Lexer

Sales Development Representative

Valued Contributor

Unrealistic Goals?

hi everyone. I am brand new to this app and I am so excited to be here! anyways, I was really wondering if anyone has ever dealt with this issue.

last year, I transitioned to sales from law into an SDR role, Not knowing the real difference between an SDR and a BDR. the job I applied for and interviewed for was completely INBOUND. When I started, I quickly learned I was doing strictly outbound. no worries for me though, because I liked the role. however red flag number one.

OTE goals seemed simply enough. however, once I looked back into the history of the team/done the job myself for months, I soon realized that not one person has met those goals. Not for one quarter, month, year. NOT ONCE. On my quarter reviews, they were ecstatic I was reaching 80% of it. I feel super discouraged that the target is unobtainable by anyone. especially that when starting, I expected to be close to the compensation of the target goals.

keep in mind, the base salary seems to be 15k under market value in my city, and compensation isn't crazy good either.

is this normal? or is this a huge red flag and I should think about looking elsewhere for positions ?

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15 comments

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NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

5

Professional Day Ruiner

Is it normal? Unfortunately yes. Is it a red flag? Also yes.

Something I ask 100% of the times in interviews is what the quota/metrics are, what percentage of the team is hitting said metrics, and why the percent that isn't hitting it, isn't.

If less than 70% of the team isn't hitting quota, and they don't have a logical reasoning as to why the other 30% isn't, then that's the end of the conversation right there as far as I'm concerned.

Quota's should be a realistic goal as far as I'm concerned. Not necessarily "easy" to hit. But there should be a large majority of the team hitting it. If not, it either says they did a bad job hiring, bad job training, or the their expectations are unrealistic.

With that said, it's nice that they aren't on your ass 24/7 about not hitting targets. But if being at 80% is enough for them to be ecstatic then maybe that 80% number should be the actual target. Not something you can change of course. Just something that's always been kind of crazy to me that companies don't seem to realize.

SaaSsy

Politicker

2

AE

Perfect answer! Salespeople are great at "selling the dream" to other salespeople - you need numbers and can tell when someone is just feeding you a BS answer vs. identifying the actual issues with attainment and actionable steps they're taking as a company to remedy. Sadly, it is normal but the good news is you'll ask the hard questions the next time you look for a role.

Lexer

Catalyst

1

Sales Development Representative

Thanks for your response. That’s exactly how I was feeling but did not know if it was valid, since it’s my first SDR position I’ve had. Do you think it’s fair to bring this up to my managers? Or should I just move on?

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

0

Professional Day Ruiner

it never hurts to bring it up. but chances are they know its unrealistic, they aren't dumb. Chances are, its set that high as an attempt to raise the companies valuation when trying to get VC's to invest so it's out of your boss's hands.

If they have high quota's for the sales teams, they can say "look at how much revenue we're projecting next quarter, year, etc!" when trying to find investors.

Assuming you're at a startup at least. If you're at a large org, they do it to advertise a high OTE to get people to take the job without having to actually pay you that OTE. super messed up because you're messing with peoples livelihoods and ability to pay their bills and what not. But that's just the nature of the beast unfortunately. We're slowly starting to see a shift away from that finally.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

3

Bravado's Resident Asshole

It is unfortunately something that happens when a company doesn't know what to set for real quotas and base it off pipe dreams.

my question for you is, why the move from Law to sales?

Lexer

Catalyst

2

Sales Development Representative

Thanks for your response. The outbound team was a brand new undertaking for the company so I figured as much.

I moved into sales because I was working in law in preparation to go to law school but soon realized it’s not the lifestyle I want to live. Also, everything I loved about the idea of law was a small portion of that job, while it was the reality of a sales persons day (negotiation, collaborating with people, communication skills, etc)

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

3

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I had an idea that could have been why as I have several friends that made the shift out of law and various "corporate clout" type careers/jobs into sales for exactly the reason you just listed out.

I would recommend, get the experience and use it to get out of that company. There are plenty of other opportunities that will allow you to express your abilities and drive.

jefe

Arsonist

3

🍁

Happens a lot but definitely ain't right.

I'd consider a move, but some of that depends on your tenure - how long have you been there?

And welcome to the War Room!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Welcome to the War Room!

I think it may be time to start looking for a new job, and leverage the suggestions here as to how to improve your chances of landing a role with a more realistic quota. I appreciate that you asked if what you're experiencing is normal or a red flag - great way to acquire knowledge and keep an open mind.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

I'd definitely be looking on the low. Welcome to the WR ❤🦊

Gasty

Notable Contributor

1

War Room Community Manager

@Lexer: The average JD has twice the lies as the average CV. So this is quite normal. But that doesn't mean you have to be ok with it.

Lexer

Catalyst

0

Sales Development Representative

OTG**

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

0

Sales Rep

I am really sorry to hear that, like everyone is saying it is way more common for everyone to miss quota than everyone hitting quota. Lots of times there is an amazing OTE you are excited about when accepting the role only to learn you will never get it.

Always look at RepVue before accepting an opportunity

GDO

Politicker

0

BDM

Dishonesty and misrepresentation is always a red flag

KendallRoy

Politicker

0

AM

Jump ship. I’m also a law grad that moved into tech sales. It’s surprisingly common.

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