gtmskills.com

Reference file

Worked example

worked-example.md

title: Worked example, mid-market AE where the best logos rank second description: A full scorecard build and scoring run for a fictional mid-market AE hire, comparing two candidates.

Worked example: mid-market AE

A fictional 60-person software company is hiring its fourth AE. All names, companies and numbers are invented.

Seat motion

  • Deal: 40k average
  • Cycle: about 75 days
  • Buyer: head of operations, with finance sign-off
  • Pipeline: at least 60% self-sourced, inbound is thin
  • Motion: new business

Scorecard (agreed by the hiring manager, VP Sales and a senior AE before the first interview)

Rank Criterion Weight Must-have
1 Pipeline source 28 Yes
2 Deal size 20
3 Sales cycle length 16
4 Attainment evidence 14
5 Forecast accuracy 12
6 Coachability 10

Candidates

Candidate A sold for a well-known category leader. Strong CV, strong presence in the room.

  • Pipeline source: "Marketing was amazing, we had more inbound than we could handle. I did some outbound when it was quiet." Asked for a sourced deal: could not name one past first meeting. Score 1.
  • Deal size: 25k to 35k typical. 3.
  • Cycle: 30 to 45 days. "Our deals moved fast." 2.
  • Attainment: 128%, 140%, 115%, rank 2 of 14. 4.
  • Forecast: "Pretty close, we had good tooling." No number. Not assessed.
  • Coachability: clear example of changing discovery after a manager's feedback. 4.

Candidate B sold for a small, little-known vendor.

  • Pipeline source: 70% self-sourced; walked through a deal from a cold email to a 52k signature, including the hook and the second stakeholder. 4.
  • Deal size: 30k to 60k typical. 4.
  • Cycle: 60 to 120 days, procurement the usual delay. 4.
  • Attainment: 96%, 112%, 104%, rank 3 of 6. 3.
  • Forecast: "Within 10% of commit three of the last four quarters." 4.
  • Coachability: an example, but defensive about one piece of feedback. 2.

Weighted totals

  • A: (1x28 + 3x20 + 2x16 + 4x14 + 0x12 + 4x10) / 4 = 216 / 4 = 54, with forecast not assessed and a must-have fail on pipeline source.
  • B: (4x28 + 4x20 + 4x16 + 3x14 + 4x12 + 2x10) / 4 = 366 / 4 = 91.5

Scorecard summary

Mid-market AE / scorecard v1 / agreed by HM, VP Sales, Senior AE on [date]
Seat motion: deal 40k | cycle 75 days | buyer head of ops + finance | pipeline 60%+ self-sourced | new business
Criteria (rank, weight): 1. Pipeline source 28 2. Deal size 20 3. Cycle 16 4. Attainment 14 5. Forecast 12 6. Coachability 10 | Must-haves: pipeline source
Candidate | weighted score | must-have fails | not assessed | top evidence
A         | 54             | pipeline source | forecast     | "Marketing was amazing, we had more inbound than we could handle"
B         | 91.5           | none            | none         | "Cold email to a 52k signature, second stakeholder looped in at week three"
Decision: Advance B to final round? Yes / No
          Fill the not-assessed gaps for A before deciding? Yes / No

Why this is the right call

The panel liked A more. A had the bigger logos, the higher attainment and the better interview. None of that answers the question this seat asks every day: can you build your own pipeline? A had never had to. B had done it for three years with a product nobody knew. Without a scorecard agreed in advance, A most likely gets the offer, and the company finds out two quarters later, when the inbound runs dry.