I feel I should chime in as a seller. Any solution that doesn't address the "why" behind performance is just going risk repeating the same problems. Specifically, some companies lack any kind of sales process or methodology. Without proper training, junior reps default to price to win deals
Secondly, as a rep I've been classified as a low, mediocre, and high performer throughout my career. Some of that was my own doing, much of that was being in the right place at the right time. For the last 2 years tech companies were told they needed to "scale" so they went out and expanded their teams without really considering what their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) looks like and how that impacts their Total Addressable Market (TAM).
It's an all too common scenario where the first rep in the territory is working exclusively with the clients who fit squarely in the ICP. Subsequent reps get "leftover" accounts that fall farther and farther outside the ICP circle. Time is wasted on clients who will never buy, or don't see the same value. Prices get slashed to close deals and try to make as much quota attainment as possible to avoid getting fired.
This is not to say that reps shouldn't be accountable. Sales is a performance job. However, leaders should understand if there are structural issues they can address before getting rid of employees. Otherwise they'll bring in new players who will face the same challenges and the company will be back where they started.
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. Would you be so kind as to consider writing a comprehensive post on sales reps compensation plans (how to decide on quotas, how are renewals treated, is compensation capped, uncapped, accelerators etc) vs corporate targets. Thanks!
I feel I should chime in as a seller. Any solution that doesn't address the "why" behind performance is just going risk repeating the same problems. Specifically, some companies lack any kind of sales process or methodology. Without proper training, junior reps default to price to win deals
Secondly, as a rep I've been classified as a low, mediocre, and high performer throughout my career. Some of that was my own doing, much of that was being in the right place at the right time. For the last 2 years tech companies were told they needed to "scale" so they went out and expanded their teams without really considering what their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) looks like and how that impacts their Total Addressable Market (TAM).
It's an all too common scenario where the first rep in the territory is working exclusively with the clients who fit squarely in the ICP. Subsequent reps get "leftover" accounts that fall farther and farther outside the ICP circle. Time is wasted on clients who will never buy, or don't see the same value. Prices get slashed to close deals and try to make as much quota attainment as possible to avoid getting fired.
This is not to say that reps shouldn't be accountable. Sales is a performance job. However, leaders should understand if there are structural issues they can address before getting rid of employees. Otherwise they'll bring in new players who will face the same challenges and the company will be back where they started.
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. Would you be so kind as to consider writing a comprehensive post on sales reps compensation plans (how to decide on quotas, how are renewals treated, is compensation capped, uncapped, accelerators etc) vs corporate targets. Thanks!