Dear SaaStr: What is the Difference Between a Good Sales Exec and a Great One?

A good rep hits quota. A great rep closes multiples of what the good one does, on the same leads, and the gap almost always comes down to the same handful of things:

• The gap is bigger than people think. A great rep often closes 9x more than a poor rep, and 2.5x+ more than a decent mid-pack rep, with the same number and quality of leads. That’s three things compounding: the top reps close larger deals, discount a bit less, and close faster, and together those pull them far ahead of the pack.
• Bigger deals, because they actually map the customer. The best reps are better at mapping out business processes and discovering how many seats or units there are to sell, and they quickly learn how much each prospect really can buy and get that much, without fear and without ripping the customer off.
• Less discounting, because they truly, deeply understand and believe in the value. The best reps get very confident in the value proposition, while poor and mediocre reps fall back on the only arrow they have: a discount. A mediocre rep spends all their time thinking about pricing and discounts.
• They listen instead of running the script. Mediocre reps dive into their script and try not to deviate; great salespeople learn their prospects’ needs, issues, and pain. The best reps act as mini solution architects, helping the prospect figure out the best ways to use the product to solve their problem.
• They know the product and the competition cold, and they’re honest about both. The best are fluent and honest about the competition, and honest about the product’s strengths and weaknesses. That honesty is what builds trust. With AI now, this matters even more: if your rep doesn’t know your product better than AI does, there’s no reason for the prospect to talk to the human.
• They create urgency by adding value, not by pushing. They create urgency with the right amount of tenacity: not 10,000 emails or lame voicemails, but more and more value in the right sequence, like more demos, helping other stakeholders, giving updates, and getting a trial going.
• They sell to the whole buying group. Mediocre reps sell to whoever seems to be leading the initiative; better reps get buy-in from everyone that matters.
• They prepare more and just do more. Great reps spend 10x more time preparing for meetings, demos, and calls than mediocre ones. And the best reps simply get more meetings, more demos, and more interactions done.

The simplest test: a great sales rep makes buying easier, and a mediocre rep makes it harder.