← Every exhibit
Candidate shared numbers, and how each one fails
The failure mode column is the one to read first: it is how the number behaves once someone is paid on it.
| Candidate | Who can move it | How it gets gamed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing-qualified leads | Marketing alone | Loosen the definition | Fails condition 1 and 2 |
| Win rate | Sales alone | Disqualify hard deals early | Fails condition 1 and 2 |
| Pipeline created | Marketing, mainly | Create pipeline that does not close | Fails condition 4 |
| Activity per rep | Sales alone | Do more of the cheapest activity | Fails 1, 3 and 4 |
| Meetings booked | Both, weakly | Book meetings that should not happen | Fails condition 4 |
| Revenue | Both, eventually | Discount to close | Fails condition 4, and it is too lagging to steer by |
| Qualified pipeline that converts, by segment | Both, genuinely | Only by picking better segments and serving them | Workable |
| New customers in the target segment, this quarter | Both, genuinely | Only by agreeing what the target segment is | Workable |
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Reference & Evidence
Source: Author's own assessment, applying the five conditions set out in this piece. Not a survey finding.
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