When problems like missed forecasts or high churn recur quarterly, the issue isn't an underperforming team (e.g., sales or CS). It's a systemic problem. Finger-pointing at individual departments masks deeper issues in cross-functional alignment, ICP definition, or process handoffs that require a holistic diagnosis.
Related Insights
The company's overall win rate was low (6-7%) and decreasing. Analysis showed this decline mirrored a drop in marketing 'signals' (e.g., event attendance, content downloads) before an opportunity was created. This provided a clear data link between mid-funnel marketing activities and sales success.
Exceptional people in flawed systems will produce subpar results. Before focusing on individual performance, leaders must ensure the underlying systems are reliable and resilient. As shown by the Southwest Airlines software meltdown, blaming employees for systemic failures masks the root cause and prevents meaningful improvement.
Because managers don't trust CRM data, they spend their time chasing reps with active deals to secure the forecast. This focus on closing existing business means ramping reps are neglected, which is a primary driver for ramp times increasing from five to nine months and high attrition.
When growth stalls, blaming a broad area like 'sales' is ineffective. A simple weekly scorecard forces founders to drill down into specific metrics like lead volume vs. conversion rate. This pinpoints the actual operational drag, turning a large, unsolvable problem into a focused, actionable one.
Go-to-market success isn't just about high-performing marketing, sales, and CS teams. The true differentiator is the 'connective tissue'—shared ICP definitions, terminology, and smooth handoffs. This alignment across functions, where one team's actions directly impact the next, is where most organizations break down.
Many leaders view GTM systems as technological (e.g., Salesforce). Instead, think of it as a living ecosystem where changes in one part (e.g., sales) create cascading impacts on others (e.g., CS). This biological framing centers people and processes, not just tools, recognizing that the system is constantly evolving.
When a product team is busy but their impact is minimal or hard to quantify, the root cause is often not poor execution but a lack of clarity in the overarching company strategy. Fixing the high-level strategy provides the focus necessary for product work to create meaningful value.
At a small company, one or two big deals can significantly inflate the average productivity per rep. This hides the fact that the majority of the team may be underperforming. As the team grows and these outliers have less impact, the true, often flatlining, productivity of the sales force is exposed.
When sales teams hit quotas but customer churn rises, the root cause is a disconnect between sales promises and operational reality. The fix requires aligning sales, marketing, and customer service around a single, unified strategy for the entire customer journey.
The primary challenge in implementing ABX is not technology or tactics, but achieving organizational balance. Sales teams often want immediate results, while true ABX is a long-term journey of building trust. Success requires joint goal-setting and flexible GTM strategies between marketing and sales leaders.
