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Dear Quota Team,
I don’t want to reveal too much about my current role since it might make it obvious exactly who I am, but recently, something happened at work and I’m wondering how to deal with it. I am an individual contributor at a medium-sized (I think) company. I have been here for over two years.
A few weeks ago, I had an issue. Basically, a coworker of mine and I were both coincidentally working a deal at a company with two separate people at the company. This happened because of the way we filled out the information in the CRM. We basically identified the company in different ways, even though it was the same company.
Technically, I was the first one to make contact with a person at the company. But my coworker got further ahead in the process and was closer to closing the deal. When we realized what was happening, we went to my manager and explained what was happening. Normal protocol is that the first person to make contact is the person who gets to keep the deal. So technically, it was supposed to be my deal.
My manager, however, told the other person to take the deal, because he was further ahead in the process, which I don’t dispute. He said that when the deal closed, I would be entitled to 25% of it. Now I am angry. Not only was this my deal to begin with, but the rules (they are not written out, but more informal) state that the deal belongs to the first person to make contact.
I feel like my manager completely threw me under the bus. What should I do? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
Furious in the U.S.
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Dear Furious,
We can see why you’re upset. Your manager definitely didn’t abide by the unspoken rules, and the deal should have remained yours. But, to play devil’s advocate, he was (possibly) probably thinking about an outcome that was more likely to get the deal closed for the company. That being said, 25% is too low a figure in our opinion. It should have been closer to 50/50.
How far do you want to push this? Is it worth putting your job at risk? For you, maybe it is. If so, then put together a non-angry email and send it to your manager explaining your position. Stick to the facts, and try to leave your emotions out of it. Or have the conversation in person, just be ready to defend your position, which is that the rules were not followed and you want to make sure that you’re being treated fairly.
The other option is, as always, to move on. These types of things happen in sales, and now you have some insight into your manager and how likely he is to go to bat for you. This will probably help inform your decision-making process when you start thinking about looking for somewhere else to work. You definitely have a reason to be upset, but don’t let it consume you. Life is short and there are plenty of other deals and opportunities out there. Good luck!
