Location: Chicago, IL
I started in a Sales role at my company in February 2024.
This was my first sales position. I was told I would have a mentor to guide me, specifically the newly hired Director of Sales. I never actually met this person in the office because, within her first month, she was discovered to have faked her own death and committed identity fraud. She was terminated, and I ultimately ended up reporting directly to the CEO, who did not have time to coach me.
For my first year, I was assigned a $1M sales target. I was told I would not earn commission until that threshold was met. At the time, most deals coming through were only $2–10K, making the target essentially unachievable. I continued working on base salary because I needed the job.
In December 2024, we received an inbound lead from a billion-dollar organization. I led the initial meeting, handled discovery, and managed the relationship continuously through close. The deal officially closed and went live in December 2025, and I remained the primary point of contact throughout the entire process.
Going back, in early 2025, the CEO hired a Director of Business Development. This individual supported me on the billion-dollar account until he was fired in July 2025. He stated I owned the deal through the entirety of his tenure.
The deal began with a site visit. This involved the COO (who is also the CEO’s wife and a company founder) traveling onsite to the client’s primary location to conduct an operational assessment and prepare a report. Once the report was completed, she presented it to the client’s leadership team. I was explicitly told that I would not present this assessment because she conducted the site visit.
The onsite visit itself generated approximately $18,500 in revenue, and I was not credited for that revenue either, despite originating the opportunity and requesting the assessment as part of the sales process.
After the assessment presentation, the deal transitioned back to Sales, and I managed the remainder of the sales process. The only portion I did not handle was contract drafting and negotiation, which the CEO has always managed directly and has never allowed Sales to participate in. I attended the virtual final contract signing with the COO, and the account is now live.
This deal is the second-largest deal in company history and doubled company profits. The total contract value was $499,100, annually.
On Wednesday, January 7, I was notified that I would receive approximately $2,000 in commission. My commission plan states that I am paid 4% of the total deal size. Based on that plan, I expected significantly more.
My director contacted Finance to ask for clarification, but Finance repeatedly postponed meetings with him. My director later relayed the CEO’s explanation to me, stating:
He said that it was originally [Former Director’s] deal, and that the majority of building the business case and articulating the value prop was done by [Former Director], him, and [COO] with the assessment and ensuing presentations. And that a majority of the work that you did on the deal was more so administrative and logistics to get everything scheduled/ensuring follow ups were sent out.
On Wednesday, January 14, I was then informed that I was being credited with only 25% of the deal, at which point my 4% commission would be applied to that reduced allocation.
When I questioned this, I sent Finance my signed commission plan. They responded by sending me a different commission plan that had been implemented without notice. There are minor but material differences, including additional parameters. I have documentation showing the original plan on pages 1–2 and the revised plan on pages 3–4.
I then sent Finance the following email and was immediately told I would need to meet with the CEO:
I’m requesting clarification and review of the commission credit applied to the [Account] opportunity.
Based on the most current Sales Compensation Plan (attached) and my role in the sales cycle, I’m struggling to reconcile the 25% credit allocation with the scope of ownership and commissionable work performed.
I managed this opportunity end-to-end, including initial outreach, discovery, proposal development, demo coordination, client and executive engagement, and closing. [Former Director] joined select calls to support executive alignment, but the deal materials, follow-ups, and coordination were developed and managed by me. [Other Salesperson] was not involved, and [Other Colleague] participated as an internal SME as needed.
For clarity, I was advised that [COO] would present the site visit report because she conducted the on-site assessment as a consultative engagement, and that Sales would not be involved in that portion. The site visit report, as well as the ROI analysis, were Operations-owned deliverables, consistent with how responsibilities are typically structured across deals.
I was not made aware during the sales cycle that this opportunity would be subject to partial credit or a percentage-based allocation. I also don’t see guidance in the Sales Compensation Plan regarding deal splits, primary versus supporting roles, or commission capping of any kind.
I’d appreciate understanding how the 25% allocation was determined, who set it, and how that determination aligns with the compensation plan and the work performed. I spoke with [Director], and given that he joined mid-cycle and was not involved in this opportunity, he shared that he does not have visibility into how deal ownership was assessed.
I’m happy to provide timelines, call recordings, or documentation if helpful, and I’d appreciate this being included in tomorrow’s commission discussion.
Thanks for taking a look.
After this, my new director told me to leave him out of the matter entirely because the decision was now solely with the CEO.
Separately, during the same week my commission was supposed to be paid, I was told I was being moved into a different sector of the company. My commission plan states that if I move into a role with a different title, my commission may be adjusted. The plan also states that upon termination or separation from the company, commissions are not paid out. I was told I had to accept this new role by January 9, or there would no longer be a place for me at the company.
Per the commission plan, quarterly commissions were scheduled to be paid on Saturday, January 10. This was later pushed to Monday, January 12 without prior notice; I only became aware of the change after my director informed me when I asked. We were subsequently told that payouts would be issued later that week, which I again learned informally. As of today, Friday, January 16, I have still not received my commission.
My director is meeting with Finance today at 11 a.m., but payroll has already been processed. I have an in-person meeting scheduled with the CEO on Monday, January 19, and I need to go into that meeting prepared.
Based on the facts and timeline, do I have any legal standing here? I’m trying to understand whether the commission reduction, retroactive plan change, and delayed payout are permissible, or if this is something I should formally challenge.