Market Reality 01
Market Reality How clearly do you know who you should be selling to?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
We sell to anyone who will take a meeting. What a good customer looks like lives in the founder's head. We have a target-customer slide, but reps pick their own accounts and nobody could explain why an account is on this week's list. Our target market, buyer roles and what makes a qualified lead or account are written down and used. The priority list follows rules we can explain. Our target market, buyer roles and account priorities are one shared set of rules that the team and the CRM both use, revised on a schedule from win and loss evidence.
Revenue Plan 02
Revenue Plan How defined is the way pipeline is created and handed to account executives?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
There is no agreed model. Whoever finds a deal runs it, and there are no stages or handover rules. We have chosen a model (inbound, outbound or both), but CRM stages vary by rep and account executives often reject meetings without a stated reason. Our model, account strategy, buyer stages and a written handover agreement exist. Account executives accept or return meetings against the same criteria. The handover agreement is enforced with response times, applies no matter who or what sourced the meeting, and is reviewed against conversion data.
Team Design 03
Team Design How deliberately is your sales development team built and paid?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
Hiring is ad hoc, headcount isn't tied to coverage, pay is negotiated person by person and nobody owns the CRM and reporting. We have defined roles and a pay plan, but headcount isn't linked to territory or targets and hiring depends on who is available. Headcount is sized to coverage, hiring follows one consistent process with a budget, pay and quota are clear, and there is a named owner for the CRM and reporting. We can add a seat or a region on a known plan and cost. Culture and pay are documented, and a named owner runs the CRM, reporting and anything automated.
Value Story 04
Value Story How consistently does your team explain and prove your value?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
Every rep tells the story their own way. We have few relevant case studies and objections are handled on the fly. A company-level value proposition exists, but it isn't tailored by market or role, and there is no shared question or objection bank. Value propositions by market, relevant case studies, a qualification question set and objection responses exist, and reps use them. The story is a maintained library by segment and buyer role, refreshed from what wins and loses. New reps are fluent within weeks.
Motions 05
Motions How do you reach and work buyers who aren't ready yet?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
Outreach is individual effort: a few emails or calls when reps have time, no sequence, no research standard and no plan for buyers who aren't ready. We run sequences, but channels work separately, research before first touch is inconsistent and not-ready leads or accounts are dropped. Campaigns across email, phone and social run to a standard, with research requirements, an approved message standard, call practice and a nurture track. Campaigns are tested and measured. Every step states whether a person or automation runs it, the message standard covers AI-written drafts, and nurture brings buyers back when they are ready.
Rep Readiness 06
Rep Readiness How do reps get good, and stay good?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
New reps shadow someone and learn on the job. There is no playbook, no standards and coaching happens when there's time. There is onboarding and some documentation, but training isn't matched to skill level, coaching is irregular and standards aren't enforced. Structured onboarding, skill-based training, regular one-to-one coaching, a complete playbook and clear standards reps are held to. Ramp time is predictable. Reps are certified, including on checking AI-drafted work before it goes out, and coaching is driven by recorded conversations.
Systems and Data 07
Systems and Data How well do your tools and data support new business?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
Data lives in spreadsheets, inboxes and half-used tools. Nobody trusts the numbers or knows where records came from. We have a CRM and several tools, but they aren't connected, data is incomplete, and signals or call recordings are collected but not acted on. One system of record, connected marketing and sequencing tools with stated rules, email set up so messages reach inboxes, and reports from one place with named owners. Data quality and consent are managed, account signals trigger defined actions, buyers can move themselves forward, and there are written rules for what AI handles alone and where a person signs off.
Metrics 08
Metrics How do you know new business is working?
Pick the one that sounds most like you today: where you are now, not where you're heading.
We count meetings or activity when someone asks. There are no regular reports, and pipeline numbers get argued about. We track activity, but stage conversion and the pipeline our sales development team creates aren't visible or trusted. Activity, stage conversion and pipeline-to-revenue reports exist and are reviewed on a fixed cadence, with a named owner. Reports separate work done by people from work done by AI, show what each contributed, and drive decisions in every weekly review.
What's happening in your company right now? Optional For example: "Just hired four SDRs" or "Missed Q2 by 30%". Add it and it goes with your Outside-In Read request, so the read starts from what matters to you.
