// GuidesTemplate
Sales PIP template: a 30/60/90 performance improvement plan with leading indicators (2026)
Short answer
A sales PIP is a written 30/60/90-day plan for one specific, measurable gap that has already been coached once without moving. It names the gap with a number, sets two leading-indicator targets the rep can move every week and one lagging result with a date, puts your own commitments in writing, and is checked weekly in 20 minutes against a table both of you can see, with both outcomes written on day one. The template is copyable and is not legal advice; requirements differ by country and company, so have HR or an employment lawyer review it first.
When is a PIP appropriate for a sales rep?
When three conditions are all true. A quota-attainment analysis from a sales-hiring firm puts them in one sentence: “Start a PIP when three conditions are all true: the gap is specific and measurable, the gap has been coached at least once with a clear behavior change target, and the behavior change target did not produce movement.” That is usually six to eight weeks after the first conversation, with a diagnosis and a 30-day plan in between; the guide to managing an underperforming rep covers both.
It is the wrong tool when the team is missing too, when the rep is inside ramp, when the cause is territory, and when the honest question is role fit. Each is a different conversation, and HR belongs in the last one early.
Before you write a PIP
- The team is not missing too; half the team under target is a plan question.
- The rep is past ramp, in the same segment as last quarter, with inputs comparable to peers.
- The gap is one number against the team median and the rep’s own past, coached once with a written target that did not move.
- The rep has heard the gap, the number and the consequence before today; a PIP that is the first conversation about the problem reads as a termination notice.
- The gap is not tied to leave, a health condition, pregnancy or an accommodation the rep has asked for, and the rep has not just returned from leave or raised a complaint; if any of these might apply, HR decides whether a PIP is the right step before you write one.
- HR has reviewed your company’s process and you have checked what your country requires; notice and documentation rules differ by jurisdiction.
The sales PIP template (copy the table)
Ten sections, in a shared document the rep can open at any time. The example column follows one illustrative rep: proposal-to-close conversion of 15% over two quarters against a team median of 35%, activity and new pipeline at the median, diagnosed as a closing-stage gap and coached for 30 days without movement.
Note
A template, and not legal advice
What a PIP must contain, how long it runs, what notice is required and what must be offered before any termination differ by country and by company policy. Check with HR or an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction before you start one, and have HR review the document before the rep sees it. Use only calls recorded under your company’s recording policy and the consent rules where your reps and buyers are.
| Section | What to write | Example (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The gap | One sentence, one number, the comparison, the period. No adjectives. | Proposal-to-close 15% over two quarters against a team median of 35%, on 40 proposals. |
| 2. The evidence | The report, and what rules out team, ramp and territory. | Opportunity history by owner; activity and new pipeline at the median. |
| 3. What was already done | The coaching to date, with dates, targets and results. | 30-day plan from Aug 4: a decision-maker on a call before any proposal; reached on 4 of 12; conversion unchanged. |
| 4. The diagnosis | The cause in one sentence, as a hypothesis the rep has heard and answered. | Proposals go to a champion who cannot sign; deals then stall. |
| 5. Leading indicators | Two behaviors the rep can do this week, each with a weekly target. | Decision-maker on a call for 8 of 10 proposals; two engaged contacts on every open deal over $20k. |
| 6. The lagging result and date | The number the plan exists to move, and its date. | Conversion on deals proposed after day 1 at 30% or better, and $120k closed-won, by day 90. |
| 7. Your commitments | Your actions, with dates. | Two calls reviewed weekly, notes within 48 hours; a joint call in weeks 1 and 2; approvals inside two days. |
| 8. The check-ins | Day, time, length, where the numbers live. | Tuesdays 09:00, 20 minutes; the weekly table below, filled by the rep beforehand. |
| 9. Both outcomes | What closing the gap earns, what happens if it does not, who decides and when. | Closed by day 90: plan ends. Not closed: the role conversation with HR within five working days. |
| 10. Acknowledgment | Both signatures, the date, HR’s review date. | Signed Sep 8 by both; HR review Sep 5. |
Section 9 is the one most templates leave out. The same analysis puts it plainly: “A real PIP has two written outcomes.” In one, the rep closes the gap and stays; in the other, the rep does not, and the path to separation is set out in advance. Leaving the second unsaid protects no one.
The 30/60/90-day plan with leading indicators per phase
Each phase proves one thing: the first 30 days that the rep does the new behavior, the next 30 that the behavior changes the funnel, the last 30 that the result follows. Weekly targets mean that by week three you know whether the diagnosis was right.
| Phase | What it proves | Leading indicators, weekly | Checked at the end of the phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1–30 | The rep does the new behavior | Decision-maker on a call for 8 of 10 proposals; two engaged contacts on every open deal over $20k | Both at target in three of four weeks; nothing moved by week 3 means revisit the diagnosis |
| Days 31–60 | The behavior changes the funnel | Both held; conversion on deals proposed since day 1 at 25% or better; at most two deals past the stale line | Conversion trend on plan-period deals; close dates pushed on them |
| Days 61–90 | The result follows | Both held; conversion at 30% or better; $120k closed-won (the rep’s plan for the 90 days is $150k) | The day-0 result; the decision written with HR within five working days |
Which metrics go on the plan follows from the diagnosed gap. Two leading and one lagging, never more.
| Metric | Leading or lagging | Use it when the gap is |
|---|---|---|
| Activities per week | Leading | Effort that used to be there; the rep sets the floor |
| New opportunities created | Leading | Prospecting |
| Decision-maker on a call before proposal | Leading | Deals stalling late |
| Conversion at one stage | Leading for the plan, lagging for the rep | A skill gap at that stage |
| Deals past the stale line (7, 14 or 21 days by cycle length) | Leading | Neglected deals (pipeline hygiene checklist) |
| Win rate and closed-won against plan | Lagging | The day-90 check, never a weekly target |
What support does the manager commit to?
Specific actions with dates, written into the plan, the first delivered before the rep’s first week is measured. A PIP that lists only what the rep must do is a warning letter with a calendar.
| Commitment | By when |
|---|---|
| Two call reviews at the gap stage | Weekly, notes within 48 hours |
| A joint call the rep runs | Weeks 1 and 2, debrief the same day |
| What is yours to fix (account list, engineer on demos, slow approval) | A date per item, before week 1 is measured |
| Written check-in summary the rep confirms | Within 24 hours of every check-in |
Your commitments go in the weekly table too; four weeks in which you delivered everything and nothing moved says look at the diagnosis. You do not commit to an outcome, and no target changes mid-plan without the rep and HR in the room.
The weekly check-in: cadence and the table to fill
Weekly, same day and time, 20 minutes, numbers first. Every two weeks loses the week-three signal; daily turns a plan into supervision. The rep fills the row before the meeting from the same reports you use.
| Week | Decision-maker on a call (target 8 of 10) | Two contacts on deals over $20k (target all) | Proposal-to-close so far | Your commitment delivered | Note, and the rep’s one change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 of 9 | 7 of 12 | Too early | Two calls reviewed | Ask who signs on the discovery call itself |
| 2 | 7 of 8 | 10 of 12 | Too early | Joint call held | Hold; single-threaded deals join the next joint call |
| 3 | 8 of 10 | 12 of 12 | 1 of 3 | Approval in one day | Both at target; the diagnosis holds |
| 4 | 9 of 10 | 11 of 11 | 2 of 6 | Two calls reviewed | Phase 1 met; phase 2 targets confirmed, copy to HR |
The 20 minutes, in order.
- Minutes 0 to 3, the numbers. The rep reads the row aloud, never you.
- Minutes 3 to 10, what got in the way. Ask, then write the answer in the rep’s words.
- Minutes 10 to 14, your side. Which commitments landed, and what you fix by when.
- Minutes 14 to 18, next week’s one change. The rep picks it.
- Minutes 18 to 20, the summary. Read it back; send it the same day; the rep confirms by reply.
Watch out
Week 3 with no movement
Do not extend. If neither leading indicator has moved after three honest weeks, the diagnosis was wrong, and another month keeps the wrong target. The same analysis says to revise the plan rather than extend it when the leading indicators have not moved after three weeks. Revise it in writing with the rep and HR. If you are thinking of ending it early, take that to HR or an employment lawyer first; the length you wrote down may count as a commitment.
How diffi helps
The PIP stays yours and HR’s. diffi connects Salesforce or HubSpot read-only (it does not write to your CRM) and answers a rep’s deals created, activity count, open pipeline, win rate and sales cycle days, with nightly snapshots so “how has this moved over four weeks” has an answer. Before a check-in you can ask what changed this week for that rep, such as stage moves, close dates pushed and amounts changed, and what was said on calls the visible “diffi Notetaker” bot joined. Each rep’s file keeps a summary, a timeline across the sources you connect and active signals with their evidence. The plan, the notes and the decision stay yours; diffi shows a trend when you ask and does not flag a drop against a rep’s own past on its own. Book a demo to see the person file on your CRM data.
See it on your own team“PIP = firing”: what people say on Reddit, and how an honest PIP differs
Add “reddit” to the search and you get the rep’s side. The common perception there is that a PIP is a termination with a start date: the decision was taken before the document existed, the 30/60/90 days are the paper trail, and the sensible response is to start interviewing. Sometimes it is accurate, which is why your rep may hold it too. The same analysis draws the line at the diagnosis: written without one, a PIP is a firing document; written from a real one, it is a coaching document.
- It comes third, after a diagnosis and a coached 30-day plan; section 3 shows them with dates.
- It is graded weekly on behaviors, with quota as the day-90 confirmation.
- Your commitments are in it, with dates, and you deliver yours first.
- Both outcomes are written on day 0, including what closing the gap earns.
- Nothing is measured that the rep cannot see, and HR was in it before day 0; say so.
If you cannot write both outcomes honestly, or would not revise the plan if the diagnosis proved wrong, do not call it a PIP. Have the role conversation instead, with HR, this week.
Frequently asked questions
When should you put a sales rep on a PIP?
When the gap is one specific number, it has been coached at least once with a written target and a date, and the target did not move. That is usually six to eight weeks after the first conversation, with a 30-day plan in between. Do not start one while the team is missing too, while the rep is inside ramp, or when the cause is territory, and involve HR before you write it.
How long should a sales performance improvement plan be?
90 days by default, in three 30-day phases, because one sales cycle has to pass before the lagging number means anything. On a cycle under 30 days, 60 days can be enough. On a cycle over 90 days, judge day 90 on the leading indicators and the pipeline created, and say so on day 0. Some companies fix the length by policy, so check with HR before you set it.
What metrics should a sales PIP include?
Two leading indicators the rep can move every week and one lagging result with a date. Pick the leading ones from the diagnosed gap: activities per week for effort, new opportunities created for prospecting, a decision-maker on a call before proposal for deals that stall late, conversion at one stage for a skill gap there. The lagging one is usually closed-won against plan or conversion over the plan period.
Is a PIP just a way to fire someone?
Sometimes, and reps often assume so; the common view in discussions of sales PIPs is that the decision is made before the document is written. An honest one differs in ways a rep can check: it follows a diagnosis and a coached attempt, it is graded weekly on behaviors, the manager’s commitments are in it with dates, both outcomes are written on day 0, and the rep sees every number the manager sees.
What should a manager do during a PIP?
Deliver the written commitments first and keep every check-in. Review two calls a week with notes within 48 hours, run a joint call in each of the first two weeks, fix what is yours to fix (approvals, the account list, support), send a written summary within 24 hours of every check-in, and give the rep the same numbers you see before the meeting. Revise the plan in writing if nothing has moved by week 3.
What happens at the end of a sales PIP?
One of the two outcomes written on day 0. If the gap closed, the plan ends, the weekly table stays for a quarter, and you say what closing it earned. If it did not, the role conversation happens with HR on the date the document already named. The decision is written from the weekly summaries within a few working days, and it is never a surprise to the rep, because the table told the story week by week.
Do you need HR to put a sales rep on a PIP?
Treat it as required. What a PIP must contain, how long it runs, what notice is due and what must be offered before any termination differ by country and by company policy, and getting it wrong exposes the company and is unfair to the rep. This page is a template and it is not legal advice; check with HR or an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction before you start, and have HR review the document before the rep sees it.