Why So Many Sales Teams Are Struggling to Grow – And What’s Actually Missing

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:35:00 +0000

This is our first blog post on our new website.

Most sales leaders I speak to are facing the same frustration:

“We’ve got good people… good products… but growth feels harder than it should.”

Targets creep up. Margins tighten. Customers are more demanding, less loyal, and better informed than ever. And yet, many sales teams are still being asked to grow the business using the same structures, behaviours, and approaches they’ve had for years.

The problem isn’t effort.
It’s execution.

The Hidden Challenge Inside Sales Teams

In my experience, sales teams rarely fail because they don’t care or don’t work hard enough. They struggle because:

Strategy exists, but it’s not clearly translated into daily action
Salespeople are busy, but not always focused on the right opportunities
Managers are firefighting rather than coaching
Customer conversations drift towards price instead of value
“Go-to-market” exists as a slide deck, not a living process

Over time, this creates a dangerous gap between what leadership wants to happen and what actually happens in front of customers.

Why This Is Getting Worse, Not Better

The market has changed:

Customers expect solutions, not product pushes
Procurement is tougher and better trained
Sustainability, supply assurance, and service now influence buying decisions as much as price
Sales cycles are longer, and loyalty is fragile

Yet many sales teams are still structured around volume, habit, and legacy relationships.

That mismatch is where growth stalls.

What High-Performing Teams Do Differently

The strongest sales teams I’ve worked with all share a few traits:

Clear focus on where growth will come from
Consistent, repeatable sales processes (not hero selling)
Managers who coach, not just chase numbers
Salespeople confident in leading commercial conversations
Alignment between sales, operations, and customers

None of this happens by accident. It’s designed, trained, reinforced, and reviewed.

Where I Come In

I set up Evergreen Advisory for a simple reason:
Too many businesses know what needs to change—but struggle with how to make it stick.

I work hands-on with leadership and sales teams to:

Diagnose what’s really holding growth back
Reset sales strategy and priorities
Improve customer conversations and commercial confidence
Coach managers and salespeople in real-world situations
Build practical, usable sales processes—not theory

I don’t replace your team. I work alongside them.

A Question for Sales Leaders

If you’re honest, ask yourself:

Are we clear on where our growth should come from?
Do our salespeople know why customers should buy from us?
Are managers developing people—or just reporting numbers?
Is our sales effort aligned with today’s market reality?

If any of those feel uncomfortable, you’re not alone.

I’d be genuinely interested to hear:

What’s the biggest challenge your sales team is facing right now?

Let's Discuss Your Unique Challenges