When (and how) to create sales rules of engagement for your startup
Why and when you need it + what to put in it
Hi friends - My little company, Amplify, celebrated its 4th birthday this month! I wrote a little reflective piece on how I got here and where we’re going if you’re interested. Hot goss: I’m building SaaS(y) products for the first time!
This week - we’re going to cover Sales Rules of Engagement (ROE). Enjoy!
Here’s a scenario I see play out pretty regularly: a startup hires its second or third sales rep, and within weeks, two reps are working the same account without knowing it. Or a deal closes and nobody can agree on who gets the commission. Or a sales advisor makes an intro through their personal email and the CRM has no record of it.
These aren’t edge cases. They’re inevitabilities if you don’t have a sales rules of engagement document in place.
A rules of engagement (ROE) document is one of those things that feels like unnecessary bureaucracy when you’re small…and then feels urgently overdue the moment something goes wrong.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be complicated. The better news is — your team will be far more efficient with every ounce of clarity and structure you put in place.
When do you actually need rules of engagement?
My general guidance: if you have three or more account executives, it’s time to start drafting your ROE. If you have five or more sellers of any kind (full-time reps, part-time sellers, or sales advisors), you absolutely need one. No exceptions.
With just two reps, you can usually manage territory and deal ownership through informal conversations. But the moment you add a third person, informal agreements break down. People forget what was discussed, assumptions get made, and suddenly you’re mediating internal conflicts instead of closing deals.
The complexity increases exponentially with each new seller, especially when you start mixing full-time reps with part-time sellers and advisors who have different compensation structures.
What should your rules of engagement include?
Every startup’s ROE will look a little different, but there are core components every document should address. I’ve also created a free template you can download and customize for your team — grab it below.
Define your team structure and roles
Before you can establish rules, clearly define who plays what role. You might have full-time AEs who own deals end-to-end, part-time employees who sell alongside other responsibilities, sales advisors who make introductions but don’t manage the sales process, and channel partners who bring opportunities through their networks.
Each role has a different relationship to the deal, and your ROE needs to spell that out. For example, a sales advisor who makes a warm introduction should be credited as the referral source, but they shouldn’t be listed as the deal owner in your CRM if they aren’t responsible for the deal end-to-end. That distinction matters enormously for commission tracking and accountability.
Maintain a clear, up-to-date list of who is approved to own deals. If someone isn’t on that list, they can’t be a deal owner. Period.
Establish account ownership and territory rules
This is where most conflicts originate. Your ROE needs to answer: how are accounts assigned? How many can each rep own? What happens when a rep wants to work an account assigned to someone else?
Setting account caps (say 300-500) forces prioritization and ensures accounts are actually getting worked. You also need rules for account activity and retention — accounts with no meaningful engagement within three to six months should be subject to reassignment.
The goal isn’t to punish reps for long sales cycles; it’s to make sure named accounts receive the attention they deserve. If they aren’t after a defined timeframe — let someone else take a crack at it.
When a rep wants to pursue someone else’s account, give them a clear path: account trades by mutual agreement or collaborative selling with a commission split. Either way, document it.
Clarify deal ownership responsibilities
Deal ownership should mean end-to-end accountability, not just “I had the first meeting.” The deal owner is responsible for maintaining the deal record in your CRM with accurate stage progression, following your defined sales process including quotes and negotiations, managing all prospect communications, and maybe even following up on invoices for closed-won deals.
That last point surprises people, but it’s critical. The deal owner’s job isn’t done when the contract is signed — it’s done when cash is received. Extending ownership through collection ensures the rep stays invested in the customer relationship.
Set commission and split rules
Commission disputes are the fastest way to destroy trust on a sales team. Only approved deal owners should be eligible to receive commission, and the deal owner listed in your CRM at time of close is the commission-eligible party. Full stop.
For collaborative deals, keep it simple: limit splits to two reps maximum, use a standard 50/50 ratio, and require written documentation before the deal closes. For sales advisors, draw a clear line between referral compensation and sales commission — these are different structures that belong in separate agreements.
Address cross-sell and renewal ownership
These two areas cause the most confusion as teams grow, and they’re often left as “we’ll figure it out later.” Even if you don’t have the final answer, document the options you’re considering and set a timeline for deciding.
For renewals, there are two main approaches: the original deal owner retains the renewal (preserving relationship continuity) or the current sales territory owner or customer success rep takes it (simplifying accountability). All are defensible. The wrong answer is having no answer.
For cross-sells, decide whether reps must hand off to a different product specialist, can own it themselves with specialist support, or some hybrid. Whatever you choose, make sure the referring rep gets recognized through a referral bonus or split commission.
Define leadership involvement thresholds
Your ROE should define at what deal size leadership needs to be involved. A simple framework: for deals under a certain ACV threshold (maybe $100K), reps have full autonomy. For deals above that threshold, reps invite leadership to key conversations. Leadership can always decline, but they should have visibility.
This builds rep confidence while ensuring your highest-value opportunities get executive attention.
Require CRM hygiene and communication standards
Your rules are only as good as your CRM data. Require that all sales communications use company email addresses that are automatically logged, every deal is opened in the CRM with accurate stage progression, and regular audits are conducted to ensure compliance. This ties directly into the RevOps foundation I’ve written about before.
A few final thoughts
Your ROE doesn’t have to be perfect on day one. It’s a living document that will evolve as your team grows. Mark sections as “draft” when you’re still working through the best approach — it’s better to acknowledge a decision is in progress than to leave a gap entirely.
I’d also recommend involving your sales team in creating the ROE. The people doing the selling will surface scenarios you haven’t considered, and when reps participate in building the rules, they’re far more likely to follow them.
If you’re in the process of building your sales team and haven’t created a rules of engagement document yet, start now. Don’t wait for the first conflict — by then, the damage to trust and team cohesion is already done.
👉 Download my free Sales Rules of Engagement template to get started.
With love and gratitude -
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