9/13/2024-Your ’25 quota IS negotiable

Your manager is not interested in hearing about how hard you’re working or your hard luck stories. If asking for quota relief, show your manager how you plan your territory for next year.

Your manager will soon be cementing quotas that begin 1/1/2025, so having a dialogue now is key if you need to negotiate for the best possible number.

Yes, quotas always go up, but your manager has leeway in allocating them and deciding who gets more (or less) of the overall number.

If you’re killing it this year, and the company is struggling…well, forget about "approaching the bench" and asking for ’25 quota leniency. But, if your company is going good* and you’re not, you might have a case for ’25 quota relief.

Today, get on your manager’s schedule to present a topline sketch of your ’25 revenue; it’ll be smart to learn what your manager thinks about your quota.

Build your case for your general projection through the facts you’re sitting on for your key accounts. (Your appeal for a lighter quota can’t be based on "because I’m a hard worker.")

At a minimum, you and your manager will have an open discussion, and you may get a commitment for more internal support. At most, your manager will view you as a strategic, analytical seller who needs to be rewarded.

When the TOP 10% make a play for quota relief, they lead with numbers and facts; they never lead with extenuating circumstances (a.k.a. dog ate homework stories about why that account didn’t spend or why this account canceled their contract).

If you’ve watched the same folks on your team hit their numbers year over year – and you’ve struggled – you may have a good case to plead.

On the other hand, now is a good time to look in the mirror and appraise your skill deficiencies. You don’t want to engage in a conversation about performance with your manager without thought for your culpability.

Examining the facts about how your patch is performing this year compared with your team and the whole sales force is a good exercise, regardless of how the data is used for quota relief.

When you speak with your manager, bring only facts to the table and eliminate all references to others on your team. This is about you, your patch, and your competencies.

As you read this, your manager might be playing with numbers on the spreadsheet line next to your name. (Quota setting is a bit art, and a bit science too.)

After you watch this funny clip from a bygone sitcom reminding you that everything IS negotiable, get in there and negotiate.

Or at least try.

Only the hungry get fed.