10 Jan 2016
Medallia Response
10yYikes -- I’m really sorry you had such a negative experience. I wouldn't want to work in the climate you describe either. That said, your perception of the sales organization is radically different from mine. I'd like to clear up a few misperceptions.
First, we do not demand that reps sell millions of dollars in their first few months (though some do) or else they get let go. In fact, the expected ramp time is nine months, though many reps ramp more quickly than that. Reps that are doing the things asked of them but need more than nine months are given more time.
Second, we do not demand perfection. We invest heavily in training -- reps regularly talk about how much they've learned at Medallia (e.g., "more in 7 months here than the 10 years prior").
Third, we promote based on merit, not tenure -- if we were not merit-based, we could not achieve the outstanding results we do, including a sales employee NPS in the 70s and an average productivity of 150%, both of which are best in class. Plus, we've grown so much in the past 3 years there's not much “tenure” to speak of. Fourth, the sales organization is not imploding, quite the opposite. The team just closed its biggest quarter (and fiscal year) ever. That said, within any company, there can be pockets that underperform the rest of the organization. If you got caught in one such pocket -- as it sounds you may have -- I'd love to understand more. Please ping me directly. In the meantime, I will pass along your review to our head of sales. We want to address any parts of the sales organization that may not be living up to our standards. Best of luck in your future career.