Inspired by "Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager" by Ben Horowitz
Good Sales Reps know the product, the customers, the buyer personas, and the challenges prospects face extremely well, and operate from a strong foundation of confidence and market intelligence. A good sales rep is the CEO of their pipeline. A good sales rep takes full responsibility for every opportunity in their pipeline, and measures themselves in terms of the health of their pipeline, and quota achievement. They are responsible for every opportunity they work, and have specific next steps for every deal in play. A good sales rep knows the context around why a prospect will buy, why they won’t buy, why they are evaluating now. Good sales reps hold themselves accountable, and take full responsibility for their role in helping prospects make the best-informed decision. (No Excuses)
Bad Sales Reps always have excuses. The product isn’t good enough, I don’t get enough leads, I never get any good leads, the competitors pricing is much lower than ours, I don’t have time for prospecting, quota is unrealistic. Top performers don’t make these kinds of excuses, and neither should the CEO of their pipeline.
Good Sales Reps are always looking to learn and improve their process. They seek out feedback as vigorously as they seek new prospects. Good sales reps are extremely coachable, they listen to others' feedback and can incorporate it seamlessly into their process. They know that there are always things they can learn, improve upon, and do better. A good sales rep is pro-active in learning, and can self-identify their own strengths/weaknesses, and seek out those who can help. Good sales reps listen, and are knowledge sponges.
Bad Sales Reps don’t learn new things, they “know” everything. Instead of asking questions, they come up with answers. They listen to feedback, but don’t think it applies to them or could bring improvement. Bad sales reps aren’t coachable, they don’t trust the experience of others around them and think they know best. Bad sales reps are reactive with feedback and knowledge, they don’t care to find ways to improve or better their skills because they know best. A bad sales rep isn't coachable.
Good sales reps get shit done. They are masters of time allocation, and ensure they are set up for success in their day to day operation. When given a task, good sales reps always deliver above and beyond results and complete their project. A good sales rep is trusted to always complete things on time, and with quality. Good sales reps have grit. Bad sales reps don’t deliver. They are reactive with their calendar and are easily distracted. Bad sales reps struggle to organize their time, and don’t make priority lists. Bad sales reps always complain they are “busy”. Good sales reps aren’t busy, they are purposefully effective. Bad sales reps can’t find enough hours in the day, Good sales reps allocate time to ensure they get shit done.
Good sales reps are the ultimate team player's. A good sales rep always knows where the team is relative to goal, and understands the importance of their success in the teams' success. Good sales reps are willing to help the team, and are humble. Good sales reps do the right thing and use good judgement. They put the customer first, then the company, then their team, and then themselves. Working closely with Customer Success, Marketing, Product Development, and Account Management, they always have the big picture in mind. Good sales reps are a positive influence on the team, and bring optimism to interactions.
Bad sales reps are selfish. They only care about their pipeline of deals, and do not consider the team’s success. Bad sales reps are often disengaged in team meetings, and don’t think of themselves as a team player. They bring negativity to the team, and complain about things outside of their control. Good sales reps find solutions, bad sales reps only identify problems. Good sales reps focus on the “controllables”, bad sales reps obsess over the “un-controllables”.
Good sales reps build trust with leadership and management, and become leaders through example. They understand the responsibility and necessity to make decisions. Good sales reps voice their opinions and views to help the team, and management. Bad sales reps question management and leadership behind closed doors. They don’t share solutions, but instead, question decisions made and focus on the perceived negatives. Good sales reps make micro-decisions. Before raising a question, they have thought through potential solutions, and tried to solve the problem themselves. Bad sales reps don’t make micro-decisions. They ask for help on every task, before even trying to resolve it themselves, or find the answer. Good sales reps use their resources to solve problems and find answers, bad sales reps just ask for the answers.
Good sales reps influence the emotions of others, and manage their own disruptive emotions. They respond effectively, and with purpose. Bad sales reps let their disruptive emotions destroy their composure. They fly off the handle, and respond emotionally more often than logically.
Good sales reps are fueled by goals. They set the bar for themselves, and help others think of their goals as well. Bad sales reps have no defined goals, they only think of short term wins, and never consider the big picture. Good sales reps walk with a purpose, bad sales reps float along.
Good sales reps challenge ideas with tact. They push through the status quo, and help reframe mindsets. Good sales reps add value to every interaction, and never “just check in”. Bad sales reps live in the status quo, and lose deals to it. They constantly “just check in”.
Good sales reps have prospecting built into their DNA, and are ruthless qualifiers. They nail activity targets, and tailor their outreach with research and personalization. Bad sales reps dread prospecting, they wait for leads and automate hundreds of emails hoping for a response.
Good sales reps identify and build urgency, while understanding priority. Bad sales reps ask for timeline. Good sales reps are on the same side of the table as their prospects. Bad sales reps push their own agenda.
Good sales reps are disciplined, they track their forecast and accurately think forward to what needs to happen. Bad sales reps lack discipline, they have poor CRM hygiene and view forecasting as out of their control.
Good sales reps come prepared to meetings, with context, history, and discussion points. Bad sales reps just show up. Good sales reps are consistent. Bad sales reps are unpredictable.
Good sales reps are here to build something greater than themselves. Bad sales reps are here for a commission paycheck.