The Sales Manager’s Guide to Performance Reviews [Free Template]

In this rapidly changing sales environment, there is often a stark disconnect between what management sees or does and what reps want or need. While sales productivity is a key revenue driver, higher activity volume doesn’t always mean that key metrics like close rate or average selling price goes up.

49{da2ef7ff2781dfb5887db3e3a6cf03c7c894e23a27536de3f64bd799872794d1} of organizations have zero or limited means of measuring sales productivity. Without regularly reviewing productivity, time management, and communication skills, there is no tangible way for a manager to monitor and improve sales success.

Sales Performance Review Examples

Performance reviews are personal experiences, and the feedback you give should accurately reflect the performance of each rep you’re reviewing. If you have a large team, it can be easy to slip into providing similar feedback to each person.

Here are a few phrases you can use as a starting point when forming your feedback. And they’re broken down by the following performance review ratings:

1 = Does not meet expectations
2 = Needs improvement
3 = Meets expectations
4 = Occasionally exceeds expectations
5 = Consistently exceeds expectations

Performance Review Phrases

These phrases help managers support a numerical score with explanations of what the rep is doing well and what they can improve.

1 = Does Not Meet Expectations

Does the rep struggle to fill their pipeline and make sales? Do they make excuses for their poor performance?

If the rep isn’t meeting the expectations of their role, use these phrases to communicate why they’re receiving a rating of “Does not meet expectations.”

Doesn’t understand the core product offerings of [X company]
Conducts little to no research on a prospect before a call
Provides limited data/information in the CRM
Unwilling to improve their presentation skills

2 = Needs improvement

A rep might be close to meeting expectations but still has some aspects of their job that they need to work on. Maybe they’re a new rep who’s close to hitting their quota but is just shy each month. Or they’re a more tenured rep who’s struggling to apply a new sales approach to their workflow.

Clearly identifying these areas for improvement in the performance review will provide points to work on during any coaching or training after the performance review.

Struggles to overcome objections
Lacks confidence when negotiating
Relies too heavily on discounts, resulting in lower margins
Prospecting and presentation skills are improving, but they rarely hit their monthly quota

3 = Meets expectations

This employee checks all the boxes and they consistently perform at or above the expected performance level. They consistently hit their quota each month.

Here are some positive phrases you can use to let them know they’re doing an excellent job.

Sets reasonable goals and hits those goals each month
Takes extra care to fully understand the prospect’s challenges and priorities, and provides them with a holistic solution
Consistently meets their quota
Enters prospect and deal information into the CRM in a timely manner, and includes thorough notes so the deal’s status is clear to the team and management

4 = Occasionally exceeds expectations

A rep might be exceeding quota more and more often but falls short of your top performers and does not yet have confidence to be a leader on the team. This individual has a lot of potential and needs some coaching to perform even better:

Was X{da2ef7ff2781dfb5887db3e3a6cf03c7c894e23a27536de3f64bd799872794d1} above the target [X period, quarter]
Exceeded quota X out of X sales [X{da2ef7ff2781dfb5887db3e3a6cf03c7c894e23a27536de3f64bd799872794d1}]
Demonstrates initiative and is eager to learn and apply new sales techniques

5 = Consistently exceeds expectations

Reps who exceed expectations are those that go above and beyond the requirements of their day-to-day role. They might take on additional projects, train other reps, or tackle their team’s reporting.

If your rep is consistently exceeding expectations, provide clear feedback so they know they’re doing outstanding work.

Introduced a new approach for pipeline management that was X{da2ef7ff2781dfb5887db3e3a6cf03c7c894e23a27536de3f64bd799872794d1} more effective than the previous process
Goes above and beyond to handle objections and provide value each call
Is a leader on the team and helps fellow sales reps with call shadowing and feedback sessions
Consistently exceeds their quota, and was X{da2ef7ff2781dfb5887db3e3a6cf03c7c894e23a27536de3f64bd799872794d1} above the target in [X period, quarter]

Performance Evaluation Template

HubSpot and InsideSales.com have created this quarterly sales rep review and coaching template to help managers measure and coach their inside sales reps to consistently improve performance each quarter.

The template includes: