Today, we launch our Account Executive research focused on B2B closing teams.

This is our seventh round of research since 2007. We asked a group of VCs, CROs, and Sales VPs to weigh in on the key questions for building and leading teams today. They came back with items like:

• Pipeline source: What's the mix between inbound, outbound SDR, and self-sourced pipeline? How do high-growth companies differ from the pack?
• Compensation: What's the going rate for OTE (by experience, location, and quota)? Outside the mega-hubs, where are companies building teams?
• Quotas: What are average quotas (by company stage, by ACV, etc.)? What % attain the number?
• Technology: What makes up the sales stack? Which tools actually move the needle on performance?
   

This year’s survey is more streamlined than prior and will take roughly 5 minutes to complete. If you lead an AE group, please participate. 

All answers will be aggregated anonymously. We’ll be sharing the results with you and the rest of the community in the coming months. I appreciate that so many of you take the time to share. We couldn’t do it without you.

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Account-based revenue is a concept as old as outbound sales. The names have varied—whale hunting, selling to big companies, target account sales, and so on—but the desire has always been the same:

Get strategic on big accounts.
Win the opportunities that matter.
And once we’ve landed, grow the account.

2016 was the year that strategic outbound and account-based approaches stepped out from behind the inbound shadow. Over the last 3+ years, the thinking, the tools, and the tactics have continued to evolve.

Account-Based Interest over time

I thought I’d share what I’ve seen change over that time both in our client work and in our experience as a consulting firm selling to named accounts. It just so happens that my friends over at Engagio recently published a revised second edition of their ABM ebook. I’ve included snippets below to emphasis my points.

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Here at The Bridge Group, we’ve been doing rep and manager comp research since 2007. (You can get the latest SDR report here and AE report here.) Although we’ve been asked about CRO/SVP of Sales compensation a lot, it’s one area we’ve never delved into.

Until now.

Before we launched the project, we reached out to a half dozen senior sales leaders in our network to ask them what they’d like to learn from anonymous peer research. Their responses centered around:

• Responsibilities (by size of company)
• OTE & equity package
• The relationship between revenue contribution and earnings

In short, what’s within the CRO span of control, what quota are they signed up for,
and how much are they paid to deliver it.

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We’ve just entered a very special time of year. Namely the three weeks (from Nov 1st to Thanksgiving) where it's acceptable to talk quotas for the upcoming year. 

Broach the topic any earlier, and it’s like touring colleges with a newborn. Any later, and it's a distraction from finishing the year strong. But right now, is just right.

Chorus.ai CEO Roy Raanani posted a whiteboard video on the topic recently. He compared two groups with equal average quota attainment and equal group performance. I've dubbed them:

• Team Summit with a single peak distributed around 80% of quota
• Team Camel with two humps at 60% and 100%

 

Roy argues Team Summit is preferable. For one, "whenever there is variability [like in Team Camel] it usually means we don't fully understand the process." He continues that reps in the left hump are likely stressed out—as they see how they're underperforming their peers—and ultimately, may face PIP or involuntary termination. I recommend you take a look at the video and comments. It's a great discussion.

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