The First Rule of Crushing Quota
Aiming for 100% is not enough
Sales Rocket Fuel- Email Mini-Course: Day 1/5
Guest post by Chris Bogdan
The first rule of crushing quota is you do not aim for your quota.
The second rule of crushing quota is you must aim well above your quota.
Here's why: Aiming for 100% Sets You Up for Failure
Working in sales, you know that some deals slip & priorities can change, and there are always factors outside of your control.
If you aim for 100% of your quota, you leave zero margin for error. It shouldn't surprise you that most reps aiming for 100% end up at only 70-99% of their goal. Same story, different year, on repeat.
What's worse is that limiting your mindset to “just hit quota” means you’ll never take the bold actions needed to exceed it.
Here’s the reality: Bigger Goals Force Bigger Actions
If you had to hit 150-200%+ of quota this year, what would you need to change?
You’d do MORE:
Pursuing more C-Level executives who sign big checks
Closing enterprise deals in the 6-7-8 figures, instead of “safe” small wins
Upgrading your skills in areas like prospecting, discovery, and negotiation
You’d do LESS:
Chasing small deals in low-potential accounts
Wasting time in meetings that don’t drive revenue
Over-investing in tasks that feel productive but don’t drive deals
Another way to think about it is that instead of setting your goal to "Meet 100% of quota", try setting your goal to "Be the top performer on your team or division" or "Make President's Club".
Shift Your Mindset
Your brain works in alignment with your expectations. If you believe you’re a top performer, you’re more likely to start acting like one.
When I changed my thinking to aim for #1 almost every year, my actions followed – I exceeded quota 15/17 years, hit President's Club 13 times, and consistently ranked in the top 1-3 AEs out of groups 100-300+.
I know you can see next-level results.
Join Sales Rocket Fuel 🚀 & Crush Quota in 2025
You’ll get 15 hours of actionable lessons, split between five live 90-minute workshops on Friday mornings & 7.5 hours of quality on-demand training.
You'll learn the systems and strategies that will help you become the top performer you know you can be.
If you're ready to start reaching more executives, closing more big deals, and crushing quota, join the next Sales Rocket Fuel cohort.
We start soon on Friday, February 14th & meet on 5 Fridays in a row from 10am-11:30am CT. You won’t want to miss this!
Come level up your skills with me and a bonus, live Mic Drop Method Session with Belal!
PS - What would it mean to you if you could TRIPLE your largest deal? Check out Noah Wasser’s story, a Docusign Mid-Market AE who just finished Sales Rocket Fuel, he sent me this Jan 30, less than two months after finishing the course:
“Before I took your course the largest deal I’d closed was for less than $300,000 TCV. Since taking your course I’ve closed a $990,000 TCV deal and now a $3,300,000 deal!”