
• [REPORTS_TO] — Manager name and title
• [OFFER_EXPIRATION] — When the offer expires

Agency: Northbeam Studio | Candidate: Sarah Patel | Role: Senior AE | Start: June 15, 2026 | Base: $110K | OTE: $200K | Quota: $1.2M year 1 | Ramp: 3 months | Ramp comp: 100% variable guaranteed at $7.5K/mo | Commission: 10% of first-year contract value | Accelerators: 1.25x at 100% of quota, 1.5x at 120% | Equity: none | Benefits: full health/dental/vision, 401k 4% match | Reports to: Jim Smith, VP Sales | Expiration: 5 business days

May 25, 2026

Dear Sarah,

We're thrilled to offer you the Senior Account Executive role at Northbeam Studio. The clarity you brought to scoping the take-home — especially how you reframed the CAC question — is exactly the AE thinking we're building this team around. We want you on it.

**Role:** Senior Account Executive, reporting to Jim Smith (VP Sales)
**Start date:** June 15, 2026
**Location:** Remote (US, EST hours)

**Base salary:** $110,000 annually, paid bi-weekly.

**Variable compensation:** Target OTE of $200,000 based on a Year-1 quota of $1.2M in new-business contract value. Commission is paid at 10% of first-year contract value, paid monthly upon client invoice.

**Ramp:** During your first 3 months, you'll receive a guaranteed variable component of $7,500/month regardless of bookings, while you build pipeline. After month 3, you move to standard commission.

**Accelerators:** 1.25x commission rate on attainment above 100% of quota, 1.5x above 120%.

**Clawback:** Commission is clawed back on contracts that cancel within the first 90 days of go-live.

**Equity:** N/A at this time.

**Benefits:** Full medical, dental, vision (we cover 100% of employee premium), 401(k) with 4% match, $2,000 annual learning budget, 4 weeks PTO.

This is an at-will employment offer. Standard IP and confidentiality agreement attached.

This offer expires in 5 business days (June 1, 2026). Sign below to accept.

We can't wait to build this with you.

Jim Smith, VP Sales

____________________  ____________
Sarah Patel               Date

• Embed the commission plan in the letter itself — sending it 'separately later' delays close and burns trust
• The personal opening paragraph is the highest-ROI sentence in the letter — never skip it
• Always have employment counsel review state-specific language (non-competes, PTO accrual) before sending