FormerStartupJobHopper

AE

Valued Contributor

Sandbagging strategy? (fuck off you do it too)

Nearly all reps at or above quota have done this at some point so I don't wanna hear your moralizing about "optimizing revenue" all you leaders out there. (I'm half kidding. If you have a real practical argument against this go ahead).

I get paid annual and however the hell the equation works, I'll make up the commish over the course of the year. How do you guys go about this if you're at plan for the month quarter?

Put the start date as next month if the prospect doesn't care? Slow walk your follow up?

EDIT: I really do love the back and forth but feel like I need to clarify this. I get paid commission monthly but my revenue target is annual. It's a funky system. We do have accelerators but it doesn't matter if I get the revenue in September or October (other than in the short term). Over the course of the year, if I get a 600k deal in January, 50k each month, or a 600k deal in December, it doesn't matter. My annual payout will be exactly the same. So what I'm referring too is pushing start dates/slow walking things when you're above target at EOM to smooth out the monthly output.

Not a common thing and only in the right scenario, but I don't think it means that you're giving up on next month to build yourself a bit of cushion if possible. Idk guys, I get what you're all saying but I'd still rather have two $50k months than one $75k and one $25k! But I'll be in the minority

👑 Sales Strategy

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32 comments

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hh456

Celebrated Contributor

9

sales

Make an argument for no cap on commission. You're kicking ass, you're creating more revenue for the company, why are they throttling their growth by not aligning their comp plan with your performance?

FormerStartupJobHopper

Tycoon

1

AE

I actually am uncapped. I look at it as more so maintaining consistency, so it's more personal preference.

Say I'm at 50k with 50k quota and 25k in serious pipe. I could go for $75k this month and kill it... but then may only land at 25k next month. As we all know sales is what have you done for me lately. I personally would rather have two 50k months and and smooth out the bumps.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

6

sales

ok. maybe someone else can reply cause i dont want to be mean. i love you.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

4

sales

@InQ5WeTrust , @UrAssIsSaaS , @funcoupons , @CuriousFox

FormerStartupJobHopper

Tycoon

0

AE

Lmao I mean you can disagree with the approach if you want! I think a lot of reps feel this way.

InQ5WeTrust

Arsonist

5

No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL

2 parts here really.

Its a mentality thing, I would want to crush my number if I'm being paid to do so.

If your prospecting is consistent then as you're closing deals there should be more flowing into the funnel. If there's a massive drop off after a few more deals, then if you'd have a few unexpected losses you would have been fucked anyway. Girth is important kids.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

7

sales

If I was uncapped (I am) I would (and do) absolutely full throttle, lace & pipe the phone every day I come in. My commish is equity and annual distribution so it could be easy to get lazy since the payoff is once a year. But I don't.

If you're a beast @FormerStartupJobHopper , crank it up to 14 and rip the knob off. Go get money.

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

5

SaaS Eater

Do you want to be viewed as a C+ to B player at best by your leadership team? If so, sandbag away.

I agree with @InQ5WeTrust that its a mentality shift and if you are as good as you seem to be you should have no issue doing 150% this quarter and finding the next 50% needed over the course of the next quarter. If this quarter was just a stroke of luck (which it sounds like it wasnt) then you have larger issues in your sales process that need fixing. Prospect like a savage and keep this train rolling.

I see no argument TO sandbag if youre good at what you do. Trust yourself and go hammer out another 150% quarter. Mama aint raise no bitch @FormerStartupJobHopper

FormerStartupJobHopper

Tycoon

2

AE

Alright alright everybody thanks for the group spanking! I actually do get it tho. Scarcity mindset vs abundance mindset

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

4

SaaS Eater

Exactly. Go get yourself paid. 2 quarters at 150% is a hell of a lot better than 2 at 100

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

Ok so we good now fam? 👀

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

4

sales

Ilu

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

Ilu2

InQ5WeTrust

Arsonist

5

No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL

As our Cinanom flavour papi @GrizzleMcThornBody said, make a case for uncapped commission.

If it is capped, then there's just no incentive to push.

As an SDR I'd reduce my call volumes and focus on building out lists or warming up target accounts.

If its the week or two before, then I'd just push meetings back.

Some companies inadvertently incentivise you to game the system.

FormerStartupJobHopper

Tycoon

2

AE

Huh, I didn't expect this to be an unpopular take. I'm an AE but I disagree. You don't feel better having two months at 100% rather than one at 150% and one at 50%? It's a hypothetical, but I one million percent do. Obviously not to the extent of blowing deals or telling someone begging to sign "no" lol

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I guess I see it differently. Get the deal when it's in hand so you have time to focus on something else that might come up. Nursing something along just means I'm not able to go get something else and maybe be at 150% and then again at 100%.

FeedTheKids

Politicker

2

Solutions Consultant

My take is - 9/10 sandbagging isn't worth it.

I'd rather close as many deals as possible as quickly as possible.

If your worried you won't hit numbers next month, that's pretty soft - being in sales you gotta have the consistency.

Sometimes if you wait too long to close a deal - they don't close.

When your looking for that next role/bonus you don't wanna say "look I hit quota consistently" you wanna say "look I destroyed quota consistently".

Signed,
A guy who still occasionally sandbags shit deals when he's 30-35% over quota.

Flippinghubs

Opinionated

0

Account Executive

This guy gets it

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

1

Sales

Do you not have accelerators? Don’t show up after you hit your monthly number if you don’t have a chance to boost your income.

Ross Perot famously hit quota at IBM (i think) on like the 3rd day of the year and showed up in shorts to mock the lack of accelerators and commission cap.

Blackwargreymon

Politicker

1

MDR

If it is capped, then there's just no incentive to push.

FattySnacks

Politicker

0

Senior Account Executive

10/10 don’t relate. I love me some accelerators so I’m constantly pushing things through when I can. That being said I’m not on a monthly quota so I don’t see how this would ever benefit me. If you’re good at your job you close that shit and find another one 🤷🏻‍♂️

bareknuckles

Valued Contributor

0

CEO of my kitchen table

Done this at every capped sales role I've worked at. Set `live/won` in CRM when you want it to drop. Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

Justatitle

Big Shot

0

Account Executive

This is why companies need to offer awesome accelerators when over quota to maximize deals. My sandbagging strategy in the past was to just ask if we can start the contract in a week or you just don’t send the docusign conveniently until the next day/beginning of next q…

Kirby

Politicker

0

Sales Representative

If you hit your annual goals I don’t see why monthly or quarterly goals really matter. Fuck trying to look neat. Do what’s best for your prospect and yourself, but not for arbitrary numbers.

LordBusiness

Politicker

0

Chief Revenue Officer

I say this pretty regularly, but karma always comes around - especially in sales. At every single point in my career, I work a deal with the goal of getting the yes/no/signature as fast as humanly possible, and when it comes in, I hit "closed won". That's just me though.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Anyone that:
1) Doesn't sandbag is mindblowing because how do you deal with any kind of executive visibility and maintain peace of mind you lunatic/beautiful unicorn?
2) Says that they don't sandbag is just a liar and a phony

Njanack

Good Citizen

0

SDR

No cap on commission is big

Jbeans

Opinionated

0

Director of Sales

Nope. Never. I’m taking those deals down ASAP. Too risky for me to let them hang in the balance.

AnchorPoint

Politicker

0

Business Coach

Sad that the company still has a comp plan in place that promotes sandbagging.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

0

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

I have an annual quota and a quarterly quota. We push for getting the quarterly stuff done, but as long as you hit annual, that's all that matters. We get paid commission quarterly, so there is always a push to get things in so we can our money.

Error32

Politicker

0

ISR

I would pick up the phone, call them up and ask if they have any hesitations or questions based on what they've been able to review in the agreement.

Clashingsoulsspell

Politicker

0

ISR

I would pick up the phone, call them up and ask if they have any hesitations or questions based on what they've been able to review in the agreement.

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