You've seen deals that looked right on paper but underperformed.
The question is whether the incentive structure was quietly undermining everything.
THE SCENARIO
It’s the 28th of the month. You’re $600 short of your sales quota. You’ve got one company left in your pipeline that would let you hit the goal. Problem is, they’re not ready to commit and want a couple more weeks to decide. You know you can give them the time and they’ll close as a solid long term client or, if you push, you can get them closed today.
What do you do?
Now imagine instead of the 28th it’s the 3rd of the month.
Does that change your answer?
——
What you just felt was incentive gravity. You’re the same person with the same morals but the answer is determined by the pull of the incentive structure, not the character of the rep.
When that client churns in 90 days the explanation will be that the sales rep was overly aggressive and prioritized personal gain over client success.
The structure rarely gets questioned.
The rep does.