The Sales Diagnosis

Your sales team isn't performing.

You know this because the deals aren't coming in.

You know this because your numbers aren't telling you you're going to get what you want and need.

You know this because fixing it feels urgent and important and you don't know where to start.

Here's what I've learned after working with hundreds of sales teams:

Stop. Just stop. Stop fixing.

Diagnose instead.

Most CEOs I've worked with want to jump straight to solutions.

It's human nature.

But the CEOs who consistently build high-performing teams?

They diagnose first.

Always.

The Three-Question Framework

Before you reorganize, re-train, or re-hire, start here:

Are your best salespeople hitting their numbers?

If yes, you don't have a people problem.

You have a replication problem.

You know what good looks like—now you need to bottle it.

Some people can be grown into high performers. Others can't.

The best leaders know the difference.

Do your salespeople know what they're selling, to whom, and why it matters to that person?

If they don't, welcome to the club.

You have a leadership problem.

You've asked them to sell something you haven't clearly defined to someone you haven't clearly identified.

This is strategy work, not sales work.

You can't outwork, out-train, or out-motivate unclear strategy.

I've repeated this mistake many times.

It doesn't work.

Are your people having enough conversations with the right prospects?

If they're not, you have an activity problem.

Either not enough activity, not the right activity, or both.

This is the easiest problem to solve and the hardest to sustain.

What Most Leaders Miss

The hardest part isn't figuring out what's wrong.

The hard part is sitting with the diagnosis long enough to get it right.

The hard part is admitting your "sales problem" might actually be your leadership problem.

The hard part is choosing one thing to fix first when everything feels urgent.

Here's what I've noticed: Most sales problems are clarity problems, consistency problems, or strategy problems.

But they're rarely "sales" problems.

The Leader's Choice

Every leader gets to choose: diagnose or medicate.

Most choose to medicate.

They throw solutions at symptoms and wonder why nothing sticks.

The leaders who build remarkable teams?

They diagnose first.

They ask better questions. They dig deeper. They resist the urge to fix everything at once.

They understand that sustainable performance comes from clear thinking, not frantic action.

Your sales team is waiting for you to lead them.

Start with the right questions.