S
S

Scrambler

Account Executive

Contributor
Fire Starter

Mislead about quota attainment

I was recruited to join a SaaS company as an AE with a quota of $1.2M in net new bookings. The recruiter and the other salespeople that I interviewed with (including the VP of Sales) stated that the majority of the sales pipeline would come from inbound leads. However, after being at the company for several months it's apparent that there are very few inbound leads and most missing quota by 50-80%.


Has anyone else been through a similar experience? If so, how did you handle it?

☁️ Software Tech
🎯 Career Development
📳 SaaS
16

20 comments

Sort by:
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
6
sales
My first sales job at a publisher was taking over an existing book of business, so I was like sure. Day 1 I come in and he opens an old book of invoices of every sale he made from like 1986 and told me to start calling them to get them to advertise again.

i thought about quitting, very seriously, even paced for the door a few times. Ended up doing 120k+ two years in a row on straight commish. He even robbed me of commish points on a few sales that woulda pushed me into the 150 range.

my advice is make the best of it. Maybe there’s something there. We’re hunters, go hunting.
CaneWolf
Politicker
3
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Yup, I immediately started looking for new jobs. Things aren't going to get better. I'd say you use Bravado Jobs and you'll be set in a few weeks.
Scrambler
Contributor
0
Account Executive
When did you realize you messed up? And how long did you stay? 
CaneWolf
Politicker
0
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
2-3 months in? And less than 6 months.
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
3
☕️
So you drank the kool-aid and now you have a sugar hangover? Get yourself a large cup of reality and rehydrate, my brethren.

Every company out there is going to tell you about this magical pipeline of inbound leads. Yes, the current team on the current demand flow is making out just fine on inbounds...but what happens when you scale up the sales team and you don't scale up the demand gen engine? A shortage, that's what happens.

Here's how to handle it: put your head down and make some calls. Good old-fashioned outbound is your savior...for now. Then, every opportunity you get you should remind your sales leaders that the demand gen engine needs a boost--you were told that the pipeline was driven by inbound opportunities, but you have yet to see the fruits of that labor. Why do you do this? Simple: sales leadership LOVES to yell at Marketing. Give them the ammo to make a difference!
CRAG112
Valued Contributor
1
Account Executive
Lol I love this. Sad, but rings of reality. Don't blame anyone specifically, just outline the exact problem and what you have to do to make up for the problem and how that impacts the bottom line. 

GENIUS!!
ZeroGrit
Valued Contributor
2
VP of Hoping My Emails Find You Well
Do they plan on creating an outbound motion or have an XDR team? Do you know how to prospect on your own? Are there Closed lost leads you can start calling on to resurrect? I think because you aren’t being “given” work, there’s opportunity for creativity and contribution to the sales process. Ask your leaders if they have a plan to get you guys to achieve quota - if you feel at the end that something is off (like they just placed an absurd number for quota attainment for shits and giggles) then leave. But if they show genuine concern and want to get people to quota (what’s quota for you is forecasting for them) then be partner and put your brains together. Everything starts with a conversation.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I worked for a large company where this was the quota, very few attained it, and I was unconvinced it was going to change. I ultimately left. I wasn’t in your recently-recruited shoes, though, just a rep who’d seen it all and lost confidence in the direction of the org. Are you thinking of leaving, or are you asking for any direction on possible recourse?
Scrambler
Contributor
1
Account Executive
Thank you for sharing. I don't want to leave as I've only been there 3-4 months and don't want to quit on the folks that hired me. However, I'm concerned that I'm not going to be successful in the role regardless of effort.  

If I'm not going to be successful I might as well move on at some point. 

How long were you there for? 
Sunbunny31
Politicker
0
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Over 10 years.   I was used to the ebb and flow of each year's modifications, but things did not look to be changing for the better in the new FYE, so I moved on.   I had many great years there, but the direction was all downward.  I probably should have left a couple of years earlier, tbh, but things worked out for me anyway.
CRAG112
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
@Scrambler can you share exactly what you are doing daily to find success? 

From starting to ending your day, what does your day look like? Lets assume you have zero meetings and nothing on the calendar for the entire year. What do you do daily? 
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
Time to find something new because overnight they cannot increase the inbound lead or lead quality. All the best !
justatopproducer
Politicker
0
VP OF SALES -US
Yes i have, unfortunetaly im starting to beleive all orgs that sell something lie. I just go to HR and explain this is what I was told in the interview and was lied too. So now we need to restructure my pay due to the falsified informstion by the hiring manager and director. Im not sure if they are dumb and just dont know and too lazy to find out or blatently lie to everyone they talk too. This is now why I honesty and integrity is at the top of my list of company values when I job search.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
0
Rolling 20's all day
Is this an org that has numbers and %s on repvue? Sorry to hear about the situation
Njanack
Good Citizen
0
SDR
Sorry to hear that 

Njanack
Good Citizen
0
SDR
Yeah I went to a new job!
FromaBlankPerspective
Politicker
0
District Manager
Yes, absolutely. I made the mistake of not asking about their turnover in the interview process. I left after less than 2 years. 
DiscoveryPivot
0
Enterprise Account Manager
Sounds like every single IT sales job ever
Flippinghubs
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
thats super shitty, sorry OP 
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
0
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
I'm there now. I am the only person who has hit quota and will be the only one (with 1.5 months remaining). If you can find something the pays better take it, but negotiate your quota for next year and get more cash upfront if they can't give it to you. That way, you have more cash on hand when you eventually jump to a better position.

Related posts

4

Quota

Question
👑 Sales Strategy
9
4

Quota or no quota?

Discussion
💰
🧢
🤷‍♂
15
Individual Quota should last
81% Yes
19% No
67 people voted
6

Division/Vertical Quota Attainment?

Question
🏙
✌️
8
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.