Why Your Sales Organization Will Always Break Into 20/60/20 — and How to Shift the Curve

Key Takeaways

• Every sales organization — whether 3 reps or 3,000 — breaks into a 20/60/20 performance curve: top 20% carry the load, middle 60% underachieve their potential, and bottom 20% drag the business.

  
  

• CRMs track outputs (closed deals, pipeline) but not the inputs that drive performance (execution of behaviors, adherence to playbooks, consistency).

  
  

• Goalster’s Goal Score provides visibility into execution: who is doing the work, following processes, seeking feedback, and sustaining effort over time.

  
  

• Moving the middle 60% upward by even 10–15% yields outsized revenue lift. Eliminating and replacing the bottom 20% with consistent executors accelerates growth even further.

  
  

• The missing lever for CROs and CEOs isn’t “more CRM data” — it’s real-time visibility into execution and accountability for both reps and managers.

Why This Matters

Every quarter, leaders gather for reviews. The same gaps come up again: missed pipeline goals, reps not following process, underperformers dragging down numbers.

Everyone leaves with commitments to “do better next quarter” — yet the bell curve repeats itself.

The truth is this curve is structural. It exists in sales organizations, franchise systems, advisor networks, and even sports teams. The question is not whether the curve exists — it always will — but how leaders shift it upward.

Most systems rely on CRMs. But Salesforce, HubSpot, or any CRM was designed to record what happened, not ensure the right behaviors are executed to make success repeatable. That’s the gap Goalster fills.

Breaking Down the 20/60/20 Model

Top 20% (Growth Engines)

• Drive 50–70% of revenue.

• Execute consistently, self-manage, and often outperform despite the system.

• Already have strong disciplines and knowledge.

Middle 60% (Untapped Goldmine)

• Hover near quota but inconsistently.

• Struggle with process discipline: pipeline hygiene, discovery rigor, follow-ups.

This group represents the greatest ROI opportunity.

Bottom 20% (Underperformers or newbies)

• Rarely follow the playbook.

• Contribute minimally (often <5% of revenue).

• Drag morale, management bandwidth, and brand credibility.

In a $10M sales organization, here's how that breaks down:

Top 20% = $7M

Middle 60% = $2.5M (+15% = $1M+)

Bottom 20% = $0.5M

If you uplift the middle by 15% and replace the bottom with consistent executors, you can add $1M+ in revenue without a single new lead.

Why CRM Data Isn’t Shifting Your Curve

So sure, you’ve got Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics — every rep has a login, every leader has dashboards. But the 20/60/20 curve hasn’t budged. Why?

Because CRMs were built to record what already happened, not to ensure the right things actually happen in the first place.

• Lagging Indicators Only: CRMs tell you how much revenue closed, how much pipeline exists. By the time you see it, it’s too late to fix.

  
  

• Dependent on Rep Compliance: Underperformers — the very people you most need to understand — are the least likely to update the system. Garbage in, garbage out.

  
  

• No View of Execution Quality: A CRM can’t tell you if a rep followed the playbook, ran the discovery properly, or delivered the right pitch. It only shows the byproduct.

It’s like my days as a sprint kayaker: race times or places are the lagging indicator. They tell you who won after the fact. But if you want to change outcomes, you don’t just stare at the stopwatch — you break down the stroke quality, the race-plan and rhythm, the training volume and nutrition, the technique.

That’s the equivalent of execution quality in sales. CRMs are the stopwatch. Goalster is the training and performance system that ensures reps are doing the work that changes the result.

Enter the Goal Score

The Goal Score is a leading indicator of execution and engagement. It reflects:

• Completion of actions: reps actually doing the assigned work.

• Consistency: sustaining pipeline updates, practice, outreach.

• Process adherence: following playbooks (discovery, messaging, product mix).

• Feedback loops: logging reflections, receiving coaching.

  
  

How it maps to the curve:

• Bottom 20% → almost always have low Goal Scores. They aren’t doing the work.

• Middle 60% → inconsistent scores. Good weeks and bad weeks. Coaching + accountability move them upward.

• Top 20% → consistently high scores. Their behaviors become codified and replicated across the org.

  
  

Manager Visibility & Accountability

In a CRM, managers are auditors of data. In Goalster, managers or advisors become coaches of execution:

• See Goal Scores across their team.

• Spot at-risk reps weeks before revenue gaps appear.

• Compare high vs. middle performers and coach the middle upward.

• Track their own accountability (did they coach, reinforce, follow up?).

  
  

This creates a two-way accountability loop: reps are accountable for execution, managers are accountable for coaching execution.

A Sales Organization Example

Take a 25-rep sales team producing $15M in annual revenue.

Baseline Distribution (20/60/20):

• Top 20% (5 reps): $10.5M

• Middle 60% (15 reps): $3.75M

• Bottom 20% (5 reps): $0.75M

Scenario A – Improve the Middle (15% uplift):

Middle grows from $3.75M → $4.31M (+ $562.5K in lift)

Scenario B – Replace the Bottom with Average Performers:

Bottom grows from $0.75M → $1.13M (+ $375K in lift)

That’s +$937.5K in additional revenue combined — a 6.25% increase — without changing the top performers or adding marketing dollars.

With Goalster in place:

• Middle’s inconsistency is visible in real time via Goal Score.

• Managers coach with precision — focusing energy where the math proves it drives the most gain.

• Bottom performers are flagged early — either coached up or replaced quickly, stopping hidden drag before it compounds.

How This Differs from Traditional Training or Workshops

Most companies respond to the 20/60/20 challenge by hiring a training consultant, bringing in a workshop, or running a motivational session. While these efforts can inspire short-term energy, they rarely change the curve.

Why? Because they lack ongoing measurement of execution.

Once the workshop ends, leaders are left with the same problem: no visibility into whether reps are actually doing the work, following the playbook, or improving week by week.

Goalster is different because we combine proven frameworks with a platform and data layer that tracks execution in real time. Instead of hoping training “sticks,” you see exactly who is applying it, where the middle 60% are inconsistent, and where managers need to step in.

It’s the difference between a one-time event and a system for sustained performance improvement.

Training vendors → “content only, no accountability.”

Goalster → “system + content + data + feedback + accountability (rep + manager).”

Conclusion: The Missing Layer for CROs and CEOs

The 20/60/20 curve is seemingly inevitable. The question is whether you let it define you — or whether you make the moves to shift it.

CRMs can’t solve this because they measure lagging indicators. What’s needed is a performance enablement layer — a system that measures execution, engages reps, holds managers accountable, and provides the leading indicators you need to coach and course-correct before revenue misses happen.

That’s what Goalster delivers.

👉 If you’re a CRO, CEO, or Head of Sales tired of déjà vu in your quarterly reviews, it’s time to add the Goal Score to your playbook — moving your middle 60% and replacing your bottom 20%, which is where your immediate revenue growth lives.