When you are scaling a sales team, /sales-leader builds hiring plans, quota models, and process playbooks, so you can hit revenue targets predictably. — Claude Skill
A Claude Skill for Claude Code by Nick Jensen — run /sales-leader in Claude·Updated
Build hiring plans, quota models, and sales process playbooks
- Hiring plans with role profiles, interview scorecards, and ramp timelines
- Quota and comp model design with OTE, accelerators, and clawbacks
- Sales process playbooks from prospecting through close
- Territory design with account segmentation and capacity planning
- Coaching frameworks with call reviews and pipeline inspection cadence
Who this is for
Build hiring plans, quota models, and sales process playbooks for scaling teams
See skills for this roleDesign coaching frameworks and rep ramp plans for new hires
See skills for this roleHire your first sales team and design the initial sales process
See skills for this roleWhat it does
Series B funded, target 20 AEs by next year. /sales-leader builds the hiring plan with role profiles, interview scorecards, ramp timelines, and territory design — then sequences hiring across 4 quarters so you don't blow up onboarding capacity.
Last year's plan was reverse-engineered from a number, not from real coverage. /sales-leader designs OTE, accelerators, and clawback rules tied to deal stage and bookings velocity, then stress-tests the model against historical win rates and sales-cycle data.
Your weekly forecast is wrong by 20-40%. /sales-leader audits your stage-exit criteria, identifies where reps are sandbagging or happy-earing, and rebuilds the inspection cadence so commit and best-case numbers actually mean something.
You're opening EMEA and need to hire your first rep there. /sales-leader writes the role profile, designs the interview loop with deal-storytelling and role-play stages, builds a 90-day ramp plan, and gives you a comp structure tuned to local market norms.
Average sales cycle ballooned from 60 to 150 days. /sales-leader maps where time is being lost (discovery? validation? legal?), redesigns the stage exit criteria, and writes the rep playbook for each stage so the next 10 deals start measuring from a fixed baseline.
How it works
Share your team state — headcount, current ARR, target, win rate, sales-cycle length, biggest pain
Get a strategic recommendation: hiring, process redesign, comp/quota fix, or pipeline inspection — prioritized by what unlocks revenue fastest
Receive role-specific playbooks and templates — hiring scorecards, comp sheets, stage-exit criteria, deal inspection checklists, coaching scripts
Get a coaching cadence framework with 1:1 templates, pipeline review structure, call-coaching protocol, and weekly forecast meeting agenda
Implement metrics that match your stage — close rate, pipeline coverage, ramp time, forecast accuracy — and review monthly to adjust
Example
B2B SaaS, $4M ARR, 5 AEs (3 ramped, 2 in-month-2), $50K avg ACV, 25% win rate, 90-day cycle. Series B closed. Target: $15M ARR by end of next year. CEO wants 20 AEs by Q4. Current process: ad-hoc discovery, no formal MEDDPICC, no deal inspection cadence.
Don't hire 15 reps in 12 months. The capacity to onboard, ramp, and coach that many breaks your existing managers. Recommendation: hire 10 in 12 months (3 in Q1, 3 in Q2, 2 in Q3, 2 in Q4), grow team leads to managers, fix process before scaling. $15M target requires either higher win rate or higher ACV — probably both, not just more reps.
Q1: 3 senior AEs (2-4 years exp, can ramp in 60 days), focus on closing existing pipeline. Q2: 3 mid AEs + promote 1 AE to team lead. Q3: 2 mid AEs + hire VP Sales if not in place. Q4: 2 AEs + 1 sales operations hire. Each new AE: 6-week ramp plan with shadowing, mock calls, certification, then 30/60/90 quota.
Annual quota: $1M per ramped AE (year-2 average). OTE: $200K (50/50 split base/variable). Accelerators: 1.5x for 100-120% attainment, 2x above 120%. Clawback: deals that churn within 90 days subtract from next month commission. Year-1 reps: 50% of full quota with 100% comp guarantee for first 3 months.
Implement MEDDPICC qualification gate at $25K+ deals. Stage exit criteria: discovery requires confirmed pain + champion + budget range. Validation requires technical fit + economic buyer engaged. Closing requires mutual action plan + procurement timeline. Weekly pipeline inspection by manager (30 min per rep), quarterly business review by CRO.
Close rate (target 25% → 30% in 12 months), pipeline coverage (4x quarterly target), forecast accuracy (within 10% of commit), ramp time (120 days to 75% quota), quota attainment (60%+ of team at 80%+). Review monthly with VP Sales, escalate to CEO if any 2 metrics off-target for 2 months.
Metrics this improves
Works with
Sales Leader
Strategic sales expertise for building and scaling high-performance B2B sales organizations — from strategy and hiring to process design and deal execution.
Philosophy
Sales is not about pushing products. It's about solving problems and creating value that customers are willing to pay for.
The best sales organizations:
- Qualify ruthlessly — Time is your scarcest resource
- Sell outcomes, not features — ROI beats specifications
- Build repeatable processes — Champions create playbooks, not chaos
- Forecast accurately — Pipeline truth enables business planning
Sales Disciplines Covered
This skill provides strategic guidance across:
| Discipline | Focus Areas |
|---|---|
| Sales Strategy | Market segmentation, ICP definition, GTM motions |
| Team Building | Hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management |
| Pipeline Management | Forecasting, deal inspection, stage management |
| Enterprise Sales | Complex deals, multi-threading, procurement navigation |
| Discovery & Qualification | MEDDPICC, SPIN, pain identification |
| Demos & Presentations | Value-focused demos, storytelling, technical validation |
| Proposals & Pricing | Business cases, ROI models, pricing strategy |
| Negotiation | Win-win strategies, objection handling, closing |
| Sales Operations | Process design, tooling, analytics, enablement |
Related Skills
For specialized guidance, see:
sales-strategist— Sales strategy and operationsaccount-executive— Full-cycle enterprise salesdiscovery-caller— Discovery calls and qualificationdemo-specialist— Product demonstrationsproposal-writer— Proposals and business casessales-negotiator— Negotiation and closingsales-enablement— Training and enablement programssales-ops-analyst— Sales operations and analytics