I Started Out As A Waitress & Now Make $110,500+ As A Restaurant Tech Sales Manager

In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions, and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

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Previously, we talked to a marketing senior manager in NYC, a social worker in Raleigh, NC, and a behavioral health consultant in Houston, TX.

Age: 33
Current Location: San Francisco
Current Industry & Title: Restaurant Tech Sales, Regional Sales Manager
Starting Salary: $70,000 as a waitress
Current Salary: $110,500 + $40,000 variable (commission)
Number Of Years Employed: 11
Biggest Salary Jump: $38,000 (from $62,000 + $40,000 variable to $80,000 + $60,000 variable in 2016)
Biggest Salary Drop: I haven't had a large salary drop, but when I moved companies, the new company was doing so poorly that I wasn't making commission, meaning that although my overall package was higher, without commission, I netted the same.

Biggest Salary Negotiation Regret: "In the hiring process for my current role, I ended up getting an offer that was above the original cap they had been telling me, and I did not push for more, although I'm sure I could have gotten it."
Best Salary-Related Advice: "Don't be afraid to leave a company with a big name when you know they aren't paying you what you are worth. Tech companies in particular love to lean on equity and their big name brand as a reason for why they don't need to pay fairly, but really you're just setting yourself back in the long term by not knowing what you should be getting paid. Do research and find a place where they will pay for your skills — they exist!"

"Graduating during the recession was hard, and none of my friends found good jobs related to their majors. With a bachelor's in urban planning, I couldn't find anything in that field at the time. Going back into restaurant work made sense, as I knew I could support myself, and I found an awesome restaurant group to work for that gave me a ton of training and education."

"While this was a huge salary drop—$33,000, plus $12,000 potential commission annually after the first nine months, plus $30K equity—it was a jump I needed to take to get myself into a more corporate job with a solid training program in sales. This role set me up for my success now, so I have no regrets, but had I chosen a company without such a great training program, it would probably have been the wrong move.

"This was an advertising sales job for a tech company. The job entailed making 80-100 cold calls a day to small businesses to sell advertising. It was incredibly hard to get local businesses to part with their money, and the job had an aggressive quota. We couldn't earn any commission until we hit a certain threshold, which took most people nine months. I made about $37K in my first year, and I got a few small merit-based salary bumps over 1.5 years in this role and ended up with a $42,000 base."

"I got promoted into a management role due to my success in sales and the company leadership development program. I started having eight to ten sales reps report to me, all entry-level. This came with a $55K base pay and $20K in potential commission."

"After spending time training new hires and developing entry-level reps, I was able to take on a more tenured team with reps at various levels. This was a promotion based on performance and achievements."

"After a few years of managing people, I wanted to expand my skill set in higher-level selling. My company did not want to lose me and was willing to have me switch career paths, as I had always been great at sales and was just a bit tired of managing people. I had to take a small salary drop, as the bands at this company were standard and could not be negotiated. Bu there was double the amount of opportunity to make commission (up to $40K commission compared to $20K in my previous role), and I was able to have more control over my overall earnings."

"I was recruited by a smaller restaurant tech company to open their NYC office and build a team. They wanted me to move into a management role quickly and liked my previous experience, as they had just acquired another company that had a very different sales process. I was very excited to get this role, not only for the experience but because I felt that for the first time I was going to be paid what I was worth. Aside from my salary, there was $55K in potential commission and $40K in equity.

"But the company did not end up having success, and therefore I went many months without making commission — I did not make more than $15,000 in commission the first year."

"The company promoted me quickly into a full-time manager role and gave me only a slight base bump when I pushed for it, instead of focusing on increasing potential commission. Since the company had been doing so poorly, and I would still probably make only 10-20% of the potential $75K commission, I pushed back when they didn't want to raise my base and was given an additional $5,000."

"In 2018 I decided I wanted to leave NYC and move to San Francisco, where there were more tech companies and I would have the opportunity to work out of an HQ. I was recruited by my current company to fill a role in NYC, but in the process found out about a higher-level role in SF at the same company. I immediately threw my hat in the ring, as the company mission aligned with exactly what I was looking for. I moved to SF exactly two weeks after signing the offer, and one day before I started at this new job.

"While this offer could look like less than what I had the potential to make at my previous company—$90K, plus $40K potential commission and $90K equity—this company was successful and everyone was making commission every single month, often over-performing and making more."

"When the annual review cycle came up in 2019, I knew I was worth more than I was getting paid. I had a full plan to ask for $15K more in salary, thinking I might get half, and instead was given a large raise by my director without having to ask, putting me at $110,500, plus $40K potential commission and an additional $35K equity grant.

"I was rewarded for my hard work and impact on the company, and it was the first time I felt like I was actually being recognized for the value I brought to my role. The company is also successful and growing quickly, so I frequently make about 110-130% of my commission and will make over $150K this year.

"I manage a team of nine outside sales executives who sell our tech platform to local businesses, as well as work on projects like helping to adjust sales processes and provide education for the company we are in the process of acquiring. The reason I love working for startups is because there is always so much building to do outside of what a typical sales manager might look like at other companies. While my title is similar to my previous role, my scope of work and responsibilities are 10x that." 

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