“We’re going sideways.” I first heard this gem from one of our sales leaders at Dell, likely either John Gartland or Peter Mockler. We had made our sales quota for the quarter with a few days to spare. So no chasing that last PO. No rushing the ops team to get that last order out. If that order shipped, so be it. If not, we were off to a good start for next year. We were just…going sideways.
When I was in marketing, I thought this was bizarre. Why were we not trying to maximize revenue, every quarter, every time?
Well, first of all, that’s exhausting. Second, we weren’t going to hit the next tier of compensation accelerators (this is why comp plan design is so important in sales). And third, we wanted to get off to a good start for the new quarter, because in sales it’s always Groundhog Day. A new quarter or fiscal year starts, and you start over.
I’ve been in sales and marketing for 35 years now. I haven’t seen a year close out quite this tight. From the first enterprise deal we closed this year (pictured below), to that last PO from our friends in Seattle (you know who you are), it’s been a ride.
So here it is, March 29, 2025. Our year ends March 31. We’re going sideways, and it feels so good.
