Our top salesperson generates over forty percent of our total revenue and has close personal ties to our biggest clients. How do we de-risk this massive concentration of sales talent on our exit runway without alienating our top performer?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Having a single salesperson generate over forty percent of your revenue is a massive risk that will cause buyers to heavily discount your valuation. To de-risk this concentration on your exit runway, you must institutionalize your sales process. Start by mapping out your sales workflow using the EOS three-step process. Define how leads are generated, qualified, and closed, and document this as a repeatable core process. Next, use your Accountability Chart to separate the roles of account management and business development. Transition your top salesperson into a pure business development seat and hire account managers to handle the day-to-day client relationships. This structures the business so that clients are bonded to your company and its delivery systems, rather than a single personality. Introduce a team-based selling model where leadership and technical experts participate in key pitches. Finally, restructure your compensation plans to include long-term retention clauses and non-compete agreements for your sales staff. This assures a buyer that your key revenue generators are incentivized to stay after the acquisition. By moving from a relationship-dependent sales model to a process-dependent sales model, you protect your revenue and prove to buyers that your sales engine is fully transferable.