Sales Performance Improvement Plan: A Template and How to Run It

Marco has run his field territory for two years, and for the last two quarters he's been at 58% of quota. His manager, Lena, has the HR form open on her laptop. She also has a problem: she has been on two ride-alongs with him all year, and she can't say for sure why he's missing. (Marco and Lena are a composite, not real people.)

Most managers writing a sales performance improvement plan know its reputation: a paper trail for a decision already made. Search the term and one of the top results is an r/sales thread from a manager who doesn't want the plan to feel demoralizing.

That worry is fair. A PIP can also be the most useful document a struggling rep ever gets, if it names the real cause and gives them goals they can hit.

This guide gives you a copy-ready template, a table to diagnose the cause before you write anything, the pipeline math for setting fair goals, a filled 60-day example and a weekly check-in log.

One note before we start: employment rules differ by country, state and contract. Treat this as a sales management guide, not legal or HR advice, and have HR or an employment lawyer review any plan before it goes to a rep.

What is a sales performance improvement plan?

A sales performance improvement plan (PIP) is a written, time-boxed agreement that names a rep's performance gap with data, sets measurable goals to close it, lists the support the manager will provide and states what happens at the end. Most run 30 to 90 days.

It's not the same as a coaching plan. A coaching plan is informal and ongoing, and every rep should have one; our guide to AI sales coaching for field teams shows how to run it from real calls. A PIP is formal: it's documented, HR usually sees it, and it has a stated outcome. If the rep hasn't heard about the problem before the PIP meeting, you skipped the coaching step.

Missing quota alone doesn't make a PIP case either. In Salesforce's State of Sales survey of 5,500 sales professionals, run in spring 2024, 84% of reps said they had missed quota the year before. When most of a team misses, look at the quotas before you look at the reps.

Before you write one: is this a PIP problem?

A PIP only works when the gap is something the rep can change. Run through this table first, using CRM data and at least one observed meeting.

Priya's case shows why this matters. She took over a territory in March, and by June she was at 61%. Her manager's first draft of a PIP called for 25 new opportunities. The diagnosis found that her largest account had moved purchasing to a head office outside the region, taking about a fifth of the territory's revenue with it.

The fix was a territory change and a revised quota, not a plan Priya could never have passed. (Priya is also a composite.)

If the cause is ramp, our sales onboarding plan covers ramped quotas. If the quota itself looks off, see how to set a sales quota.

Struggling to see what happens in meetings you can't attend? ParrotNotes lets a rep dictate a two-minute debrief in the car after each visit and turns it into a summary and action items you can both read. Download ParrotNotes free.

What goes in a sales performance improvement plan

Every solid sales PIP has seven parts:

1. The gap, with numbers. "Quota attainment 58% over two quarters vs a team median of 94%", not "below expectations".
2. The cause you found. One or two sentences from the diagnosis above, so the goals make sense.
3. Measurable goals. Each one with a number, a date and a data source. Use our SMART goals template if you want a format.
4. Timeline. Long enough for the goals to show up in the data (more on this below).
5. Support from the manager. Specific and dated: ride-alongs, call reviews, training, territory help.
6. Check-in schedule. Weekly is the norm, with a written record each time.
7. Possible outcomes. What success looks like, when the plan might be extended, and that HR will handle any next step if it isn't met.

The fifth part gets the least attention, and it matters most. Gallup research by Beck and Harter found that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. A plan that only lists what the rep owes is half a plan.

The sales performance improvement plan template (copy it)

Copy this into a doc and fill it in before the kickoff meeting. Keep it to one page.

SALES PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Rep:                    Role / territory:
Manager:                HR contact:
Start date:             Review date:            Length: __ days

1. THE GAP (data, last 2 quarters)
   Result:                  Team median:          Rep:
   Leading metric 1:        Team median:          Rep:
   Leading metric 2:        Team median:          Rep:

2. CAUSE FOUND (diagnosis, 1-2 sentences)

3. GOALS (each: metric, target, by when, data source)
   Goal 1 (leading):
   Goal 2 (leading):
   Goal 3 (pipeline):
   Goal 4 (process):
   Tracked, not pass/fail: closed revenue

4. MANAGER SUPPORT (what, how often, dates)
   -
   -

5. CHECK-INS
   Day and time:            Format:            Notes kept by:

6. OUTCOMES
   Met: plan closes, normal coaching continues.
   Mostly met, clear progress: may be extended once, for __ days.
   Not met: next steps handled with HR.

7. REP'S COMMENTS (optional, rep writes this)

Signatures (acknowledges receipt, not agreement):
Rep:            Manager:            HR:

Two lines in that template are there on purpose. Rep's comments gives the rep a place to put their view on record. And the signature line says "acknowledges receipt", because a rep can sign that they received the plan without agreeing with it. Check the exact wording your HR team uses.

Set goals the rep can control: the pipeline math

The most common PIP mistake in sales is a closed-revenue goal on a timeline shorter than the sales cycle. If deals take 75 days to close, a 60-day plan mostly measures pipeline the rep built before it started.

So split the goals. Lagging results (closed revenue, quota attainment) get tracked. Leading activities (first meetings, qualified opportunities, pipeline created) get the pass or fail targets. Our guide to sales KPIs explains the split in more detail.

Then work backward from the quota to the weekly activity. Here's the math for Marco:

His win rate is in line with the team. His problem is the top of the funnel: four first meetings a week can't feed nine wins a quarter. You can check your own team's numbers with the win rate calculator.

That one table changes the conversation. Instead of "close more", the plan says "book eight first meetings a week", which Marco controls from Monday.

A filled example: a 60-day plan for a field rep

Here's the core of Lena's plan for Marco, using the template above.

Lena's support section was just as specific:

• A ride-along every other Tuesday (four in total)
• A 25-minute sales call review of one first meeting each fortnight, with Marco's consent to record it
• Two hours of prospect list building together in week 1
• Taking two low-value service accounts off Marco's list to free one day a fortnight

Notice what's missing: there's no goal about attitude or effort. Every target has a number Marco can check himself on Friday afternoon.

Run the plan: kickoff meeting and weekly check-ins

The kickoff meeting should happen face to face or on video, never by email. Walk through the data first, then the cause, then the goals. Ask the rep what they think is getting in the way, and add anything useful to the plan before anyone signs. Our guide to performance review meeting notes covers how to take notes both sides trust, including a consent script if you want to record.

Weekly check-ins take 20 minutes and use the same structure each time. Our one-on-one meeting template works as the agenda. Keep a log like this one:

The support delivered column keeps you honest. If you promised a ride-along and cancelled it, the log shows that, and so would any later review.

Send the log entry to the rep the same day and ask them to reply with corrections. A record both of you have confirmed is worth far more than private notes written a month later.

Spend the check-in coaching, not typing. With the rep's consent, record the check-in on ParrotNotes and get a summary and action items to paste into the log, with no meeting bot involved because the phone is in the room. Try ParrotNotes free.

How a sales PIP ends

At the review date, compare each goal with the log. Then pick one of three outcomes:

Lena's review on day 60 looked like this. Marco averaged 8.4 first meetings a week from week 3 and logged a next step after 97% of visits. He created $210,000 of qualified pipeline against the $250,000 goal, with $95,000 of it in the last three weeks.

Lena extended the plan by 30 days on the pipeline goal alone. He crossed $250,000 in week 11, and the plan closed.

Whichever way it ends, write down the result and share it with the rep. If the plan ends in an exit, our guide to sales rep turnover covers keeping the account knowledge. For more on the HR side, SHRM publishes a guide on when and how to use performance improvement plans.

Write the plan you'd want to be handed

A sales performance improvement plan works when it's built on evidence, not frustration. The short version:

• Diagnose first. Territory, ramp and pricing problems don't belong in a PIP.
• Set goals the rep controls. Work backward from quota to weekly first meetings and pipeline.
• Write down your side. The support delivered column is the part most plans leave out.
• Keep a confirmed record. A weekly log, sent the same day, protects the rep and the manager.

Start with the sales performance improvement plan template above, and have HR review it before the kickoff meeting. If you want the record without the typing, download ParrotNotes free and capture each debrief and check-in by voice.