The Spreadsheet That Decided My Worth

I was working at a sales brokerage when I first realized how wild our “performance tracking” process really was.

My boss would call and start with the same question every time:

“How much did you sell Bass Pro for Client A last year?”

I’d mentally run the numbers and give a ballpark estimate.

“And what about Client B?”

They were literally working down a spreadsheet, trying to figure out if I’d sold enough to justify my salary for the year.

Why, of course I did 😏

We’d go through all of my customer and client relationships this way, and then came the kicker:

“How much will you sell this year?”

Naturally, I’d pad the number—10–20% above last year’s sales—to keep it optimistic.

The call would end, and I’d go back to selling.

I never saw that spreadsheet again.

The Problem With This Approach

This ritual was repeated every single year for the next seven years. There was no shared data, no real visibility, and no consistent process for measuring performance—just a spreadsheet hidden somewhere in my boss’s files, holding my fate.

It wasn’t just inefficient—it was risky:

• Numbers were based on memory and estimates, not actual tracked data

• No central source of truth for sales, revenue, or client performance

• No way to spot trends, forecast accurately, or share progress

The Turning Point

As my responsibilities (and frustrations) grew, I started advocating for a CRM that could handle our unique needs as a multi-client brokerage. We needed:

• Real-time sales data

• Revenue tracking by client and customer

• Accessible dashboards for leadership

• A consistent way to forecast growth

Because the truth was, I wasn’t just tired of defending my value every year—I wanted a system where my value was clear in the data.

The Lesson

If your sales performance lives in a hidden spreadsheet, you’re not managing—it’s guesswork.

The right CRM doesn’t just store data. It makes performance visible, forecasting easier, and strategy more intentional. It turns the annual “prove your worth” conversation into a shared, data-backed plan for growth.

If you’re still living in spreadsheet land and want a CRM that fits your business model, let’s talk.