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MONDAY UNFILTERED
📚 – 5 biggest mistakes you make during discovery [1 min]
📝 – 3 tips on LinkedIn and Social Selling [3 min]
💸 – Top 10 #SamSales LinkedIn Algo Hacks [1 min]
CONTENT OF THE WEEK
5 Steps to Escape PIP Prison
Written by: Krysten Conner, ex. Outreach, Salesforce, Tableau
PIPs are everywhere all of a sudden. Again.
In the last 3 weeks, sellers have told me they’ve been put on a PIP (“performance improvement plan”) for under performance in a quarter… before the quarter even ends, faced “automatic PIPs” if they dip below a set amount, and slapped with PIPs immediately after returning from parental leave.
It’s infuriating.
And when it happens to you, it’s terrifying.
But you are not powerless. There are critical steps you can take to protect yourself.
There are 5 things I recommend to every seller I talk to:
- First Person to Call: Consult an employment attorney. In the US, most states have “At Will“ employment, so there may not be much you can do. But if other people have worse results than you, or you are being unfairly targeted in some other way, it’s better to understand your options early.
- Making This List is Crucial: You can use this list to fight a PIP, negotiate a better severance package, or prepare for future job interviews.
Immediately write down every big or well-known logo you worked with. If you got to mid or late stages in the cycle, put them on the list. Whether you won the deal or not. Either way, you have insight into those companies and relationships in that organization. For any large or noteworthy deals you did, write down the story of that deal while it is fresh in your mind:- How it started.
- Major players involved.
- Problem you were solving.
- How you uncovered multiple pain points.
- Obstacles you faced getting it across the line. And ultimately how you won.
- Get your Sh*t Together: Just like your Logo List, you can use this documentation to fight the PIP, ask for more severance, or for interview prep.
Anything that you created (scripts, sequences, slide decks, etc.). Any proof of your achievements – especially screenshots of leaderboards or management dashboards showing our performance. Any important communication, like your boss telling you you did a good job, compliments from a customer, or communication from HR. Forward the email or take a screenshot.
Send these to yourself so you have a copy. You can email it to yourself at your work email and BCC your personal email. Or if it is downloaded, you can usually drag & drop it into a Google Drive.
- Negotiate and Protect Yourself: If it comes down to signing a severance package, remember that severance can be negotiable. This article has a lot of great tips on negotiating your severance package – and what to do during any kind of layoff. If you’re asked to sign a severance agreement, here are 4 things to look out for.
- Cast your Net Far and Wide: No matter what happens, it’s always a good idea to have LinkedIn recommendations from as many people as possible. They are reference letters that live forever, because they’re public on your LinkedIn profile.
Now’s the time to ask: Peers. Managers. Team Leaders. Customers and even prospects.
Here’s a template:
“Emma – loved working with you. If you’re open to it, I’d really appreciate a LinkedIn recommendation from you. Even 2-3 sentences would help.
If you thought I [[2 to 3 things you want them to specifically mention -ex> was a team player, had a good work ethic & was a creative prospector, etc.]] Happy to ghostwrite* a first draft for you to tweak if that’s helpful.
No worries if you can’t for whatever reason. Cheers!”
*This post by Justin Welsh has a great formula you can follow to ghostwrite a first draft for them. And 8 examples of well written recommendations for inspiration.
People want to help. And. They are busy. If you send them a first draft to edit, you will get far more responses. And they’ll come back faster.
Being on a PIP is scary.
Taking these 5 steps can put you in a much better position.
“Action is the antidote to anxiety,” as Gretchen Rubin says.
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WIN THE WEEK!!!
