10-20% of your reps will generate all your business. And maybe that's OK.

Mainly written by Sam Jacobs of Pavilion — borrowed & curated by me! ✂️📚

Most salespeople suck. Not because they’re bad people. Or lazy. But because sales is really hard. 😓📞

In 2023, across 650,000 opportunities representing ~$50B of pipeline, just 20% of reps delivered 80% of revenue. In 2024, that number fell to 14%. Just 14% of reps delivered 80% of all revenue in B2B tech! 📉

Want to know the funny thing? 😏

Those numbers haven’t changed much in the 25 years I’ve been doing this. ⏳

15 years ago, we used Objective Management Group to assess our sales team. The numbers were the same. The assessment told us to:

• Hire 2 out of 10 people we thought would be a good fit 🧠

• Keep 2 out of 10 that already worked for us 💼

• The rest? ❌ Unsalvageable.

  
  

Over and over again, a small percentage of sellers generate almost all the revenue in an organization. 💰

So, the real question is:👉 Are the other 80% redeemable?

A better one might be:🔍 Can we shift the median performance of the 80% enough to warrant investing in development?

📊 Research says: YES.Investing in B players increases their odds of becoming A players by 63%. 🚀

Can you afford to make that investment? 💸

Or better yet...Can you afford not to? 🤔

Let’s break it down:

💪 INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT

📈 According to Spotio:

• ROI of training is 3.53:1 → Every $1 you invest returns $4.53 💵

• Companies that prioritize training are 57% more effective than competitors 🏅

• High-growth companies are ~2× more likely to provide ongoing sales training 🔄

  
  

🧠 HIRING ONLY A PLAYERS

Sounds smart, right? Well… ❌

Two problems:

1. You’re probably bad at hiring 🙃

2. Performance isn’t portable 🧳Top 1% at Company A? Could flop at Company B due to different:

   1. Products

   2. Processes

   3. Culture

   4. Team dynamics

Harvard calls this the “portability of performance” problem. Star employees are “imperfectly mobile” resources. 🤷‍♂️

More reasons to pause before chasing stars:

• 💸 High cost & ROI uncertainty — Big salaries, bonuses, guarantees, recruiter fees. If they slump? You burn cash.

• 🧯 Expensive mistakes — A failed sales hire can cost $500k+ including lost revenue and morale drag.

  
  

🧾 BOTTOM LINE:

Most people are bad at their jobs.Most salespeople cannot sell. 🧍‍♂️📉

You can invest in development — it’ll help.You can try to hire only A players — good luck. 🎯

The best answer?💡 Do both.But route your best leads to proven performers 🔄And build a system that feels unfair — but works. ⚖️📈

Yes, that means 10–20% of your reps will generate nearly all your business.And maybe…That’s OK. 🤷