- May 30, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday, the CEO I spoke with said more than half of his salespeople were not hitting quota, and he also thought they were complacent. It’s not unusual to hear about quota fails or complacency in these conversations, but with this particular call, I heard about both.
About Quota
The percentage of salespeople who fail to hit quota varies depending on the source, but the most widely quoted stat, attributed to Salesforce.com and Forbes, is 57 percent. There is also a 2024 survey conducted by Salesforce.com that reported 91% of companies believed that 80 percent of their reps would not hit quota. Although that works out to 72 percent, it was a survey, not a study.
About Complacency
The Cambridge Dictionary defines complacency as “a feeling of calm satisfaction that prevents you from trying harder.”
To get a sense of the percentage of salespeople who might be complacent, I mined data from Objective Management Group’s (OMG) assessments of more than 2.5 million salespeople. OMG measures 21 Sales Core Competencies and I directed my research to 5 Sales Core Competencies from the category Will to Sell, a category from which we should be able to see complacency. The five competencies include:
- Desire for Success in Sales
- Commitment for Success in Sales
- Outlook
- Responsibility
- Motivation
58 percent of the salespeople were strong in the Will to Sell competency, and if we narrow our focus to the largest group in this population—the group most likely to miss quota—we would be looking at the bottom 50 percent. From this group, 64 percent are weak in the Will to Sell competencies, and given that half of this group lacks the Commitment to do what it takes to achieve sales success, they are likely to be more complacent than not. It’s only a 7 percent difference from the group that doesn’t hit quota. While we can’t say for certain that the 57 percent that miss quota and the 64 percent that are weak in Will to Sell are the very same people, it’s safe to suggest that most of them are the same.
That’s nice to know but I still have questions, like:
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
How is it possible for people to miss quota AND have a calm satisfaction that prevents them from trying harder? Good question, right?
The simple answer is they don’t care, and while that would explain it, please humor me and let me dig a little deeper.
Why Wouldn’t They Care?
There are several possible reasons why they might not care, including:
- Their compensation plan lacks an incentive to sell more or reward them for exceeding quota. Said another way, there is no penalty for missing quota unless they get terminated which, if most of the sales team is guilty of missing quota, is unlikely to occur.
- They dislike their sales manager enough to purposely miss quota to make their sales manager miss quota and look bad.
- Their Outlook is bad (40% of the sub group have a poor Outlook!), and they are just not that into selling right now.
Are They Motivated?
Lack of motivation is often a root cause of complacency. 31% of the salespeople in this group lack motivation, and there are several reasons why that might be the case, including:
- The “what” in motivation, as in, what is motivating them? If the “what” isn’t strong enough, then motivation won’t be strong. For example, before my quadruple bypass surgery in February, I was not very motivated to lay off foods like ice cream, steak, or fried food (I learned that oil, processed foods like deli meat and junk food, and anything that came from something with a mother — like meat and dairy — is all bad for the arteries). 14 weeks post open-heart surgery, I am very motivated to avoid those foods.
- The “what” changed and became a greater motivator.
- The “why” in motivation, as in, why is that important? Using the previous example, my “why” changed from “why not” to “I want to live!”The urgency in motivation, as in, why now? I’m sure you can see how my urgency changed too.
For salespeople, the “what” in their motivation could be more materialistic, like homes, cars, boats, vacations, college, toys, etc. The “why” in their motivation might be their lifelong dream, changes in their life or personal situation, or wanting to please a spouse, partner, child, or parent. Their urgency would be affected by deadlines or self-imposed achieve-by dates.
What’s the ‘what’ motivating your sales team right now? Does it need to change?
Are They Disciplined?
If they are motivated and committed, which would be good, but they lack discipline, you might observe them not having the discipline to:
- Prospect consistently
- Grow their pipeline
- Follow up appropriately
- Follow their sales process without skipping key milestones and stages
Without discipline, the quantity of meetings necessary to meet and exceed quota won’t happen and the salesperson will continue to fail.
Can It Be Fixed?
Can salespeople who are complacent be rehabilitated and become effective and productive salespeople?
Yes, but they must absolutely want that, and they must have a sales manager who understands the challenge and is willing to work closely with them to fix it. Rehab should include the review and modification of compensation plans, personal goals, sales plans, daily metrics/KPIs, daily coaching, and daily accountability. Even then, you will learn that salespeople who are weak in the Commitment competency still may not do what it takes.
For context, please read my earlier article, The Top Salespeople are 619% Stronger Than the Bottom 10%
There is a correlation between complacency and missing quota, and that it is observable and at the same time, extremely frustrating. While it is possible to rehabilitate a complacent salesperson, it takes collaboration, work, time, energy, discipline, and reinforcement. Most of the time, you won’t know if it will work for three to six months. On the other hand, you’ll definitely know within a week when there is no chance of it working.
If you need some help solving problems with complacency and/or compensation on your sales team, let us know.
If you want to see some of the data from the 21 Sales Core Competencies, how it changes by industry, or how you/your company compares, check it out here.