You’ve done everything right.
You’ve defined the role for success, used data and metrics to make objective hiring decisions, and even built an onboarding program focused on your buyer—micro-chunked so new reps can easily learn and apply it.
And yet…
Your salespeople are still missing their quotas.
It’s frustrating. Especially when you’ve followed every “best practice” the experts recommend.
But here’s what I’ve found, after years of working with founders, executives, and sales teams at every level:
The problem isn’t who you hire—it’s who leads them.
this week: WHAT A FAILED SALES HIRE REALLY COSTS YOU (AND HOW TO AVOID IT)
Can you imagine spending $250K on recruiter fees—only to have those hires fail within six months? With 75% of sales hires failing and 33% fired in the first year, the odds aren’t in your favor.
Join me and Ben Tagoe, CEO of Objective Management Group, on Wednesday, October 22 at 11:30 EST to learn how to hire right the first time.
The Hidden Cost of a Failed Sales Hire
- Not only has the cost of a failed sales hire skyrocketed, but the number of reps actually meeting quota has significantly decreased.
- 75% of sales reps miss their quota.
- And of those who succeed, 16% generate 83% of total revenue.
If you’ve hired well and onboarded effectively, why are results still falling short?
Because even the most talented rep will struggle if their environment isn’t set up for success.
And the biggest influence on that environment isn’t the product, the comp plan, or the pipeline—it’s the sales manager.
The Middle Manager Problem (and Why It’s Not Their Fault)
I once knew a sales manager who ate lunch in the bathroom stall just to get five minutes of peace.
He wasn’t bad at his job—he was exhausted. Pulled into strategy meetings, pricing discussions, and reporting deadlines, with no time left to actually coach his team.
We often point the finger at middle managers for poor performance, but rarely ask:
How are we supporting them?
The truth is, most sales managers were never trained to coach. They were promoted for being great sellers, not great leaders.
And even those who want to coach are often so overworked that “coaching” gets replaced by pipeline reviews and performance check-ins.
Culture Eats Process for Breakfast (and Pizza for Lunch)
It’s a bit like trying to lose weight while you’re surrounded by chocolate cake and pepperoni pizza.
You might know what to do—eat right, exercise—but if your environment doesn’t support it, you’ll eventually fall back into old habits.
The same happens with sales teams. I can train a salesperson to adopt better habits, but once they return to a culture that doesn’t reinforce them, those gains fade fast.
Environment shapes behavior. Coaching sustains it.
When Manager Beliefs Become Contagious
Here’s something that surprised even me:
A manager’s mindset doesn’t just influence—it spreads.
Research shows that manager beliefs “infect” their team at a rate of 355%.
If a manager believes “people just need to think it over,” or “we have to offer the best price to win,” those assumptions quietly trickle down until the entire team starts to sell the same way.
Coaching isn’t just about accountability—it’s about modeling the mindset and behavior you want replicated across your team.
watch this month's video
The Missing Equation in Sales Performance
When sales managers spend at least 50% of their time coaching, and they’ve been properly trained to do it, their teams develop 49% more skills. That’s the difference between surviving and scaling.
Coaching isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the multiplier that transforms individual performers into a high-functioning team.
The Solution: Build Managers Who Coach
You can’t fix performance problems with hiring alone.
You fix them by developing managers who know how to coach—who can turn process into practice, and potential into performance.
That’s exactly what we’ll be unpacking in our upcoming live session:
What a Failed Sales Hire Really Costs You (and How to Avoid It)
Wednesday, October 22 at 11:30 AM ET
With Ben Tagoe, CEO of Objective Management Group
We’ll share the latest data, the mindset shifts that drive success, and the steps to take before, during, and after hiring to make sure your reps actually ramp—and stay—successful.
👉 Reserve your seat here
What’s your take?
Have you seen great sales hires fail because of management or environment?
Or maybe you’ve experienced the difference that real coaching makes?
💬 Share your experience in the comments below—your insight might be exactly what another leader needs to read today.
And if this resonated with you, please share this post with another sales leader or founder who’s struggling to understand why their “perfect hires” aren’t working out.
Together, we can start building sales teams that are coached to succeed, not just trained to perform.
