A Knight in Shiny Armor

In this era of "clout" and posing online, we tend to focus primarily on what we have or have done rather than when we've lost.

It's all about "crushing" quota and the nice car or watches where the second-hand doesn't tic. I see on resumes every day "145% of ramp quota" but no other percent to goal called out during their 18 months in the role. This typically leads me to believe the overshot a very low ramp quota but couldn't hit any other quota.

When interviewing, it's typically focused on how many times you hit quota and if you are looking to see if anyone has missed quota. I guess because if you ever miss quota, you're a loser?

My take is that if you've never missed quota, your quota has been too low. Companies will design quota so that 60% of the team has a realistic chance to hit. Secondly, success tends to be a horrible teacher. The more successful we are, the more we tend to 'relax' or drink our own Kool-aid.

I, for one, would never hire an AE that has never missed quota. Sales is pretty fun when everything is going your way and you're making commission checks. I don't want to be around a rep that is missing quota for the first time because who knows how they will react. Are they going to learn from it and make adjustments to hit next time, or will they spiral and become toxic for the team because they're blaming other people?

When looking to build a team, grit is essential. Grit is one of those things that you don't know how much you have until you need it. Until it's time to get off the mat. We all get knocked down in life. Avoiding the knockdown is not the point in life. The point is to get back up to face that bully again and again until the final bell.