First time founders with limited experience running a tech company, which shows in the overall strategy and execution. Sales cycles are very long .... often over 14 months due to procurement and the fact that CoLab is not a "need to have" software. Quotas are high relative to the compensation structure. The plan also penalizes reps quarterly with decelerators if targets are not met, despite factors outside their control. Reps have brought up the compensation plan not making sense, and have gotten let go in the past.
Inbound lead flow is minimal. BDR leads are generally unqualified and not a good use of time. New logos are difficult to close, ACVs are low, and deal velocity is slow. In my first six months, only two net new logos were closed across the entire sales team.
There is a heavy focus on internal work driven by leadership, including building and customizing slide decks that are rarely used in prospect meetings. These requests are often treated as urgent, typically at 8PM but do not contribute to revenue.
There is a VERY high level of micromanagement, with deal activity closely tracked in Slack and daily deal update requests from leadership that take time away from actually progressing deals. Strategic narrative changes every 6 weeks due to lack of company direction.