Ethical Dilemna

I recently received an inbound from one of my SDRs with the opp being relatively standard. Upon discovery, the scope changed from being a group that would very much fall in my average deal size ($10-20k) to around $500k. I reached out to my team about the opp because I felt like I needed to ensure I was able to work it and they reassigned it to another, more qualified rep. 

Should I have taken this opportunity to make a name for myself by not sharing what I knew with my team or was I in the right to loop in my manager/VP on what was going on?

Thoughts?

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😳 Ethics
📳 SaaS
☁️ Software Tech
35
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
16
SaaS Eater
You made the right choice. Companies segment for a reason. Both for skillset and resources. Dont take this personally but it sounds like you are in an SMB role and this is a MM or enterprise lead that you may not have the skills to close.

This is also pretty standard in any sales org ive ever worked in. All the AEs on here will say to just keep it but long run this is the right way to go for you, your rep, your company and the prospect.
bendandsnack
Politicker
0
Account Exec
I respectfully disagree, I'm an SMB rep closing way more in terms of total $$$ than most of the Corp/Ent reps. Currently working a $620k opp and no one is batting an eyelid.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
10
SaaS Eater
re-read my comment. I said you may or may not have the skills to close. I didnt say all SMB reps are incapable of closing a larger deal.

You're one off doesn't justify working outside of company SOPs, it may fly in your company and thats great for you, keep kicking ass. Other orgs (and most that I have worked in or run) dont operate that way for a multitude of reasons.
jefe
Arsonist
12
🍁
Sucks, but it probably would have been taken away from you.

You did the right thing.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
11
🦊
Personally I would have kept it to myself. Why? Management can see leads like this in SFDC anyway. Not my fault if they don't read. 💅
Sunbunny31
Politicker
7
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
It would have been worse to have been working on it for a while and then lost it after more effort. You did the right thing.
LordOfWar
Tycoon
7
Blow it up
I think you made the right call, but your company didn't.

They punished you for being honest. You clearly built enough of a relationship with the prospect enough to learn about their true scope. They should have kept you on it and just had someone more senior to assist. Split commish, done deal, everyone is happy.
rabih1981
Personal Narrative
0
Sales and Technical Support
Totally agree
TennisandSales
Politicker
5
Head Of Sales
ugh. i hate that your company would do that. segmenting by company size is one thing, but by opportunity size?? THAT BLOWS.

I would have hung on to it until they forced me to give it up haha.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
We are medical tech, so we typically segment by the amount of providers. Originally the understanding was 7 providers, but expanded to 120. So I definitely understand, but would have loved to close a deal bigger than my yearly quota.
Filth
Politicker
2
Live Filthy or Die Clean
Sucks that you doing a good job in discovery hurt you.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
for sure! i hate this type of stuff
Filth
Politicker
4
Live Filthy or Die Clean
I would have reached out on the low for support. But that's why I buy everyone lunches and make friends in all departments. I understand needing the support, but why can't it be your deal with less % of the total sale commish b/c its a team sport now?
SaaSam
Politicker
2
Account Executive
I would have ran with it and if I came upon any issues and needed support then loop someone in and claim you only recently discovered that it wasn't within the parameters you had originally understood.

If you never run into issues, close it up. If someone asks why you didn't bring it to their attention tell them you wanted to take the initiative
TheOverTaker
Politicker
2
Senior Account Executive
Probably a good move but you coulda asked to sit on the meetings or what have you as a learning experience
Ackerman123
Executive
2
Enterprise Sales
Is this a mandate? Once a certain ACV estimate is reached, you have to hand it off? If so, you made the right choice. If not, I’d make a manager aware and push for the opportunity to show your stuff. Or worst case, work alongside the experienced rep to gain the knowledge necessary to close bigger deals.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
1
Bravado's Resident Asshole
To a degree, you made the right choice based on your company's policy and structure. Does it suck, yes and It's not fair. Hopefully they let you work on it as well and earn something for the additional discovery.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
Sometimes people get fired over it, best to do the right thing and send it to whoever should own it
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
How long have you been there? If it's in your territory then it's yours, right?
In my org we have solid guidelines to determine if a prospect changes hands.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
Been there around a year closing, SDR for a year before that. Definitely still the “baby” when it comes to experience. We don’t have territories and the different levels of reps have different size deals, so would have definitely left my hands regardless.
DefaultSalesDude
Executive
0
Director
Seeing this where it sounds like it is structured by deal size, you made the right call by elevating it but I still think the territory management is screwy.
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
You should have kept it to yourself and waited before revealing it was bigger. It might have still been taken away from you if it fell outside your scope, but you’d have been able to at least make the case to keep it.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
2
SaaS Eater
Help me understand this logic, why would you want to invest a bunch of time in a deal that has a strong likelihood of getting pulled away from you? Why put in the effort to set yourself up for more frustration and disappointment?
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
(1) I would personally try to keep it on the DL and claim ignorance of the actual size.

(2) demonstrate you can handle the bigger deals and set yourself up for a future promotion, potentially
bigdealdad
Opinionated
2
Director, Strategic Partnerships
Problem with this approach is that then it looks like you're doing inadequate discovery. Am I pleasantly surprised by opportunities being worth more than I originally thought--regularly. Does that ever happen to me after I've executed my discovery process and gotten the opp qualified and scoped? Nope.
saaskicker
Celebrated Contributor
1
Enterprise AE
Saved yourself the heartache of working it to close and having the other rep getting credit at the end of the cycle. Ask the rep if you can follow along and learn from them.
TheIncarceration
Politicker
1
SDR Manager
Leadership probably would have forced you to pass it to someone else once they caught on. Best to save your time
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
Better not to waste your time. Even if you had closed it, they could have either taken it away mid-deal or just held back the comp.
Coffee_is_for_closers
Opinionated
1
Product & Solutions Specialist
It’s best to let everyone know and request to work the lead with someone who is more experienced. You get to see how the big dogs eat. Then you can handle every lead after that. It’s a win win, as long as management doesn’t suck
Angusmacg
Valued Contributor
1
Territory Account Mgr.
I would keep myself in the loop and follow up with the rep who it was assigned to.
FiestyFeline26
Personal Narrative
1
AM (Account Manager)
You know your environment the best. You said something for a reason. What I would have done is pushed to be included in the process as oppty to train up, so that you could take the next one all by yourself.
Pink1985
Valued Contributor
1
Business Development Manager
You made the right choice. By communicating with your team, you are demonstrating honesty and building trust that will benefit you in the long run. The larger deals will come.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
I definitely agree with this, turns out the VP appreciated this aspect and has been looping me on some larger deals recently.
Pink1985
Valued Contributor
2
Business Development Manager
Way to go!! That is fantastic news - all the best for continued success and growth.
stackinracks
Good Citizen
1
Manager, Global Sales Development
I would've kept it and if it gets taken away I would demand a split. Nothing wrong with working together but the company should also pay you your fair share for the softball pitch to the other AE.
SalesinSeattle
Valued Contributor
1
Account Executive
While I think you did what you needed to do here as it probably eventually would have either gone sideways or been taken from you after a lot more work, my experience is this is a thankless process. I firmly believe that it ought to be at least a small split situation, throw you a bone for bringing in the opp and qualifying it. I have been with my existing company about 8 years and I have tossed multiple opps over the fence, but almost never had one come back my way. (I think one time?)
omeizer
Executive
1
CRO
You made the appropriate choice based on the closing qualifications set up by your sales organization. However, if I performed any work on the opportunity, I would have asked for a partial commission or the option of being able to tag team the deal so you could learn more about closing larger enterprise clients, if that is your longer term goal.
Epictetus
Valued Contributor
1
SaaSy
Did you also say that you wanted to run the deal through the cycle? Was it your discovery that got the deal expanded? Most of the time, a good sales leader will use this as a moment where they can let you run a big deal, but still be your backup and sherpa to get the deal done. If they thought that you were too inexperienced, which it sounds like they did, you should try to shadow the rest of the deal and learn from it.
saassi
Opinionated
1
Sales, Operations, and Account Management
I recently took a couple of deals outside my typical threshold last month & do not regret it but that is because I knew I was capable.

Granted, it was also circumstantial because much of my team was out, and the other AE is new and knows much less about the product than than I do, so I honestly believed like the deals were better off in my hands.

My efforts paid off because I closed the deals for the company which made them happy & got the commissions which made me happy.

To top it off, I was promoted on Friday because of my actions, so it was worth it in the end for me.

"Ask for forgiveness not for permission".
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
One of my favorite sayings, just couldn’t swing this one due to size and the way my org operates. Congrats on the promotion though!
DefaultSalesDude
Executive
0
Director
I didn't read the same way most have. I didn't see anything in here about how there are SOPs in place which required you to move the opp to someone else (perhaps in a larger channel) due to the size of the deal. In my org, it doesn't matter the deal size... it matters the company size (SMB, MidMarket, LE). If it wasn't aligned correctly, you did the right thing and the Sales Gods will reward you later with a blue bird deal. If it was yours but you raised it and the sales leaders took it from you, then the effed up and screwed you. At the very least they could have offered a split since it was your opp.
kxcxdy
Member
0
BDR
Winners win and losers stay complacent
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Good Citizen
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