Growth Insights for CEOs

Outsider Insights | The Comp Plan Is Quietly Telling Your Sales Team Not to Hunt
Executive Takeaways
- Sales reps focus on what they're paid and measured on, even if that strays from business strategy and goals.
- Many compensation plans and account structures quietly reward protecting revenue, not creating it.
- Adding a quota target without changing the underlying structure just adds pressure, not pipeline.
- Fixing this starts with the comp plan and account map, not a pep talk about hustle.
Outsider Insights
Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
Recent Posts

Outsider Insights | Beyond the Sale—Why CEOs Are Turning Attention to Retention and Expansion
Wed, Jan 14, 2026 — Outsider Insights Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.

Positioning Mistake No. 365 -- Treating Prospects Better Than Existing Customers
Wed, Jun 22, 2022 — From the world of “shocking but true”: There are real, actual companies out there that are turning away revenue. Literally, they have customers shaking fistfuls of dollars in their direction and walking in the opposite direction. Before you shake your head, thinking this is blasphemy, the stark reality is this: You, too, could be guilty of the same offense.