Compensation trends emerging in 2025 indicate a slow but sizable shift as the tech industry navigates a period of cautious optimism. The entire sector is continuing to show signs of renewed vitality with next-gen AI driving innovation, enterprise performance remaining robust and mid-market companies making a strong comeback. However, factors affecting pay compression, retention and more still present hiring challenges for many companies and most require creative solutions for finding the right go-to-market (GTM) talent at scale.
Betts has compiled our annual Compensation Guide, updated with fresh data and insights on key trends shaping the earnings landscape in 2025. This blog will be the first in a multi-part series where we explore the major developments impacting salaries and benefits packages for sales, marketing, customer success and other GTM roles in tech.
Top Compensation Trends for Tech in 2025
2025 is shaping up to be a hot year for the technology industry, with overall strong market predictions and exciting opportunities emerging ahead. After a period of adjustment and recalibration throughout 2023 and 2024, we are witnessing notable shifts in how tech companies approach talent acquisition and compensation strategies. There still remain certain challenges, however, particularly for early-stage startups working with smaller hiring budgets while trying to source their unicorn sales talent to help scale their revenue up.
These and other factors are driving new compensation and talent acquisition trends, including:
- The emergence of “Quiet Consideration” as employees actively explore other jobs opportunities while still employed
- The continued pursuit of the “unicorn seller” in tech, with 65% of companies seeking this rare combination of skills
- The transformation of senior Customer Success roles into consultative positions with higher compensation rates to match the level and type of experience required
- The gradual shift toward persona-based hiring rather than prioritizing industry-specific sales experience in SaaS
- The persistent challenge of pay compression between current employees and new hires requiring creative retention approaches
- The strategic integration of AI in recruitment with a growing number of hiring managers incorporating these tools piecemeal
- The resurgence of mid-market tech companies with double the hiring activity compared to last year
- The growing isolation of leadership as executives bear more responsibility with fewer resources available
The Evolution of GTM Roles in 2025
The landscape for sales, customer success and other GTM roles has transformed significantly, reflecting broader developments in the technology industry and its gradual comeback from the economic uncertainty of the post-pandemic years. Companies are adapting by restructuring teams, redefining responsibilities, reevaluating compensation offers and other strategic initiatives as they navigate the latest “new normal.” Salaries continue to shift in response to these changes, and hiring managers must keep a close eye on the trends that could impact recruiting for priority roles:
The Impact of “Quiet Consideration”
The era of the Great Resignation has evolved into “Quiet Consideration,” where employees stay put while actively keeping an eye on the market. This creates a deceptive calm for tech executives; teams may seem stable, but individuals are quietly evaluating their options. In fact, Betts is seeing 1.5x more people actively engaged in our network, quietly exploring opportunities without directly applying for jobs.
This trend requires companies to:
- Double down on proactive retention strategies
- Invest in transparent growth paths and internal mobility
- Maintain active communication with team members
- Engage passive candidates early, as they may be weighing options but hesitant to make the first move
The Changing Landscape for Entry-Level Tech Jobs
Entry-level positions in tech, including SDRs, continue to become scarcer as organizations focus on candidates who can contribute immediately with minimal training. The bar for early-career talent is rising, creating intense competition for limited positions. Meanwhile, emerging markets like Huntsville, Colorado Springs, Dayton and others are becoming key sources of entry-level talent for companies still seeking less experienced candidates, offering general salary rates 10-15% lower than traditional tech hubs while maintaining a higher quality talent pool.
The Growth of Enterprise Sales
Enterprise-sized deals have taken over tech sales , with an increasing number of companies focusing on customers in this space. This has created a need both for more specialized talent experienced in handling these types of accounts and for greater segmentation around deal size. We have seen organizations going beyond sourcing Enterprise Account Executives (EAEs) with broad responsibilities and creating new titles to manage these larger accounts, including devoting executives exclusively to bigger-sized deals:
- Enterprise Account Executive ($250K-$500K deals)
- Strategic EAE ($500K-$1M deals)
- Director of Enterprise ($1M-$2M deals)
- VP of Enterprise ($2M-$10M deals)
The Transformation of Customer Success
Customer Success titles are going through an interesting transition, as while overall salary rates for general roles dropped, it increased significantly for senior-level candidates that have a background in the enterprise space. Many companies are actively seeking CSMs with deep consulting experience working in these types of environments – especially in top firms like McKinsey and BCG – focusing on improving long-term client relationships and retention. This shift has driven base salaries for enterprise CS professionals to $175K-$200K+, reflecting their growing strategic importance.
Addressing Pay Compression in Tech
Pay compression remains a significant challenge as average salary increases and the demand for higher wages for new hires outpaces the compensation rates of current employees in similar positions. This creates internal equity concerns among the workforce in place that will damage morale and contribute to Quiet Consideration. To address this issue, many companies are:
- Exploring pay transparency to create fair compensation structures
- Implementing compensation based on performance metrics rather than tenure
- Creating merit-based cultures that promote fairness across the organization
- Developing comprehensive strategies that balance new hire demands with internal equity
The Growing Role of AI in Recruitment
While the new generation of artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how companies screen candidates and match talent, adoption remains cautious – only 1% of leaders have fully embraced AI tools due to concerns about bias and over-reliance. While these are valid risks to worry about, we believe that AI-powered solutions like Olivia by Paradox or our Betts Connect platform will make hiring decisions easier and more effective when paired with human expertise to offset potential gaps.
Navigating the Mid-Market Resurgence
Mid-market companies are experiencing a sharp resurgence in talent acquisition for 2025, with growth picking up speed and double the recruiting activity compared to last year. After a period of layoffs and hiring freezes, many organizations in this space have recalibrated and are accelerating towards new growth trajectories. However, 2025 will be a critical juncture – success will depend on whether these companies can continue strategically expanding and gaining more market share, as the venture capital landscape only rewards those that keep on growing.
Executive Leaders Becoming Isolated
As teams have contracted, leaders and managers have had to take on additional work while still facing the pressure of their day-to-day responsibilities. Executives from the C-suite to VP level are finding themselves without strong support systems while they address these combined challenges, contributing to a sense of increased isolation. Organizations must address the human side of their leadership as best they can, looking into solutions like professional coaching to help navigate these stresses.
Strategic Compensation Approaches for 2025
As the market evolves, companies need to adopt more nuanced strategies for attracting and retaining top talent. Our target compensation recommendation represents the market rate benchmark that companies must meet to source and hire top performers rapidly, and access a more extensive candidate pool for competitive roles. Additionally, apply these rules as needed to the target rate when sourcing for different types of candidates:
- For unicorn sellers: Increase compensation by 20% above target rates to attract candidates with the perfect mix of experience, industry knowledge and cultural fit
- For standard SaaS sellers: Decrease rates approximately 10% below the target compensation for the role
- For GTM candidates with technical knowledge: Add a 10% premium to attract more specialized technical expertise
- For CSMs with enterprise experience: Offer 20% above target for candidates that have occupied a senior-level consultative position in an enterprise setting
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