Sales Enablement
The sales competency matrix that makes promotions undeniable
Gaultier Beauchesne
CSO & Co-founder @Eagr
🎧 From the Eagr to sell podcast episode with Lyes Boukeroui. Watch on YouTube.
Key takeaways
A sales competency matrix defines, by role and by level, the measurable skills you expect from a rep.
Tie it to OKRs and pay, and promotions become factual decisions instead of gut calls.
Moving up a level needs both the quantitative boxes and the manager's sign-off, and it triggers a 5 to 10% base raise.
It buys you two things: full transparency, so favoritism dies, and flexibility, so a top profile can move up at six months and a slow burner at fourteen.
It's as much a management tool as an HR one.
Promotion is one of the touchiest moments on a sales team.
Without a frame, it slides into a subjective call. Frustration, perceived favoritism, all of it riding on a decision that touches someone's pay.
And the feeling runs deep. Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees: 82% say they work in an environment they don't consider fair (Gartner).
A sales competency matrix takes that head-on. It makes every move factual. Few teams have one.
That's what Lyes Boukeroui explains, drawing on his time at Uptoo.
What a sales competency matrix is
A sales competency matrix is a reference grid.
It defines, for each role (SDR, AE, AM) and each level, the observable, measurable skills you expect.
A fuzzy question ("is she ready for the next level?") becomes a list of boxes to tick.
Lyes got the idea somewhere unusual. He used to be a semi-pro football referee, and there every match got scored by category and sub-category. He carried the same logic into sales.
"I'm a former semi-pro football referee, and we had a grid for every match. We got scored by category and sub-category. I drew on those grids to build the competency matrices at Uptoo."
Lyes Boukeroui, RevOps expert (ex-Uptoo)
The result is concrete items, the kind a rep can't really argue with.
The model: by role, by level, measurable
The model breaks each role into progressive levels, each with numbered expectations.
Here's a fuller example for an SDR, across four dimensions.
Volume · SDR1 : 100 calls/day · SDR2 : 130 calls/day · SDR3 : 150 calls/day
Sales method · SDR1 : Follows the script · SDR2 : Owns the script · SDR3 : Talks to a CEO without a net
Opening · SDR1 : Books meetings · SDR2 : Qualified meetings, few no-shows · SDR3 : Cracks tough accounts
Qualification · SDR1 : Gathers the basics · SDR2 : Identifies the decision-maker · SDR3 : Maps the whole buying circuit
Autonomy · SDR1 : Supervised · SDR2 : Self-running · SDR3 : Trains others
Each role gets its own matrix, broken down by level. SDR, AE, AM, specialist.
You assess the rep on a fixed rhythm. Quarterly, biannual, or annual, depending on the profile.
Tying it to OKRs and pay
The matrix on its own is just a table.
What gives it weight is tying it to OKRs and pay.
Moving from SDR1 to SDR2 needs two conditions, both of them:
Tick the quantitative boxes (call volume, deals closed, OKRs hit).
Get the manager's sign-off on the qualitative skills.
Crossing a level then triggers a 5 to 10% base raise.
Pay and role decisions ride on public criteria. Everyone knows them, before the promotion even comes up.
The two upsides: transparency and flexibility
A well-built matrix buys you two things: transparency and flexibility.
Transparency first. The right people move up, no favoritism, because everyone knows the rules of the game.
The charismatic rep who's weak on fundamentals doesn't pass. You're scoring measurable behaviors. Charisma ticks no boxes.
Flexibility next. It breaks the annual-review trap.
A great profile ticks the boxes after six months? She moves up after six months.
A slow-burner takes fourteen months? He moves up in month fourteen, with no artificial wait until month twenty-four.
The reps who struggle in year one and then take off keep their full shot. And that matters: per Gartner, fewer than one employee in three has a clear view of how they'll grow in their career over the next five years. The matrix gives them that view.
How to build yours
Building your matrix takes five steps. Count on a few hours for the first version, then you iterate.
List your roles. Break each one into 2 to 4 levels. No more, or crossing a rung loses its meaning.
Define observable items. Not "good at closing." More like "hits X% conversion from second meeting to signature."
Mix quantitative and qualitative. OKRs tick the numbered boxes, the manager validates real mastery.
Link each rung to pay. A clear comp band, known in advance.
Reassess on a fixed rhythm. Without waiting for the annual review to act on a deserved promotion.
One tip for the start: write the matrix with two or three top performers from each role.
They know what "done well" looks like better than anyone. That anchors the matrix in reality, not in a theoretical job description.
That leaves the hardest part to pin down: how well a rep actually owns the sales method. Eagr scores playbook adherence from each rep's real calls, so you can replicate your best reps across the team. See how Eagr works.
Common mistakes
Four traps come up again and again when a team gets started.
Fuzzy items. "Good attitude" or "sales instinct" can't be measured. If two managers score it differently, rewrite the item.
Too many levels. Seven rungs per role, and each move becomes tiny. Two to four levels is enough.
A matrix with no pay attached. A grid that unlocks nothing ends up ignored. Linking it to comp is what gives it stakes.
Frozen forever. The market shifts, the playbook changes. A matrix you never revisit turns into a museum. Review it once or twice a year.
FAQ
What is a sales competency matrix for? It makes evaluation and promotions objective. It defines, by role and by level, the measurable skills you expect, which kills favoritism and gut-call decisions.
How do I link the matrix to promotions? By making a level-up conditional on two things at once: the quantitative boxes (OKRs) and the manager's sign-off on skills, with a 5 to 10% base raise attached.
Do I need a separate matrix per role? Yes. SDR, AE, AM, and specialists don't carry the same expectations. Each role breaks down into progressive levels with its own items.
How many levels per role? Two to four. Enough to mark real progression, few enough that each move stays a visible, motivating milestone.
How often should I assess? On a fixed rhythm (quarterly, biannual, or annual depending on the profile), but never block a deserved promotion until the next annual review.
How do I make qualitative skills objective? Tie them to behaviors you can see in real calls (following the script, going after the decision-maker, digging into budget) rather than a general impression.
Sources
Gartner: 82% of employees say their work environment isn't fair
Eagr to sell podcast, episode with Lyes Boukeroui (RevOps, ex-Uptoo)
This article comes from an episode of the Eagr to sell podcast with Lyes Boukeroui. Watch the full episode on YouTube.
