Stress Test That (potential) Sales Role

I was asked by a friend on the talent market right now to provide a bit of feedback, and it presented itself very quickly that the interests of a sales candidate and that of a sales leader aren't so far apart.

However, at times, leaders in companies are presenting opportunities that don't align with the green grass they are selling. But why?

The reality is that the role is often tied to expectations that every new hire will land cleanly, perform at 100-130% of the top quartile of performers who have ever been in the company, and that the sales candidate is also pretty bad at simple math.

Take the following example:

Low-to-mid range entry level gig. We're gonna be a unicorn, everyone wants to work here. Stepping stone to the big kid job. Apply now. Base $50, OTE $100k.

Let's carve this up.

• Average deal size: $2988 ($249/mo)
• Sales cycle is 60 days, average close rates of 30%
• A normal human can deal with 50-100 deals effectively, let's be cautious at the mark of 75
• 20% commission on average 40% gross profit. Sounds juicy.
• Note well - this is transactional as hell, meaning you're going to flip a 75 deal pipeline over about 6x in 12 months, grinding over 450 deals. A gig for some, but not all. A word of caution exists on the other end where you're in huge enterprise pipeline land and deal concentration risk is a real thing.

So, where does this shake out?

Well, to hit the OTE, you need to generate $625k of closed business in 365 days. so this is a run rate of $1712 per day.

The math checks in at the following:

• ($2988 ACV x 75 deals x 30% close) / 60 day cycle = $1,120 run rate
• This gets you a cool $163k of margin and $32,600 of comp = $82,600
• Scorecard = it's a B-minus, or over $1000/month in your pocket short of the promise.

Don't forget that you're interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. Your delicate unpacking of company averages and plans will tell you a ton about the leader you're meeting with - and at the same time, if done right, will illuminate your ability to come in with a strong 90 day plan for the role to actually get on pace.

Don't be afraid to ask about territory, quota attainment, average performance, rep tenure, number of whales/outliers in the data, and why the role is vacant. If the leader in the gig can't break down the deal - it may not be worth the price of admission.

Good luck out there!