Assessing Your Sales Territory to Hit Quota … Finding the $$$

People ask me all the time, “Scott, how were you consistently 200 – 500% of quota in your sales career?” There are many reasons for that. And I would have to write a book to tell you. Oh wait, I just wrote that book, and it should be published mid-2022.

In the meantime, I want to share a “cheat” that was part of it all. Really, it is not a cheat. It is just an unfair advantage you can give yourself; it is perfectly allowed, and perfectly morally right to do.

Think of it this way, when an athlete gets “in the zone” they cannot miss. A basketball player hits ever shot. A baseball hitter hits every pitch. So, what is that like? Well, they see EVERYTHING and it is so big they can just pick it apart with great accuracy.

So, this “cheat” is how you can put yourself in the zone in your sales territory to see all the $$$. They are big green dollar signs and you see them everywhere. You just have to decide which ones you want to grab.

The Key to the Cheat

The key here is to see every partner as a dollar sign. Yup! That is the simple cheat. These are the partners that fill your sales funnel. Each lead they give you is worth money. Now, some of your enterprise sales people may think you want to stop reading. “Oh Scott, that does not apply to me.” You can stop at your own parrel because this ABSOLUTELY applies to you.

This applies to everyone who is in sales: side hustle, insurance person, business owner, enterprise SAAS sales person, etc.

First, you need to know the following to assess your partners:

-?????????Who are your potential partners?

-?????????Who are your potential clients?

-?????????What is your average deal size?

-?????????How many deals does it take to hit quota? Hit 2X,5X quota?

Now, look at each potential partner. Sometimes the partnership level starts at the office. Then, how many people in that office can refer to me. It may just be one. It may be many. Again, you have to assess this.

Next, how many deals can each person bring you? If we have two people in an office that bring three deals each, and my average deal size is $40K then simple math for the VALUE of that office is 2 * 3 * $40,000 = $240,000. If my quota is $1mln then that office is worth 24% of my quota.

Ok, great. My personal goal is_____? Let’s say it is 250% on a $1mln quota. You need to find enough partners to get you there.

How we assess a partner

We need to get this part right or the whole cheat formula does not work. In order to assess a partner, we need to first ask the following questions to yourself:

-?????????Are they engaged?

-?????????Are they showing us deals?

-?????????Do they bring us in early and introduce the sales prospect to us?

-?????????Will they allow us to take the lead in the next steps with the prospect?

-?????????What is the average deal size they can bring us?

-?????????How many can we expect?

-?????????Are they willing to plan with us and agree on our partnership?

This is how you assess each individual partner. How you assess the answers for the above and does it give you a total score that says, “Yes, they are a partner worth my time.” But how much time? If it is a partner that can give you 15% of quota vs a partner that gives you 30% then how do you split your daily/monthly/quarterly activities and interaction? This helps you determine your success activity matrix. That is how you schedule and plan each day and week.

I would say someone who can provide 15% of quota, I interact with them every other month, maybe once per quarter. 30% of quota gets more interaction more often. And so on…

If they are part of a bigger office, then how many partners in the office meet the criteria we set. Do we end up doing office events so they will bring other potential partners in the office who they can influence to engage with us.

Getting Buy in To Our Partnership

Now this is the most important part. Just because you score them high on the above criteria does NOT mean they want to partner. You need to set a formal meeting and talk with them. Set KPIs for your partnership. Set SMART goals too! Come to an agreement of how you provide the WIIFM for each other. How does this benefit you both?

When that is clearly understood, and agreed upon you can set a plan for partnership:

-?????????How often we interact

-?????????Which prospects you will introduce me to

-?????????How many prospects you will introduce me to and how often (Think SMART goals here)

-?????????Set a time for your QBR of your partnership to review and course correct if needed

You MUST have their buy in or it will never happen.

We can now see the field so we are in the sales zone. I see where every dollar is coming from and then that dictates my activity to go get it, and when. This is how I consistently hit my quota by month 5 – 7, and won amazing trips. Most important, it is why I made lots of money too!

So, do you see the field? Where are your $$$ and how many are coming from each one? Does it total up to your personal goals for how much above quota you will be? Go see the field!