What a sales performance review is for
A sales performance review is a longer, more formal conversation with each rep, usually every quarter, about how they did, why, and what they'll work on next. It's different from a weekly 1:1, which deals with this week's deals and one skill. The review steps back and looks at the whole quarter.
It has two jobs. The first is an honest record: the rep's numbers against target, the skills that moved and the ones that didn't. The second is a plan for the next quarter that both of you agree to. A review that only does the first is a report card, and one that only does the second is a pep talk.
The usual problem is memory. You remember the big deal from last month and the bad week in the middle of it, and you forget the steady first eight weeks. So does the rep. The fix is to run the review from the record.
What to prepare
Spend 30 to 45 minutes per rep, a few days before. Pull these together on one page:
- The results: deals won and revenue against target, and quota attainment for the quarter.
- The activity: calls or conversations, first meetings and proposals, week by week. A week-by-week view shows whether a slow result came from a slow month or a steady decline.
- The rates: first meeting to proposal, proposal to won. The win rate calculator works out the last one by count and by value.
- The pipeline: what's open now and what it's worth, and how it compares with the start of the quarter.
- The coaching record: the skills you worked on in 1:1s, the actions agreed, and whether the numbers moved.
- Anything outside the numbers: helping a new rep, a big client saved, a difficult quarter at home.
Send the rep a short version two days before, with three questions to think about. A rep who's seen the numbers first doesn't spend the meeting defending them.
If you use a weekly sales report, the quarter's twelve reports are most of your prep.
The review is easy when the quarter's 1:1s are written down. ActivityTracker keeps every session's notes on the rep's page, and sends action items into their task list.
A 45-minute agenda
| Minutes | What | Who talks most |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | What this meeting is for, and what happens after | You |
| 5 to 15 | The rep's own view of the quarter | The rep |
| 15 to 25 | The numbers, together | Both |
| 25 to 35 | What worked, what got in the way | The rep, then you |
| 35 to 42 | Next quarter: one or two goals, one skill, what they need from you | Both |
| 42 to 45 | What you'll write down, and when they'll see it | You |
Let the rep go first. Their view tells you whether you see the quarter the same way, which is the most useful thing you'll learn in the meeting.
Questions to ask
Looking back
- What are you proudest of this quarter?
- Which deal taught you the most, and what did it teach you?
- Where did the quarter go differently from what you expected?
The numbers
- Looking at the week-by-week activity, what happened in [week where it dipped or jumped]?
- Your proposal-to-won rate was [x]. Does that match how the deals felt?
- What's in your pipeline now that you're most and least confident about?
What got in the way
- What took time this quarter that shouldn't have?
- What do you need from me that you didn't get?
Next quarter
- If you could get better at one thing by the end of next quarter, what would it be?
- What number would you set yourself, and why?
- What should I stop doing that isn't helping you?
Pick eight or nine of these and leave the rest, so there's room for the rep to talk.
Reviewing a low performer
Start from the record, and ask before you tell. "Your first meetings dropped from about five a week to two after week six. What happened?" gets you a real answer. "You've had a bad quarter" gets you a defence.
Separate activity from skill. If the activity is low, the conversation is about what's getting in the way of the calls. If activity is fine and results are low, it's a skill, and the weakest rate tells you which one.
Be clear about what has to change, by when, and how you'll both know. "Five first meetings a week, every week, for the next six weeks, checked in our Friday 1:1" is clear. "We need to see improvement" isn't.
If it's gone past coaching and into a formal plan, follow your company's HR rules and say so plainly. Don't let the rep find out in the next review.
Reviewing a top performer
Top reps get the shortest reviews, and it's a mistake. They're the ones with the most options elsewhere.
Ask what they want next: a bigger territory, harder deals, mentoring a new rep, a path to managing. Ask what's getting in their way, because top reps often lose hours to admin that you could fix. And still pick one skill to work on. A rep who's already the best on the team still has a next level, and working on it tells them you're paying attention.
What to write down
Write a one-page summary within two days and send it to the rep. Keep it to:
- The quarter's numbers against target.
- Two or three things that went well, with an example each.
- One or two things to change, with an example each.
- Next quarter's goals, the one skill and what you'll do to help.
- Anything the rep asked for, and your answer.
Ask the rep to reply with anything they see differently. Their reply goes in the file too. It's the first thing you open at the next review.
A made-up review
Made-up example: Nina sells IT support contracts. Her quarterly target was 12 contracts. She closed 10.
Prep: her week-by-week activity shows 25 to 30 calls a week for eight weeks, then 12 to 15 for the last five. Her proposal-to-won rate was 1 in 3, same as last quarter. Her manager's 1:1 notes show the drop started when she took over two big renewals from a rep who left.
Rep's view: Nina thinks it was a bad quarter. She hadn't connected the drop to the renewals.
Numbers together: her manager shows the week-by-week chart, and Nina explains that the renewals took most of each afternoon. They agree the renewals were real work that nobody counted.
Next quarter: target 12 contracts, 25 calls a week, and the renewals moved to the account manager. Skill: asking for referrals when a client renews, since she now has two happy ones.
Written summary sent two days later. Nina replies with one change: she wants to keep one of the renewals because she's close to the client. The numbers are invented.
What doesn't work
- Reviewing from memory, where the last three weeks will always outweigh the first ten.
- Surprises. If the review is the first time a rep hears about a problem, the 1:1s weren't doing their job.
- Talking about pay and development in the same breath. The rep will only hear the pay. Hold them apart if you can.
- A long list of things to fix. One or two, with dates.
- Rating everyone "meets expectations" to avoid a hard conversation.