Your Sales Team Doesn’t Have a Strategy Problem — They Have a Focus Problem

Working with sales professionals, I’ve noticed a common theme—focus is a struggle. No matter their age, location, or role, sales reps and leaders face the same challenge: staying locked in on what actually moves the needle.

And honestly? It’s not their fault. We live in a world designed for distraction. Notifications from apps you don’t even use anymore. Emails from people you don’t know. Cold calls and texts from who knows where. Everything is fighting for your attention. The modern world wasn’t built for focus—it was built to keep you distracted.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: Those distractions—many disguised as productivity—are the reason we’re not seeing the results we want. Think about it… how hard is it for the average person to focus on one task for more than 30 minutes? Be honest. And if focus is that fragile, how can we expect to get the most out of ourselves and our teams?

As a leader, maybe you’re thinking: Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about that? Maybe the answer is to find more focused people. Sure, that’s one way. Or… you could help your team fix the problem at its core and watch their productivity (and results) skyrocket.

From my conversations with sales professionals, here are three simple, immediate ways to improve focus:

1. Make sure each team member is clear on their top priority. Most people love to think they have multiple priorities. But that’s not how priorities work. At any given time, one task is more important than the others. That’s the priority. If your team doesn’t know what that one thing is, they’ll spin their wheels, jumping from task to task, feeling productive but making little impact. As a leader, your job is to make sure each rep knows exactly what their top priority is right now. No guesswork.

2. Encourage your team to take mindfulness breaks. Mindfulness is the foundation of focus. If you can’t control your attention in a quiet moment, how do you expect to control it in a chaotic sales environment? The real issue isn’t always external distractions—it’s that most people are mentally distracted before they even pick up the phone. Their minds are stuck in the past, overanalyzing a bad call, or worrying about the future, stressing over how many deals they need to close. Helping your team build short mindfulness habits (even just 60 seconds of intentional breathing) can reset their focus and improve how they show up in their next conversation.

3. Eliminate distractions. Saying “avoid distractions” is cute, but let’s be real—it’s hard to avoid picking up your phone when it’s right next to you. It’s hard to ignore emails when notifications keep popping up. The best way to avoid distractions? Remove them completely.

Close the email tab. Hide your phone. If you work from home, maybe even lock your family out of the room (at your own risk, of course). As a leader, you can help by encouraging your team to create distraction-free environments. Better yet—check in with them. Ask, What’s your biggest distraction right now? and What’s one thing you can do to eliminate it today? You’d be surprised how much that one conversation can change things.

Lack of focus is a real problem. And it’s costing your sales team deals, opportunities, and money. But the good news? It’s 100% fixable. The best sales teams aren’t just skilled at selling—they’re skilled at locking in on what matters.

If you want your team to develop the mental skills needed to focus under pressure and execute at a higher level, let’s talk. Shoot me a DM or email me at [email protected] and I’ll show you how we help teams build these skills for real, sustainable growth.