2 Fatal Flaws Sabotaging Your Sales Team (And How to Fix Them Before EOY)

Sales leaders, we need to talk about your pipeline. This may be a good time to also point out - if you have moved to multiple pipeline review calls for EOY and nothing moves....this article may be for you.

Things got a lil dicey post election, and companies are definitely pulling back, cutting expenses (ugh) and tightening purse strings. This making it really tough for you to weed through what is real (in your pipeline) and what is like a unicorn when it comes to your pipeline.

It's time to forget the fluff, ignore the vanity metrics, and lean into what will truly move the needle for your team so you have a shot at moving a few of those deals before EOY - without discounting.

Here’s the high-level breakdown from my recent presentation (sprinkled with a little tough love) and a few actionable takeaways to set your team up for success as we head into the new year.

Fatal Flaw #1: Focusing on Top of Funnel (TOF) Like It’s a Magic Fix

What happens when leaders panic during uncertainty? They utter the words "we need more top of funnel". I can say that without fail, 90% of the discovery calls I've had this year, sales leaders have all said to me "we need more top of funnel". It's like when my kid says "what did you say" after everything I say to her. It's just a reflex.

She heard me.

Sounds logical to focus on top of funnel, right? More leads = more deals! But it's not always the case.'

Here’s why it backfires:

• Higher Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): The more you spend to load the top of the funnel, the less ROI you see unless your win rates skyrocket (spoiler: they won’t without a few things many seem to be missing (we call it buyer input data)).
• Time Suck for Reps: Your team wastes time on low-quality leads that could be better spent closing the deals already in motion.
• Opportunity Cost: Every resource spent on TOF is a resource not invested in guiding existing opportunities to close.

Fix: Manic Pipeline Management

Stop (slow down) on chasing the next big lead and start obsessing over the deals already in the pipeline. Here’s how:

1. Adopt an Effective Sales Methodology: Equip your team with a proven framework that zeroes in on solving real problems (not technical - you know, more visibility, more productivity, more efficiency ways to do...)
2. Demand Better CRM Data: Qualitative data matters. If your CRM is full of fluff, your pipeline is too. Have you done the CRM hygiene test? If not - here are a few resources: Killer Pipeline Meetings and, this quick blog article is great for determining how to dive DEEPER into the information that your reps do or do not get into the CRM. If you do not know why someone should buy, what problem they are solving and the impacts - the deal will continue to sit there.
3. Coach Like You Mean It: Get into the deals with your team. No more passive management—guide them through what’s needed to close. There is a great resource called the Revenue SPEED Model Deal Review Framework about HOW to coach a deal. Jump to page 13 - pull up one of your team's deals and have at it....(pic right below)
4. Focus on Buyer Milestones: Push your reps to identify and track the next yes. If the buyer isn’t moving forward, your deal isn’t either. The next yes isn't a step - it's an agreement. Does each deal have an agreement?

Fatal Flaw #2: Avoiding the No

Ah, the dreaded "no." Too many salespeople avoid it like it’s the plague, and too many leaders let them get away with it. Here’s the cold, hard truth: 71% of buyers who ghost don’t come back. If they’re going dark, they’re probably a “no,” but your team doesn’t want to face it.

Fix: Build an Opportunity Scoring System

Create a deal-scoring system that assesses:

• Problem Clarity: Does the buyer recognize their problem? Is it clearly documented in the CRM?
• Buying Process: Is there a defined process with milestones, or are we guessing?
• Buyer Behavior: Are they engaged and moving forward, or are we chasing shadows?

Pro tip: Use the data to coach your team on when to cut their losses. A clean “no” is far better than dragging out a deal that will never close.

PS. If you are using Hubspot and want a scoring system - reply below and I'll shoot you the PDF of an example.

Leadership Moves to Take Away

1. Refine Your ICP: Tighten your focus. Don’t waste time on outliers or “nice-to-have” opportunities. Trust me - as someone who loves outliers - I've had to cut my ties. It's like those 62 first dates that I went on in year 34 of my life - thinking all of them were the one. The data says that outliers aren't it - so if your team is spending time on non ICP - coach them to move on.
2. Mandate Fast Deal Reviews: No exceptions—24-48 hours is the window for reviewing key deals. If you saw Will Aitken's 's post the other day, he poked fun at sales leaders who get a little meeting heavy this time of year. It's as if every other meeting is about pipeline and reviewing deals. Reps dread these meetings - that is unless, you are truly focused on the above and helping them to help the buyer. When all you do is ask them for an update, they roll their eyes. When you switch to coaching them on what information is missing and how and why to get it - it often gets you a different result.
3. Inspect the Little Stuff: From missed milestones to vague buyer language, it all adds up.
4. Get Comfortable Walking Away: Show your team it’s okay to walk from deals that don’t align. Lead by example.

As the year wraps up, your team doesn’t need more top-of-funnel distractions—they need clarity, focus, and leadership that’s not afraid to get granular to help them help the buyer. Stop managing pipelines and asking for updates; start owning them.

P.S. If you want more info on opportunity scoring in Salesforce or to dive into anything that I have written above, let's connect and chat about your sales team's plan for 2025.

Shameless plug - please fill my holiday stocking and give me a follow on Youtube - 30 second videos that pack a punch!