How many salespeople start with a clear vision for success? Success for your customers, colleagues, partners, family. Maybe even a chance to make the world a little better! BAAAAAAH. You stumbled in to it?

I had a conversation on LinkedIn with a sales rep at a startup. I asked him, “Are you carrying the company on your back?” He said, “Trying.” His team has six reps. Three are trying but useless. One is untouchable, has been there the longest, and sells 60 percent of the revenue.

You work hard right? Doesn’t every salesperson think they’re working hard?

When does a boy become a man?

I spoke with one ambitious leader who said something like: “I know I have to have a hard conversation with him”, 1 week after he said: “I know I have to have a hard conversation with him” talking about an underperformer.

I had a conversation with my dad about business building:

I hope that you've begun to realize just how special Elliott is. I talk to him almost every day. He challenges me on every call. I'm getting the feeling that he won't ever let me retire, but  if he keeps making it this much fun for so many people, why would I?

Sales activity has never been higher. Reps are making 200 automated touches or 80 manual touches a day, yet half or more are “OK” missing quota.

We live in an age of infinite information. I was on the bus watching people. Scroll. Listen. Scroll. Are salespeople immune from the media's claw? Every scroll, podcast, and LinkedIn post gets scoured for the “trick” that’ll change results and lives? Did you know the average person now consumes 34 gigabytes of information a day? And yet, I still hear sales reps say something like, “I don’t know what to trust. I consume a lot but don’t improve much.”

Did you know that less than half of young adults believe they control the direction of their own lives (Cigna, 2023)? And in sales, it’s even more miserable: only 28-39% of reps are expected to hit quota (Salesforce, RepVue). The company quota, not their personal goal!