TennisandSales

Head Of Sales

Acclaimed Answer

This has NEVER happened.....but im not complaining. $$$

TLDR: Im getting a massive check for not closing deals.

Here are the details:

in a classic case of "oh shit this place is WAY worse off than I thought when I joined" our team of 2 has not closed a deal yet this year.

there has only been 2 decisions made and we lost both, a number of other deals we should win in Q3 and Q4. but the pipeline is small.

The company has done a terrible job supporting the sales team and I dont even have a comp plan yet!

Me and the other AE are getting pissed because there is no way in hell we make quota (what ever it turns out to be) and we expect to miss our OTE....big time.

Until 2 days ago when my VP txts me saying he has good News and needs my help,

He goes on to tell me that leadership is putting us on a Metric Based Outcome plan. (MBO) because of all the factors that have been out side of our control and they still want us to hit our OTE (and honestly not quit before the first year is over)

So to make it right they are switching to MBO for Q1 and Q2 retroactively. The VP needs to determine metrics that we have hit and present to the board for approval.

So he calls me and tells me I need to come up with metrics that I have ALREADY HIT these last 2 quarters and he will approve them.

This means in July I will receive commissions for hitting plan for Q1 and Q2 even though I didnt sell anything. Pre tax that will be over $50K.......

Ive never seen anything like this in my career but Im trying to not ask too many questions.

Has this happened to anyone else????

💰 Compensation

🤓 Sales Tech

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31 comment

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UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

5

SaaS Eater

My roommate had a similar situation a couple years ago at a very early stage startup and milked the shit out of it. Good for him. He moved onto another company like 6 months after they paid him out for not closing anything and the startup folded a few months after that.

Take the money but id be looking for new work pretty quick here. Thats not a sustainable path forward for your company. While awesome in the short term, I think the writing is on the wall with this one.

Tres

Politicker

3

Account Executive

I hope it works out for you! Usually something that is too good to be true has a catch, but hopefully this one doesn't

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

Right?!?!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

3

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I really hope this comes through! I have seen tweaks and adjustments to plans when management got some elements wrong, but nothing of this magnitude.

If it works out, I have to admit that I'm impressed by your management's recognition of the issues and their interest in keeping their sales team.

TennisandSales

Politicker

3

Head Of Sales

yeah I agree ive never seen anything of this magnitude.

And yes if it happens, i will give them major credit and it would really change the way I look at senior leadership for sure.

jefe

Arsonist

3

🍁

A refreshing change from much of what we see these days.

MCP

Valued Contributor

3

Sales Director

Layoffs looming. Nobody keeps sales people who don’t sell anything, regardless of if it’s their fault or not.

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

so your saying this is a warning sign?

punishedlad

Tycoon

1

Business Development Team Lead

Yeah I'd honestly take this big payout and consider it an early (and beefy) severance. Start looking for a new gig asap, and ride this out if you want. Maybe you'll get an actual severance once shit truly hits the fan.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

2

🦊

Are you suspicious? You think it's too good to be true? 🤔

revenuegenerator

Praised Answer

2

Sales Management

Yes, I've seen it before and like people have mentioned, it is not a bullish sign for the company. (IMO be looking, but be looking to sell a product that is more of a need to have, that has a shorter sales cycle that requires little or no services/deployment. Time kills all deals, and in this economy that statement is 10x amplified).Out of curiosity, if you guys haven't won any deals yet, why do you "should win a number of other deals in Q3/Q4"?

OraclesBitterRedPill

Executive

2

Application Sales Manager, Enterprise Accounts

This is incredibly sound advice in the current economic climate. Great comment.

OraclesBitterRedPill

Executive

2

Application Sales Manager, Enterprise Accounts

In addition to +1’ing everything revgen said above… to me this seems like a company who got some easy funding back when J.Powell was printing all that money and money was easy to get. Additionally, maybe they have some confidence in your team of two and don’t want you guys to leave and make them find, train, educate, etc a couple of FNGs and sacrifice whatever late stage pursuits you currently have in process. I wouldnt take this as an imminently bearish signal from your company, but I would be keeping my options open.

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

haha yeah i totally get it. its a very weird situation to be in.

we have a pretty long sales cycle and I have a few deals that are about to go into contracting

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

1

Professional Day Ruiner

I've never had it happen after the fact. I've had companies have that built into the initial comp plan, but to go back and do it retroactively is pretty awesome.

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

for sure!! the call from my boss telling me I need to give him metrics I already hit was pretty insane haha

braintank

Politicker

1

Enterprise Account Executive

Good for you but also a red flag for company. How long can they sustainably pay their salespeople bonuses for not closing deals. If I were you I'd collect my check but start hunting for gigs where you can get paid to close.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

NEVER heard of this, but hell, good for you!

Really hope it happens for you!

LordOfWar

Tycoon

1

Blow it up

Nice! I hope this works out and not only do you get that money but the company sees the potential in providing the support you need to close deals going forward so that the company is sustainable.

Sounds like you've got a good VP. If you're not doing it already, try and help them sell your needs to their management as thanks for making your comp plan retroactive. Make them look good and their job easy and you'll be happy.

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

nice. save it for a rainy day!

cashmachine

Politicker

1

AE (Account Executive)

what’s made you stick around this long?

interesting scenario for sure. hope it works out for you

TennisandSales

Politicker

2

Head Of Sales

well ive only been here for 6 months.
Im not ready to give up on this place yet because I think there is some potential and some opportunities to take advantage of.
Also they gave me a sign on bonus. but i didnt realize that I have to pay it back if I leave within the first year haha.

But even if that wasnt the case there is still more to accomplish here.

CatMom

Politicker

1

Account Executive

This is like a dream come true. But yeah also huge red flags. Take the money and enjoy it but start dusting off the resume. Sounds like vp can save y’all for this year but what happens next year? And honestly why work somewhere that doesn’t have product market fit/support to help you sell anything. The company won’t be around long if there’s no new income coming in.

TennisandSales

Politicker

2

Head Of Sales

hahah this is probs the best way to describe it! dream come true, and red flag 😂

It is complicated but there is for sure product market fit and the company as a whole is making money we are the newest division of the company and are struggling to get a process in place / resources needed to be successful.

Ive only been here for 6 months and have to stay minimum of a year but I do have confidence (for now) that things will get figured out. but holy shit its taking longer than I thought/was told.

CatMom

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Ahh ok that makes sense. I was thinking of my tiny little company that’s barely making any money right now and projecting my own fears onto this 😅🥹

TennisandSales

Politicker

2

Head Of Sales

haha its a solid projection. many ppl are in that same spot. who knows I may ACTUALLY be in that spot and not even know it yet. 😬

ChumpChange

Politicker

1

Channel Manager

LOL... absolute shitshow for sales, revops, and finance. Pump your numbers and get the parachute ready!

Gasty

Notable Contributor

0

War Room Community Manager

Wow. Trade places? Pretty please??

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

0

Rolling 20's all day

Wow! Congrats man, that is insane. I have not heard of this before.
For longevities sake and for the sake of your sales skills I would say to plan to go somewhere else at the end of the year, but network your ass off to find a strong fit until then.

youngspinach

Valued Contributor

0

Senior Account Executive, Enterprise

😂 i love this. Hope they don’t have to replicate that for Q3, Q4 though… and you hit 200% by yourself. Don’t complain btw

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

I have an MBO as well because of deal cycles taking years. I love it. I don’t even care if something closes and I can easily inflate numbers

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