Field Notes
Where Sales Strategy Meets People Strategy
Practical, research-backed lessons on hiring salespeople and sales leaders, paying them well, and keeping the good ones.
How to Test Whether a Sales Manager Can Coach
Every sales manager candidate says they coach. Their own quota won't tell you if it's true. Here's what the research says, and a 15-minute exercise that shows you before you hire.
How to Hire Your First VP of Sales (Without Betting the Company on a Title)
Your first senior sales hire is the one you cannot afford to get wrong, and it is usually the one chosen on the thinnest process.
What Does a VP of Sales Actually Do?
If the honest answer is "sells the big deals himself," you did not hire a VP of Sales. You gave your best closer a raise and a new business card.
VP of Sales vs Sales Director vs Sales Manager: Which Sales Leader Do You Actually Need?
The three titles get used as if they mean the same thing. On a payroll run and an org chart, they very much do not.
When Should You Hire a VP of Sales?
Most owners ask this too late, and a few ask it about five years too early. Here is how to read the signals instead of the revenue line.
How to Manage an Underperforming Salesperson in Ontario (Before You Reach for the Termination Letter)
A founder called wanting to fire his rep by Friday. In Ontario, that instinct is the expensive one. Here is how to manage an underperformer, and protect yourself, before you reach for the termination letter.
Non-Solicitation Clauses in Ontario: How to Protect Your Customer List When a Salesperson Leaves
Your top salesperson just resigned and you are worried about the client book. Before you reach for the non-solicitation clause, here is what that clause actually does in Ontario, why so many of them fail, and the protection that matters more.
Should You Cap Sales Commissions? Why the Ceiling Costs More Than It Saves
The cap feels like discipline. Then your best rep hits the ceiling in October and quietly stops closing until January. Here is what a commission cap really costs, and what to build instead.
Why Hiring on Gut Feeling Is the Riskiest Move in Sales Recruiting
The candidate who lit up the room is the one your instinct is worst at judging, and in sales that read is worse than useless. Here is what the research on gut-feel hiring actually shows, and the process that beats it.
Stop Playing Chess With Your Pipeline: Sales Is a Game of Poker
Stop treating your sales pipeline like a game of chess. Learn why sales is actually a game of poker and how probabilistic thinking drives more closed deals.
When should you hire your first sales manager?
Wondering when to hire your first sales manager? Promoting your best rep is the default that backfires. Here is the real trigger, the research, and the Ontario legal trap to avoid.
Hiring for culture fit is a legal landmine. Here's what to hire for instead
Hiring for culture fit may seem like good judgment, but it is often a legal minefield and a bias trap. Here is what to hire for instead, using the four dimensions of fit.
Are Non-Compete Agreements Enforceable in Ontario?
In Ontario, employee non-competes have been void since October 2021. Here is who is exempt, what it means for your sales team, and what actually protects your book of business.
A Construction Sales Pipeline That Goes Beyond the Bid List
A bid list tells you what could be priced. A pipeline shows which projects deserve your estimating time and how to pursue them.
What DeepSeek Made Me Question About How We Lead in Canada
I went looking for a technology story. DeepSeek handed me a leadership one instead, and it wasn't flattering to how we manage people in Canada.
I Used to Think an Employee's Money Stress Wasn't My Problem
The cost of living is a business problem, and paying more is not where to start. A note to Canadian small business owners on competitiveness, AI, livable wages, and letting people share the upside they create.
The Commission Plan That Turned Paul's Engineering Team Into the Enemy
Paul's engineering team had stopped cooperating with sales. His best business dev rep was closing deals that blew up on delivery. His longest-tenured client (eleven years) was now asking for a refund. He was convinced he had a people problem. He didn't. He had a commission plan that was quietly destroying the culture he had spent a decade building.
The People Who Quit in January Decided to Leave in October
The people who quit in January decided in October, and your comp plan often made the decision for them. With switching no longer paying a premium, a soft market strips away the easy excuse. Here is the retention fix.
Your Annual Performance Review Measures the Manager, Not the Employee
Only 14% of employees say reviews inspire them, and more than half of a rating reflects the rater, not the person rated. Why the annual review measures the manager, what to do instead, and the Ontario documentation risk.