Say Hello to Current State
Solving big problems in sales is fun. And there's a long list of massive issues to tackle in sales. Today's challenges in our profession are no bigger than what sales pros faced during the dot com bubble of 2000 or the Great Recession in 2008.
However, the pace at which these problems come at us has accelerated compared to the previous two decades. Consider the ramifications of the global pandemic inside the SaaS industry: leads and sales come to a screeching halt, followed by a remote-first economy requiring a massive infusion of software and tools, leading to a hiring spree, resulting in unstained growth and layoffs.
Today, the sales landscape is all about achieving steady and profitable growth, a complete reversal from just four years ago. The changes in the sales profession are relentless, and it's crucial for founders, CEOs, and heads of sales to stay on top of these shifts.
Look at a few examples:
- Fewer reps are hitting quota. A 2024 benchmark report from Ebsta and Pavilion pegs this number at 69% of reps missing target. RepVue data shows a slightly less extreme 57% miss. But 69% of companies don't miss their annual revenue plan. Why? See the next point below.
- High hopes get placed on a few reps. Companies must over-rely on their handful of star performers to carry most of the revenue. Growth plans now bake in the assumption that the best will hit 120-150% of quota while almost every other sales rep will scratch and claw to get to 80%. No one wants this type of distribution.
- The sales development function is at a crossroads. The sales development rep (SDR) has seemingly turned into the most inefficient sales role overnight (over automation, the emergence of AI, misaligned buyer-seller motives, etc.). Outbound sales work for too few companies and too few inbound leads justify a dedicated inside sales team.
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is too high. CAC is a fancy metric that keeps our sales and marketing expenses in check or at least hyper-focused on the most performative channels to drive growth. Spending efficiency precedes growth for any established company with product-market fit. Most companies should aim for a 12-15 month payback period in 2024 to capture the proper market share (i.e., no money left on the table) without costs spiraling out of control.
- Buyer fatigue. The marketplace has never been noisier. Not only do buyers know much more before needing the assistance of a sales rep, but in the SaaS industry, app and tool fatigue is setting in. We need help from our marketing and product friends to drive brand and product awareness more than ever.
This is where Current State comes in. As a sales strategy service, we thrive in helping early-stage startups and established mid-market companies solve these challenges and find opportunities for faster growth.
We've been through the proverbial trenches with almost two decades of go-to-market experience, from the Great Recession to the Tech Recession. We've built sales teams from scratch. We've led teams with 100 reps. This street cred gives Current State the confidence to help sales and go-to-market leaders.
However, we only design new sales strategies (or improve existing ones) with data and benchmarks. It's essential to assess the "current state" and see how that stacks up to others before agreeing on the best revenue accelerators. Think of a 2x2 matrix with urgency on the x-axis and impact on the y-axis.
That's where Current State plans to deliver value to The Weekly Pitch community. Visualizing data and benchmarks to serve up real-time analysis behind them will be a fun undertaking.
On cue, Current State has launched its first-ever Sales Effectiveness Assessment to give something for free to The Weekly Pitch community. This confidential seven-question assessment is relevant for any sales pro at any level.
The assessment takes less than three minutes and includes a free personal report with your score, peer benchmarks, and an action summary.
Cheers to the insights that matter most to us in the sales community!
