BigMoney

Account Executive

Targets - do they just keep going up?

I'm fairly new to being an account exec - my first year has been a mix of incredible levels of stress, an impeding sense of doom and feelings that I could close any deal that an SDR threw at me but in Q1 I finally cracked it and was the top closer on the team and smashed my target.

Now I'm feeling like I need to continue this momentum as the only thing that motivates me more that money is the fear of people thinking that I'm a failure my targets keep going up every quarter despite last quarters results

Is this normal? Do they ever stop increasing? Is there a limit to how much ARR a rep can close?

Personally I don't want to be an enterprise rep (which is what I'll become if my targets continue increasing) and am happy closing SMB/mid-market deals until the cows come home.

It would be useful to understand how this works in other organisations as I've only ever worked in one SaaS company.

Thanks!

🙏 Mental Wellness

🧢 Sales Management

5

24 comments

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LordBusiness

Politicker

5

Chief Revenue Officer

it really happens different everywhere, and to be candid there are some pretty terrible companies/leaders out there these days (evident by some of the post on this forum). I can tell you at my organization I build targets at the beginning of the year for each rep, and their target stays consistent for the rest of the year. (with the exception of last year, where I lowered my teams targets for COVID issues). I've never really believed in quarterly targeting - because its usually just self serving to the leader running the team - there is no company on the planet who builds their targets and goals (at the company level) quarterly.

BigMoney

Contributor

2

Account Executive

That sounds like a dream, I never know what I'm going to be hit with on the first day of the quarter.

SalesSpectre

Opinionated

3

AE

thats not good. Document your success..document your process and how you found success....and gtf outta there. They will drive you into the ground and leave you broke and depressed. Too many amazing Saas companies hiring right now to tolerate bullshit. You have all the leverage here.

LordBusiness

Politicker

2

Chief Revenue Officer

My first job was like that, constant anxiety. Keep on driving success and keep your eyes open for other opportunities, but if your consistently hitting the goals then keep on keeping on!

BigMoney

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Thanks for the advice, it's really helpful.

SalesSpectre

Opinionated

0

AE

My first job was like that too. I didnt realize my worth and slugged it out for too long. The sales space is on fire right now and there are hundreds of jobs open. Way more demand than supply. So its a good time to look

CaneWolf

Politicker

3

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

Quarterly quota increases mid-fiscal year are bullshit. Quarterly adjustments that are well documented in a comp plan (such as having higher quota in Q2 than Q1, Q3 than Q2) are fairly common.

I'm with @SalesSpectre. Document your results and look for the next thing. You're almost guaranteed to get a pay raise too.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

0

Officer of ♥️

Yeah just make sure you ask those important questions in your interview, ie, are targets set yearly or quarterly

CaneWolf

Politicker

0

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

"Have you ever raised quotas once they've already been set" is probably the question to bluntly ask.

CoorsKing

WR Officer

4

Retired King of the Coors Knights

Mine just increased 134% if that makes you feel any better lol

BigMoney

Contributor

1

Account Executive

50% doesn't seem that bad anymore.

OrangeOrange

Fire Starter

0

Account Executive

Hearts and prayers to you

SalesSpectre

Opinionated

0

AE

It shouldn't increase for no data-backed reason. But yes it's normal for quotas to increase over time by marginal amounts ie less than 10% per year.

If you have managers that are just bumping your quota because you keep exceeding them then I would have a serious problem with that.

You signed a comp plan and contract..if they keep changing that..its a huge redflag.

Quota increase without data is the most insidious form or paycut.

So I would talk to your manager asap.

BigMoney

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Yeah mine just got bumped by 50%. The argument before was that I was ramping but considering no AE in the history of our (small) company closed as much as I did last quarter it seems a bit excessive!

SalesSpectre

Opinionated

1

AE

Ramp quotas are very common. but they should be documented and communicated with you.
Month 1 - 20% quota
Month 2 - 40% quota
Month 3 - 80% quota
Month 4 - 100% aka full quota.

This should be clearly communicated and part of your comp plan. If it's not..thats total bullshit

BigMoney

Contributor

1

Account Executive

Yeah it's not documented at all, I'm in month 12 and we're still going up. Thanks for the advice.

CaneWolf

Politicker

1

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

You've never had a documented quota until in quarter???? WOW. That is a heap of bs.

SalesSpectre

Opinionated

0

AE

yea agree with @CaneWolf . Total garbage.

NorthernSalesGuru

Politicker

0

Manager, Outbound Sales

Really depends on how the business is doing, leadership mentality, culture, investor influence....there’s tons that often weighs in on why targets end up the way they are.

however if you’re company is growing and that too quickly or influenced by heavy external funding, I’d say they’re going up

TheWolfofGlengarry

Opinionated

0

Global Account Manager

Yes. Find your limit and then leave.

TheLoneGun

Opinionated

0

Extremely Rad Product Offloading Specialist

Your situations sounds like poor management, sales forecasts should be done for the coming year. Generally they are only revised down if something like covid, industry challenges, etc. were to happen.

If your goals are continually raised each quarter based on the previous quarter I'd be inclined to think that management of your company is selfish. I've worked in a similar environment, and came to realize I was paid less then my peers at other companies who worked less. If a company nickel and dimes you on quota, they may not be trying to let you earn all you can earn.

As far as quota increasing over time(Reasonably!), YES. You should want this, unless a company is very established and has large market share, Flat quota generally translates to revised comp plans, declining quota means something terrible(like every business closing) is happening.

BigMoney

Contributor

0

Account Executive

Update - smashed my target despite increasing by 50% and got a 20% payrise!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

0

🦊

Heck yeah! Nice!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

0

🦊

Nice! That's a great update!

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