Our New Business Reps are on track to make 1.6x industry standard. Here's why it’s well worth it.

From day one at Unify, we’ve believed outbound sales needed a new playbook. The old way of building teams was to hire cheap, churn and burn new college grads, and hope a few survive. The result? Long ramp cycles and bloated headcount with little to show for it.

Now, the new fad of replacing humans with fully automated AI SDRs is also falling short. Without empathy, context, or creativity, machines aren’t ready to break into enterprise accounts or build trust. Instead, they’re mimicking mass cold outreach that feels like marketing spam.

We're taking a different approach: AI-empowered sellers. Elite humans doing what only they can, supported by AI to scale what they shouldn't have to.

Why we pay top dollar

We do not shy away from it: our new business representatives (NBRs) are some of the best-paid in the industry. While industry standard for Business Development Representatives (BDRs) is about $85K OTE according to RepVue, our plans are ~$80K base plus ~$40K OTE, with most reps pacing at about 120% (~$140K annualized). One of our reps performance last month would project to ~$180K if they kept it up for the year. That is intentional. It is proof that when you pay for outcomes rather than activity, the results follow.

• We pay on meetings and also a share of Closed-Won, so reps think like AEs.
• Outbound opportunities convert to Closed-Won at about 20 percent, better than even inbound hand-raisers.
• The business wins more revenue with fewer reps, not more bodies.

Our NBR Playbook

At Unify, we’ve refined a playbook for building and scaling an NBR team that performs far above industry standard. Here’s our approach:

Hiring for outcomes

We hire fewer and sharper reps. Not first-timers who need to learn how to sell, but proven sellers with EQ, creativity, and grit. Our interview process emphasizes adaptability and ownership. Can they spot why they are behind quota and fix it? Can they craft messaging on the fly? Can they think strategically about who we are targeting and why? We want people who can sprint from day one and who are motivated to achieve outcomes, not just activity.

Onboarding in weeks, not months

Because we hire veterans, ramp is fast. In one to two weeks, reps are productive. Charlie, one of our NBRs, booked more than 30 meetings in his first 45 days, averaging more than one per business day. Lucca sourced two deals that closed within his first 30 days. This kind of ramp is only possible when you start with experienced talent. We are not teaching Salesforce basics. We are teaching how to sell Unify.

Executing efficiently and iterating intelligently

Our system is simple: activity multiplied by conversion equals outcomes. AI handles account heatmaps, research, enrichment, and task prep. Reps spend their time on calls, LinkedIn outreach, and tailored emails to high-value accounts. The balance is clear. Humans focus on the top 500 accounts, while automation within Unify covers the rest. This way, every rep is working at their highest leverage.

As they ramp, reps move from following proven plays to contributing new insights. They have lightbulb moments with prospects and feed those insights back into the team. Over time, this creates a feedback loop where the playbook itself improves with every new hire.

Scaling the team

The beauty of this model is that it scales without diluting quality. Winning talk tracks, signals, and tactics are codified in Unify so that every rep benefits from team-wide learning. Elite reps stay focused on the highest-value accounts while automation covers the rest of the TAM. With fewer reps, management overhead is lower and signal quality is cleaner. Scaling is not about adding headcount. It is about multiplying leverage and making sure every person is operating at their highest level of impact.

Why it works

The market does not need more activity. It needs better outcomes. Cheap headcount and AI bots both miss the mark. Our model of elite humans plus AI scale creates a system where:

• Sellers are incentivized to source revenue, not just meetings.
• Ramp is fast, attrition is low, performance is high.
• Outbound conversion rivals inbound.

And yes, we may eventually have an NBR who ends up making $200K+. But that won’t be by accident. It’ll be by design.

What’s next

We believe the future of outbound is AI-empowered humans. Fewer reps, bigger outcomes. Higher pay, higher standards. And better pipeline for the business.

If you’re a BDR that's consistently over-performing and feeling undervalued, come join us and earn like an AE. We’re hiring.

If you’re a sales or business development leader, come see how Unify for Sales Reps can help your team do more with less.