How to evaluate a sales job before you accept an offer
How to vet a new sales job before you accept a job offer.
As I have increased my recruiting activities in the last few years, I have encountered a high number of sellers who jumped into an opportunity only to find that the reality of the job didn’t match the promise. Sadly, many of these end up in layoffs, RIFs or having to leave because they couldn’t succeed.
Did they miss the signs? Could they have seen the warnings from afar before joining? Possibly, but you need to know what to look for and how to get the information you need to fully evaluate the opportunity. Too many folks look at just the salary, OTE and the health of the territory that they are managing. You need to look deeper.
Use this list of questions to get better insight into the health of the company and the territory.
Territory and company health:
Why did the last rep leave the territory? Was it their choice or were they terminated?
What were the attainment #s in this region for the last three years? What percentage of that revenue was net-new accounts?
If you have a hunter role, you want 70% or more of the revenue to be from net-new accounts.
What was the renewal %, churn% and net revenue for the region factoring in renewals and upsells?
You want this net revenue at 100% or above to show that accounts renew and many expand their current spend
How many sellers on the team achieved quota last year?
You want this at 80% or above
Who is your top competitor and what enhancements are planned to close any competitive gaps?
You want a roadmap that has measurable impact within 6 months
Is there a Pre-Sales engineering resource local to this region to assist with sales, evals and POCS?
You want a 2:1 ratio or better of Sellers to SEs, SCs, or SAs
What is the length of the sales cycle? What accommodations are there for new sellers to “ramp?”
If you have 9-12 month sales cycle, you want to know that they can provide a non-reimbursable draw for 3-6 months while you develop the territory
Product Market fit-
Does the market value the solution?
What is the company’s win rate for all opportunities?
You want a minimum of 10%-20%
What is the win rate for evals/POCs?
You want 50% or higher
Are you evangelizing a new solution without an existing category?
If yes, you need more ramp time to develop the market.
What gap in the market does the solution fit?
Is there a clear need and what data confirms that need?
Beware of companies that have existing solutions who are expanding into adjacent spaces, just because they think they can move laterally in the market, they may be walking right into the sweet spot of a purpose built competitor.
Is there analyst coverage yet of this space?
If Yes, how do they rate your company? How mature are the market leaders? Will your solution ever reach critical adoption?
How mature are the competitors?
Maturity affects the margin quality of your sales as more mature spaces often become price battles and races to the bottom with discounting required.
Mature competitors can also create bundles that box you out of a deal as they bring adjacent solutions to the customer and “throw in” your specific capability
Buyers will often be risk adverse to buying an unknown so be sure you have some brand name reference customers that you can use to allay this fear
Financial Health-
It may be uncomfortable to ask detailed financial questions during an interview process but these are vital details to help you evaluate the health and runway of the company. Having a basic understanding of their current funding and the “burn rate” gives you a chance to calculate how much runway they have before they need more funding. Without this data publicly available for pre-ipo companies you will need to ask them direct questions.
What is the burn rate of the company and how much runway is there with the current amount of funding?
You want at least 12 months of capital in place at the current burn rate before you join any early stage company and preferably 18=24 months before they need to raise any more money
When is the next capital raise planned? Do the current investors plan to invest further?
You want to hear that current investors will reinvest as a sign of faith they they think putting more money into the company is a good investment
Equity- and Restricted Stock Units-
It is great to get offered RSUs but important to know the total “float’ of the available shares. 10,000 shares can be very valuable or worthless depending on how much dilution the company has experienced.
Series A, B, C, D-
Important to know the stage of the company. With each progression the company is growing in maturity but also diluting their shares for any new hires. By joining an earlier stage you get more upside but you also have greater risk that the company does not survive.
What numbers are the company using to tell their story to investors? Customer acquisition, Average Sales Price, Renewal Rates, Competitive take-outs, # of POCS? The metrics that they offer will help you know what the company values from its sellers
Leadership team tenure and track record and the importance of your front line manager
It is vital to know who you are going to work for as the direct line manager. A great manager can make a bad company still be a worthwhile experience. A bad manager can make a great company a miserable experience. While Glassdoor and employee review sites can provide some insight, you want to get your own experience with your direct manager to make sure you appreciate their leadership and coaching style.
What do they see as their primary responsibilities as the team’s leader?
You don't want to hear that it is “all about the #s”. This is a performance only culture that will focus just on the revenue and you are more likely to get scrutiny as the new hire, if the company fails to meet plans.
You do want someone that sees their role as your coach with the responsibility to set you up for success. The credit is yours when you win and the manager accepts their share of blame if you lose.
Effort and attitude are valued. Control what you can control. You will not win every sale but you can always control your effort and your attitude and a manager that supports this will be in your corner if hard times surface.
Can they share an example of coaching they provided to a team member that led to a positive outcome?
How well did the manager use data to spot a potential problem. Did they get in front of an issue before it was too late?
How did they deliver the coaching? Did they just prescribe a new way to do it or did they preferably help the seller find their own way to the solution?
How much revenue pressure do they get as managers and how does that pressure translate out to the field team?
There will always be revenue pressure but good manager shield their teams from excessive pressure or forcing you to make bad deals. Does your manager have the tenure and clout to support your growth in the territory or will they cave to short term revenue pressures?
What are the attributes of the most successful sellers currently on the team?
Pay attention to what this manager/company values. Is the aggressiveness of the seller and being never take no macho attitude that you want to emulate? Or is it the strategic seller that earns trusted advisor status with their clients?
Did they mention the importance of team supporting sellers or do they value a lone wolf approach?
Was the only metric of success a performance # or did they highlight other ways to contribute to the success of the company and the team? Example, helping onboard new sellers.
How long have the leaders been in place at the company?
You want tenure and the stability that comes from people in the same roles.
Caveat- Be wary of an influx of new managers all from the VPs past company. When people bring in their direct reports, often they have sellers waiting in the wings that they want to bring over as well and this can shorten your runway to developing a territory.
Were the sales leaders brought in from outside the company or promoted from within?
As noted above, the outside managers can create risk while the internal promotions will at least have an appreciation of what it takes to succeed at the job which usually gives you greater time to produce.
Marketing support and tools- Can they create demand?
You should expect no help from Marketing or from automated tools as every seller should think of themselves as their own BDR. However, you do want to know that there is some support to get the story out to the prospects.
Do they have a qualified Demand Generation engine and Marketing team to support the field?
Do they support trade shows, lunch and learns and virtual events or webinars?
How many meetings were set from the last event?
Do they have email templates and outreach tools to support automated campaigns?
Can they share a sample outreach message? What open rates do they earn?
Do they have chat bots on the website to engage prospects in real-time?
Are they able to respond immediately to online requests for info?
What percentage of wins was from inbound leads for the last calendar year?
You want 30% or more of the wins from Marketing/Demand Generation.
What CRM, Buyer intent and contact databases do they offer to sellers?
The brands don’t matter as much as the investment in the tools that sellers can use. You need a contacts database and digital marketing automation platform to up your volume.
Do they have BDRs to support the outside sellers?
How many meetings do they set per week/month?
In conclusion, if you can get more information on the territory health, product market fit of the solution, tenure of the leadership team and Marketing’s ability to support you, then you will greatly improve your chances of joining a company that can provide a long-term job with plenty of opportunity to support your professional growth and goals.
Final point, if you have a gut instinct that they just need to put someone in the role asap and that they are cutting corners in their screening process, don’t take the job. Hold out to find a company that hires slow and fires fast.
I hope these tips help you as you evaluate your next potential sales job.
Casey Murray @The Virtual CRO Consulting Services