Every CRO has a story about the mythical 10x rep. The one who doesn’t just hit quota but consistently crushes it. They close deals others never even see. They ramp faster, build bigger pipelines, and somehow seem to always be in the right place at the right time.
It’s easy to chalk this up to talent alone. But most of the time, it’s not, it’s focus. They have clarity about which accounts to work, which to ignore, and how to spend their time. And that clarity usually comes from the system around them, not just what’s between their ears.
The core behaviors that set them apart
When you look closely, 10x reps share a few common habits that you can spot (and encourage).
First, you won’t see them hoarding thousands of accounts. They know that working fewer, better prospects beats spamming the entire CRM. In most cases, the best reps operate with a focused book of 100–150 accounts at a time. That’s it.
Second, they engage deeply. Instead of throwing out generic sequences, they multithread into the buying committee and tailor their approach. They’re consistent about follow-up. They don’t let good-fit accounts slip away because they only sent two emails.
Third, they move fast. When you give them a clean, prioritized book, they ramp in weeks, not months. They don’t waste time trying to figure out where to start.
If you want to spot a 10x rep, look for the ones who:
- Regularly return low-fit accounts instead of sitting on them
- Work a high percentage of their book every month
- Show short incubation periods between first touch and first meeting
- Convert engagement into pipeline at a higher rate than peers
Why static territories hold everyone back
Traditional territory models often sabotage these behaviors before they even start.
When you assign static lists of thousands of accounts, you create analysis paralysis. Reps spend more time picking who to call than actually calling. Over time, they default to working whoever replied last or whatever inbound showed up this week.
This chaos creates big performance gaps between your top reps and everyone else. And it has nothing to do with talent. It’s about whether reps have the structure to focus.
Building a system that produces 10x reps
The good news is you don’t have to leave this to chance. You can build a system that gives every rep the conditions to perform at their best.
It starts by making account load manageable. A smaller, dynamic book makes it possible for reps to apply real strategy to their outreach. Instead of working thousands of random accounts, they can go deep on the best ones.
Dynamic books operate on a simple principle:
- Reps get a focused book of high-scoring accounts.
- They work each account to completion—close, disqualify, or return.
- Unworked accounts get automatically retrieved and replaced.
This approach solves three big problems:
- It keeps reps engaged with only the most relevant prospects.
- It eliminates the clutter and second-guessing.
- It creates a continuous feedback loop so your data and targeting keeps improving.
Coaching focus over volume
You can’t coach pure hustle. You can coach focus.
The best managers don’t just look at activity metrics. They measure how effectively reps are engaging and progressing their accounts. If a rep is only engaging 20% of their book, that’s a coaching moment. If they’re working 90% but still not creating opportunities, that’s a different conversation.
When you review performance, ask these questions:
- What percent of the rep’s book is actively engaged?
- How quickly are they moving from first touch to meeting?
- Are they consistently returning accounts that aren’t moving?
These signals tell you more about a rep’s discipline and focus than raw activity counts ever will.
Your 10x rep checklist
To make this operational, consider creating a 10x Rep Checklist. Here’s a simple version to start with:
- Book size: 100–150 accounts
- Engagement rate: 80%+ of assigned accounts touched monthly
- Opportunity creation: 10–15% of engaged accounts progress to pipeline
- Average incubation period: <30 days from assignment to first meeting
- Return behavior: Consistent disposition of stalled accounts
Make it visible. Talk about it in team meetings. Use it to set expectations and celebrate wins.
Top performance isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter.
If you’re ready to stop relying on luck and start building a repeatable system for focus, I’d love to share more. We’ve put together a 10x Rep Checklist template you can adapt to your team. Let’s connect.
Because your next generation of top performers isn’t going to be born, they’re going to be built. And it all starts with focus.
