Are sales reps at top startups hitting quota?

Published: Wed, 02/19/25

Updated: Sun, 02/23/25

February 19, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Happy Wednesday, readers, and welcome back to another issue of The Quota, the sales newsletter that just graduated high school and can still stay fit while only eating steak and cheese and pizza. In this week’s newsletter, we’ll take a look at the companies set to IPO in 2025, share a Sales Fail about a nap gone wrong, and give some advice to a rep who's nervous about dropping in on prospects in person. Let’s go.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

U.S. sales teams spend over $70 billion a year on training. It’s 80% forgotten in 3 months

Source: Harvard Business Review

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

Research firm Gartner predicts that 10% of sales associates will use AI to secretly juggle multiple jobs by 2028. They state that “The implementation and use of AI in sales will result in more sellers looking to engage in additional work outside their primary employment due to freed capacity from AI automation.” Their research also indicates that by 2028, approximately 30% of new sellers entering the workforce will experience a gap in critical social sales skills due to an overreliance on AI technologies. You can read more about it here.
The Harvard Business Review recently published an article about how salespeople game internal company systems (think sandbagging), interviewing salespeople, sales leaders, and C-suite leaders in 19 industries ranging from pest control to heavy equipment manufacturing to software and financial services. From their research, they developed a typology of eight distinct categories of sales incentive gaming—each of which can be fairly benign or high-risk, depending on the circumstances. You can read the article here.

FEATURE

RepVue’s guide to the top IPO Candidates for 2025

The last couple of years have been quiet for IPOs. Collapsing revenue multiples, rising interest rates, and an unpredictable economy made it hard for companies to go public. Many promising tech companies chose to wait it out, leading to some of the slowest years for IPOs in recent memory. In fact, 2023 and 2024 saw some of the lowest IPO activity in over a decade.

But 2025 could be different. With falling interest rates, and market sentiment improving, many of the tech darlings that stayed private are now rumored to be preparing for a public offering. Dozens of tech companies that have been growing behind the scenes might make their public debut.

A potential IPO should be exciting for the salespeople at these companies, too. Reps might see financial rewards if they hold options or shares. And going public can boost a company’s reputation and widen its reach, making it easier to attract new clients and close bigger deals.

Top IPO Candidates for 2025

The following companies have publicly stated intentions or are rumored to be exploring IPOs, and they fit RepVue’s criteria for size, industry, growth, and current/previous funding. Data is reported by either current or former employees for each company, and is current as of time of publication.

Wiz – RepVue Score: 90.06
Product-market fit: 4.8
Team quota attainment: 60%

Wiz is a cloud security platform that enables organizations to identify and manage security risks across their cloud environments. It provides tools for detecting vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and compliance issues in cloud infrastructure and applications.

Figma – RepVue Score: 85.02
Product-market fit: 4.7
Team quota attainment: 43%

Figma is a web-based design tool used for interface design, prototyping, and collaboration. It allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same design file, streamlining the design process for teams.

Ramp – RepVue Score: 90.27
Product-market fit: 4.6
Team quota attainment: 66%

Ramp offers a corporate card and spend management platform designed to help businesses control and optimize their expenses. It provides automated expense reporting, real-time spending insights, and integrations with accounting systems.

Deel – RepVue Score: 87.02
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 64%

Deel is a global payroll and compliance platform that assists companies in hiring and paying international employees and contractors. It handles local tax compliance, contracts, and payments in various currencies.

Databricks – RepVue Score: 86.59
Product-market fit: 4.6
Team quota attainment: 47%

Databricks provides a unified data analytics platform built on Apache Spark. It facilitates data engineering, machine learning, and analytics by offering collaborative notebooks and managed cloud infrastructure.

Stripe – RepVue Score: 85.50
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 66%

Stripe offers payment processing software and APIs that enable businesses to accept online payments securely. It supports a variety of payment methods and currencies, along with tools for billing, invoicing, and fraud prevention.

Rippling – RepVue Score: 87.15
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 55%

Rippling is an all-in-one platform that integrates HR, IT, and finance systems. It automates processes like onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, and device management for employees.

Veeam – RepVue Score: 82.63
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 34%

Veeam provides backup, recovery, and data management solutions for virtual, physical, and cloud-based workloads. Its software ensures data availability and simplifies disaster recovery processes.

Verkada – RepVue Score: 80.26
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 34%

Verkada offers cloud-managed security solutions, including video surveillance cameras and access control systems. Its products combine hardware and software to provide real-time monitoring and analytics.

Addepar -RepVue Score: 83.27
Product-market fit: 4.5
Team quota attainment: 29%

Addepar is a wealth management platform that consolidates portfolio data for financial advisors and institutions. It delivers analytics and reporting tools to manage complex investments and client portfolios.

See the full list here

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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

Which TV star briefly sold life insurance before their career took off?

A. Jon Hamm
B. Steve Harvey
C. Conan O’Brien
D. Jimmy Kimmel

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

I was in my early 20s when I got my first sales job working at a mattress store. Most of the sales staff were young and we would hang out and party sometimes after work. One night, we had a house party until 4 AM and a few of us had to work the next day. One of the guys who partied a bit too hard ended up falling asleep on one of the display beds in the middle of the shift.

Our manager was out that day so I was technically in charge, but still a dumb kid, so I recruited one of the other sales reps and we started building a giant pillow fort around the guy who was sleeping. The fort got so high you couldn't even see that there was a person in there, except for his black Converse hanging out the bottom. We thought it was the funniest thing ever. Customers would walk by slowly just looking in bewilderment trying to figure out what was going on. We woke him up about an hour later. No mattresses were sold that day.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- February 2025

WORTH A PEEK

Is it possible to actually double-dip—that is, to work two simultaneous full-time jobs—in sales? A recent Reddit thread posed this question to the audience, with some interesting responses. You can check out the conversation here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I sell for a B2B IT services company. My boss just told me that starting in Q2, all reps will be required to make visits to the offices of target companies in their local territories. My boss thinks that this will "set us apart" from competitors and show we’re willing to go the extra mile. I'm already stressed about the whole thing. I do fine with cold calls and emails, but walking into an office with no appointment sounds like a nightmare. I'm just expected to talk my way into a meeting? Am I supposed to bring coffee and donuts? Am I supposed to just sit in the lobby waiting for the prospect to meet with me?

Awkward in Location Withheld

Dear Awkward,

Showing up in person can make an impression. But you should set expectations for yourself (and your boss). You shouldn't expect to get into the room with the decision maker the first time you walk into the building. Instead, focus on planting the seed and making a good impression. Walk in confidently and introduce yourself with a simple opener like: “Hey, I was in the area visiting clients and wanted to drop by to introduce myself.” Ask the gatekeeper for guidance on the best way to get in contact with the decision maker. If you're kind and confident, they'll be more willing to help you. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: B. Steve Harvey briefly sold life insurance before his career took off (you can read the source article here)

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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