Last updated: November 2026
A building products sales pay plan in Australia has four parts: a base salary, super on top, a car allowance or a fully maintained company vehicle, and commission or a bonus. OTE, or on-target earnings, is the base plus what the variable part pays at target. The OTE only matters if someone in the role has hit it.
I've recruited salespeople in building products since 2017. BDMs, specification managers, account managers and sales managers across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Every offer I see is built from the same pieces. Each one gets a short answer here and a link to the deeper guide where one exists. It's written for both sides of the table: the rep weighing up an offer and the hiring manager putting one together.
What does OTE actually mean in a building products sales role?
OTE is the base salary plus what the commission or bonus pays when you hit 100% of target. That's the definition. The part that matters is how you get there.
Most OTE numbers in Australian building products sales ads are fiction. Half the time the OTE sits on a budget or GP number nobody in the role has ever hit. To be fair, a lot of companies are quite clear about where they sit. The reality is their OTE is what someone earns on a good year.
The gap between a big package and a modest one is usually the product. Not the person. You can be an absolute gun and still get capped pushing a commodity into a saturated market with no spec protection. The product and the area cap your earnings long before your effort does.
The best test of an OTE is two questions. What's your best salesperson earning? And what's your average salesperson earning? Then ask how many on the team actually hit the number, the average deal size, how long the sales cycle runs, and whether the spec is protected or leaks at procurement. A target nobody has reached is just a number on a page.
Before you sign, run the structure yourself and see what a 70% year pays, not just a 100% one. The commission calculator does it in about 30 seconds and shows what you'd take home after Australian tax. For how plans are put together and where they leak, read what your commission structure actually pays.
Hiring managers, the same questions cut the other way. Good candidates will ask what your best and average reps earn. Have the answer ready.
Is super included in a building products sales base salary?
Super is usually paid on top. Most building products sales roles are now quoted as base plus super. Total package quoting used to be common, where super came out of the headline number. The old model was almost trying to trick candidates with a higher figure.
If you're given one number, ask whether it's base plus super or total package. A total package figure has the super taken out of it.
Should employers offer a car allowance or a company car?
Offer both. Across the candidates I speak to and the jobs I recruit for, it's roughly half on a car allowance and half in a fully maintained company vehicle. People come from one or the other, and switching costs them. Someone used to a fully maintained vehicle isn't going to risk financing a new car while on probation. Someone used to an allowance finds moving jobs expensive and an unwanted hassle when another company offers exactly what they need. Offer only one and you halve who you can hire before the ad goes live.
The mistake I see most is setting the car without matching it to how much driving the role actually demands and what that costs to run. That applies whichever option you offer.
For candidates, the two options are not worth the same, and the gap moves with your income and how far you drive. The car allowance calculators compare both. What a company car is really worth covers the tax side, and employers can test their own offer with the employer car package calculator. The full breakdown is in car allowances in Australian sales roles.
Do building products companies still pay mileage?
Mileage is rare in building products sales now. Where I do see it, it's normally a business that hasn't had external salespeople before.
The problem is who they're competing with. Those businesses are hiring against employers who pay a car allowance or provide a car. Easy way to think about it: why would you move for less? The car is part of the package.
Do companies pay for home EV chargers for sales reps?
Companies offering an electric fully maintained company vehicle are now funding a charger at the rep's home. I see it most in specification-led roles, where the business has environmental or sustainability credentials to back up. The charger and the install are covered. Some cover the power as well.
How any of that is treated for tax and FBT is a question for your accountant, not your recruiter. If the car comes through salary packaging instead, the novated lease guide explains how that compares to an allowance.
What is the difference between commission and a bonus?
Commission pays on performance, usually tied directly to sales or specific KPIs. A bonus pays against a set of targets, is often weighted to the team, and often caps out at a set amount.
Commission is tangible. You can see what each sale is worth, it can be quite lucrative, and it's constantly motivating. A bonus is generally well structured and more to the benefit of the team. The catch is that a bonus is often just a system to cap out at a certain point.
Capping is where good plans go wrong. Every so often I hear of a rep who was due big commission being let go. Cap your best rep's upside and don't be surprised when they leave.
My preference is a blend: a capped bonus for defined duties, and commission to keep the upside open. I make that case in designing a sales comp plan for a building products BDM. Account managers have their own version in account manager KPIs and bonus structures. To draft a plan from scratch, the Commission Builder walks you through it with AI.
If you're thinking of moving, time your resignation around when your bonus or commission is paid.
Do specification managers get commission?
Specification managers rarely get commission. The role doesn't carry a sales budget, so there's nothing clean to pay commission against. Specification managers are still targeted, normally on the spec target, meetings, relationships or what's converted.
How to set those targets is covered in how to build a bonus structure for a specification manager. If you're not sure which role you're actually hiring, spec manager vs BDM sets out the difference.
Are commission-only sales roles worth it?
Commission-only roles rarely work in building products sales. For employers, the ability to attract candidates into commission-only or fractional roles is going to be limited.
In the employer's mind the role is lucrative. The risk sits with the candidate, especially if it's not a product or a business they know. They'd need to fund 6 to 18 months of their lives. Imagine you have a family and a mortgage. Why would you jump ship unless it was a no-brainer? Nobody gambles a mortgage on an OTE that has never been paid to anyone.
I've tried to fill commission-only roles once or twice and haven't placed one. I've connected with a few fractional salespeople over the years, so they exist. There aren't many.
Commission-only works with someone who already knows you, or a product that sells itself. Neither is a hiring strategy. The candidate is taking the risk to grow your business. That dream is yours, not theirs.
What should you check before you sign or send an offer?
Check four things: whether the number is base plus super or total package, which car option is on the table, whether the variable part is commission or a capped bonus, and what the best and average reps in the role actually earn.
If you're putting together a package for a sales hire, here's how I work with hiring managers.
James Bowesman, building products sales recruiter at Specified Select Group. Recruiting sales talent in building products, lighting and A&D since 2017.