ABOUT SCOTT
My name is Scott Silbaugh, and I solve problems. More specifically, I partner with you to implement positive change. I’m in the business of “DIFFERENT”.
I offer three unique skill sets to your sales organization
Sales Strategy & Sales Effectiveness Consulting Expertise
ICF-certified Professional Coach
Success as both a Sales Leader and an Individual Contributor
I began my career as an Actuary. That’s right, an Actuary. Fortunately, I was working at a top HR Strategy Consulting firm and the leader of the compensation team saw my potential and brought me onto his team. I quickly gravitated to sales compensation, which led to a role with another top consulting firm focusing specifically on sales strategy and sales effectiveness. I loved the passion of the sales professionals we engaged with and was motivated by their ability to directly impact the success of their organizations. Sales teams are the lifeblood of every organization. However, what I saw was concerning. Smart, motivated, engaged sales leaders often had serious challenges with their sales organization that prevented them from reaching their potential. Sometimes obvious. Sometimes less so.
An example: One sales leader complained, “we’re continually missing our goals. We’re always around 90% - 95%. We have to fix this or we’re all in big trouble.” We probed and discussed corporate strategy, sales strategy, org structure, roles and responsibilities, etc. Then we got to the incentive plan and he continued, “our incentive plan pays 5% of revenue up to 90%, at which point it pays out 100% of OTE. Above 90%, there are accelerators…”
Wait. Stop. Back up. What? “Your plan pays 100% of OTE at 90% quota attainment?”, I asked. He paused, immediately seeing the problem. “Well, the reps complain that the quotas are too high”, was his retort. There was a lot there. The incentive plan (simple fix), quotas (higher degree of difficulty, but not impossible) and a culture where salespeople are running the show (that’s a longer play, but when it works!).
Taking the biggest risk of my career to date, I decided “I think I can do that” and started my career in sales. I’ve had the opportunity to work for amazing companies and sales organizations, and some less so. I’ve been the beneficiary of fantastic sales leaders, and some that I’ve long forgotten. I’ve had amazing success, and I’ve fallen flat on my face more than I care to remember. What remains consistent is that I’ve continued to learn. I want to share these learnings with you and your sales team.
Growing up a competitive swimmer, I loved my coaches who pushed and prodded me to be my best. When I stopped swimming, I coached the team. It remains the most rewarding experience of my life – personal or professional. Working with young swimmers to help them become the best version of themselves is a feeling I’m still chasing.
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to experience the power and impact of professional coaching. In my first session, my coach made observations about my team and about my approach as a sales leader that hit me like a 2 x 4 upside the head. How did I miss it? I continue to work with her to this day.
That experience made me realize that I wanted to become a professional coach. Coaching sales professionals to help them become the best versions of themselves helps me recapture that feeling of success from my youth.
I enjoy working with sales teams to diagnose, align, execute, and accelerate revenue so that organizations and their people are wildly successful.
I’m in the process of completing my ICF Coaching Certification from the Center for Executive Coaching. I’ve also earned my M.B.A. from The University of Chicago in Strategy and Finance and hold a B.S. in Actuarial Mathematics from The Ohio State University.