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Service Level Agreement

Definition

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a defined standard of expected behavior or performance for a specific type of account or activity within a set timeframe. Borrowed from technology and sales operations, SLAs in deal sourcing set minimum engagement expectations for how frequently and substantively team members interact with prospects at different priority tiers.

Context

In Ep. 6, Dan Herr describes SLAs as a tool for sourcing team management: "you have these service level agreements. And the idea is that you have an expectation of what's going to happen for certain types of accounts with a certain standard." He gives examples such as expecting all top prospects to receive outreach at least once a month, or — in a more output-oriented formulation — expecting at least a reply or meeting with top prospects once a quarter or every six months. Dan advocates for SLAs that measure outputs (engagement, replies, meetings) over inputs (emails sent, calls made), consistent with his broader Inputs vs. Outputs Metrics framework. He recommends reviewing SLA compliance in monthly group coaching sessions with the sourcing team, one of the five tiers in his Sourcing Accountability Cadence. (Ep. 6)