Free contractor tool
Sales Rep Promotion Criteria Builder
Describe the next role through its work, evidence and review process.
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Fictional senior-rep readiness review
Evaluate the work of the next role
| Responsibility | Work sample | Reviewer question |
|---|---|---|
| Facilitate practice | A supervised peer exercise using the approved rubric. | Was the session focused on the agreed skill? |
| Give useful feedback | Observed feedback tied to what the peer said or did. | Could the peer identify a concrete next attempt? |
A development opportunity, not an automatic result
The reviewer discusses the evidence against approved criteria. Completing the exercise does not award a title.
The next role needs evidence the current role may never have required
Promotion criteria should describe the work of the proposed role. A successful individual seller may still need to demonstrate coaching, delegation or process ownership before taking on management. Enter those next-role duties and decision authorities first. Then add the approved criteria and the evidence the reviewer will use.
Avoid turning one convenient metric into a complete definition of readiness. Sales results may be relevant, but they do not automatically show that a person can help another rep improve or manage a handoff. The review process should identify who assesses each responsibility and what development support is available.
Strong selling does not by itself demonstrate coaching
A rep can produce good individual results without having had an opportunity to coach another person. Treat that skill as unobserved until there is relevant evidence, rather than assuming strength or weakness from sales volume. For a proposed team-lead role, define the actual coaching responsibility and provide a supported career development assignment that allows the candidate to demonstrate it.
An illustrative assignment might ask the candidate to debrief one practice conversation. The reviewer observes whether they identify a specific behavior, invite the rep’s explanation and agree a useful next exercise. Leading the meeting is the activity; those observed actions are the evidence.
Provide an evidence opportunity before deciding the skill is absent
One candidate may already lead practice debriefs while another has never been asked. “No coaching example” describes missing evidence for the second person; it does not establish an inability to coach. Where the organization can support it, give that candidate a comparable assignment and explain in advance which next-role behaviors will be examined.
A coaching conversation can supply a bounded exercise: identify a specific moment, hear the rep’s explanation and agree on a useful next attempt. Keep the observer’s notes attached to the criteria. Readiness should remain a documented judgment through the authorized process, separate from whether a role or pay change is available.
Separate readiness, role availability and approval
A person can be ready for responsibilities that the organization does not currently have an open role to assign. A vacancy can exist before a candidate has demonstrated readiness. The criteria should keep those situations distinct so a development discussion is not mistaken for a promotion promise. Record the evidence still needed and the supported next opportunity through the established review process. The generator should not invent pay changes, decision authority or a guaranteed advancement timeline.
Make the criterion observable
Instead of “shows leadership,” describe the responsibility, the work sample and what the reviewer will examine.
Keep a strong individual sales result as evidence of that work. Add separate evidence for coaching or management responsibilities when those belong to the proposed role.
Define the next role before its criteria
Define the new work
List duties, authority and support needs before selecting evidence. Avoid importing the current role’s revenue target as a leadership test.
Separate approved and proposed criteria
For each duty, record an observable demonstration, source, relevant period and review owner. Mark standards awaiting approval.
Make development possible
Record a practice opportunity and available coaching. Unknown evidence means more review is needed; it is not a failed score.
Document the decision process
Confirm who decides, how disputed records are checked and which pay, reporting-line and workload changes require approval.
Questions about promotion criteria document
Does this tool select someone for promotion?
No. It drafts a role worksheet. Authorized people evaluate job-related evidence through the company process.
Is a pay dispute a promotion disqualifier?
Do not make it an automatic bar. Route the issue to qualified review; this worksheet cannot determine legal rights or a person’s outcome.
How much tenure is required?
The tool supplies no universal minimum. Define the relevant evidence period through the approved role process.
What changes after promotion?
Document approved duties, reporting line, decision authority, support and compensation before the change takes effect.