Building a Sales Culture in Organizations

Culture is everything 🙏🏾 When leaders accept or overlook poor behaviour, they implicitly endorse those actions, potentially eroding the organisation’s values and morale. To build a thriving culture, leaders must actively shape it by refusing to tolerate behaviour that contradicts their values and expectations.
 The best leaders: 
 1. Define and Communicate Core Values: * Articulate Expectations: Clearly define and communicate the organisation’s core values and behavioural expectations. Make these values central to every aspect of the organisation’s operations and culture. * Embed Values in Policies: Integrate these values into your policies, procedures, and performance metrics to ensure they are reflected in daily operations. 
 2. Model the Behaviour You Expect: * Lead by Example: Demonstrate the behaviour you want to see in others. Your actions should reflect the organisation’s values, from how you interact with employees to how you handle challenges. 3. Address Poor Behaviour Promptly: * Act Quickly: Confront and address inappropriate behaviour as soon as it occurs. Delays in addressing issues can lead to a culture of tolerance for misconduct. * Apply Consistent Consequences: Ensure that consequences for poor behaviour are fair, consistent, and aligned with organisational values. This reinforces that there are clear boundaries and expectations.
 4. Foster a Culture of Accountability: * Encourage Self-Regulation: Promote an environment where everyone is encouraged to hold themselves and others accountable for their actions. * Provide Support: Offer resources and support for employees to understand and align with organisational values, helping them navigate challenges and uphold standards.
 5. Seek and Act on Feedback: * Encourage Open Communication: Create channels for employees to provide feedback on behaviour and organisational culture without fear of reprisal. * Respond Constructively: Act on feedback to address and rectify issues. This shows that you value employee input and are committed to maintaining a positive culture.
 6. Celebrate Positive Behaviour: * Recognise and Reward: Acknowledge and reward employees who exemplify the organisation’s values. Celebrating positive behaviour reinforces the desired culture and motivates others to follow suit. * Share Success Stories: Highlight examples of how upholding values has led to positive outcomes, reinforcing the connection between behaviour and organisational success.
 7. Invest in Leadership Development: * Provide Training: Offer training and development opportunities for leaders at all levels to enhance their skills in managing behaviour and fostering a positive culture. 8. Promote Inclusivity and Respect: * Build a Diverse Environment: Create a culture that respects and values diversity. Inclusivity strengthens the organisational fabric and fosters a more collaborative and supportive work environment.

Microsoft’s wake-up call to Sales Harry Stebbings shared in a tweet today the reality of sales in 2025: “Microsoft’s layoffs weren’t a ‘replaced by AI’ story; they were a ‘replaced by better people’ story.” Facts… Microsoft (and many other companies) can’t afford sending generalist sales reps to get deals done. Especially big deals. Doesn’t work. They kept the solution engineers who knew the product inside and out, and partnered with strategic sales professionals. This isn’t about technology taking your job. It’s about your job evolving faster than you are. Too many AE’s get blindsided because they thought showing up with a feature dump and a smile would still work. That approach now carries massive risk. High chance of no deal, and if you do win, it’s probably a tiny one with a high probability of churn. Not likely you’ll achieve your quota that way. The AEs who survived operate differently - They stopped slinging software and started studying their prospects & customers business. The markets they play in. The ones still standing are: • Reading customer 10-Ks and earnings calls (not relying on legacy CRM notes) • Understanding business constraints, not just pain points • Engaging with the entire team of stakeholders-business group, operations teams, and executives - not just their primary contact • Partnering with SEs as strategic advisors, not just demo drivers. Sales is the “why”and “why now” - in business terms SEs show the “how it’s done” - in business terms • Speaking ROI and business outcomes, not feeds and speeds Here’s where AI plays a key role. Top AEs leverage technology to: • Analyze customer financials faster than ever • Prepare for calls with deeper insights • Research stakeholder backgrounds and priorities • Generate business case scenarios based on customer and market data • Free up time for the high-value conversations that matter Sales leaders are using these tools to: • Identify which AEs are engaging strategically vs. just staying busy. • Lead scoring and routing • Automating low-value tasks • Team composition That visibility is the foundation for optimizing GTM. Provides opportunities to coach and help mitigate risks. Transforms savvy managers into strategic leaders. (Follow Kyle Norton and Kevin "KD" Dorsey - bosses on how to leverage AI). Your job isn’t safe if you’re still operating like it’s 2019. But it’s (more) secure if you’re willing to become what customers actually need: A business advisor who happens to sell software, not a software seller who happens to know some business. The generalist spray-and-pray approach just got expensive. Microsoft proved that. The question isn’t whether this shift is coming to your company. The question is: Are you ready? What did I miss? What are you seeing in your market? Are the fundamentals of selling really changing this fast?

Building a sales team can be tough, especially if you're new to leading others. Many salespeople crush it when they’re out there closing deals, but when they step into a management role, things don’t always go as smoothly as expected. Why? Because selling and managing are two very different skills. When you’re on the ground, your focus is on persuasion, negotiation, and hitting targets. But when you’re building a team, it’s about developing people, setting processes, and creating an environment where others can thrive. Here’s the thing: too many sales leaders try to wing it. They assume that because they were great at selling, they’ll automatically be great at leading a team. But the truth is, leadership takes work. It requires learning new skills, being patient with your team, and sometimes stepping back so others can step up. So how do you avoid failing when building your sales team? Here’s what I’ve learned over the years: 1. Hire for Potential, Not Just Experience   You don’t need people who can already do the job perfectly. What you need are people who are hungry to learn and grow. Teachable, coachable talent will always outperform someone who thinks they already know it all. 2. Train, Train, Train   Don’t assume your team knows what you know. Create a clear onboarding process, set up regular training sessions, and give them the tools they need to succeed. Consistent coaching is key. 3. Lead by Example   Show your team what it means to be a pro. Share your strategies, walk them through your thought process, and let them see how you handle challenges. People mimic what they see, so make sure you’re setting the right example. 4. Focus on Culture   Your team’s culture will make or break you. Create an environment where people feel supported, where failure is seen as a learning opportunity, and where collaboration is encouraged. A toxic culture will drive away your best talent fast. 5. Know When to Let Go   Not everyone will work out, and that’s okay. Holding onto underperformers can drag down the whole team. Have tough conversations early, and don’t be afraid to make changes when necessary. Building a sales team isn’t just about hiring bodies—it’s about creating a machine that works even when you’re not there. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn. But if you put in the work, the payoff is worth it. If you’re struggling to build your team, take a step back and ask yourself: Am I leading, or am I just trying to sell through others? The answer will make all the difference.

Struggling to hit sales targets with a lean ops team and tighter budgets? There's a smarter way to drive conversions. For lean sales ops teams, every dollar and every minute count. Scaling sales with constrained resources demands strategic focus.  Relying solely on manual processes or guesswork leaves significant revenue untapped, especially when competing with larger teams. This is where AI becomes the ultimate force multiplier. Modern AI tools are transforming how sales ops maximize efficiency and conversion without needing massive headcount. AI empowers focused efforts through three key areas. ✔ Predictive analytics for lead scoring ensures teams target the highest-potential prospects. ✔ Personalized outreach automation enables hyper-relevant communication at scale. ✔ Workflow optimization automates administrative tasks, freeing sales reps to sell. At Software Finder, our own sales ops embodies this approach. We leverage an intelligent lead scoring model that processes historical conversion data and engagement signals. This ensures our team prioritizes the warmest leads with surgical precision, leading to significantly higher conversion rates and a more efficient sales cycle. This demonstrates how smart technology consistently outperforms sheer size. For leaders, this approach unlocks a pathway to consistent revenue growth, even with slow resource scaling. It elevates the sales focus from manual effort to strategic intelligence, ensuring every action contributes directly to conversion. This is precisely how lean teams outmaneuver competitors in today's market. What AI strategies are you deploying to maximize your sales ops conversions with a limited budget? Share your insights.

Early Leadership Traits in Budding Managers: As a business leader, I've observed some key traits that often indicate future management potential in young sales people: 1. Empathy - They genuinely care about customers' needs and build strong relationships. 2. Coachability - They're eager to learn, seek feedback, and continuously improve their skills. 3. Accountability - They take ownership of their results, good or bad, without making excuses. 4. Vision - They see the big picture beyond just hitting their quota and think strategically. 5. Collaboration - They lift up their teammates and contribute to a positive team culture. 6. Resilience - They bounce back quickly from setbacks and maintain a growth mindset. 7. Data-driven - They leverage analytics to inform their decisions and strategies. 8. Adaptability - They embrace change and thrive in dynamic environments. If you spot these qualities in your teambers, it's crucial to nurture and develop them into future leaders. Here are some ways to do that: • Provide mentoring opportunities with senior leaders • Offer stretch assignments to challenge and grow their skills • Enroll them in leadership development programs • Give them opportunities to lead small projects or initiatives • Encourage them to coach and mentor newer team members • Involve them in strategic planning discussions • Provide regular feedback and career pathing conversations By identifying and cultivating these leadership traits early on, you can build a strong pipeline of sales managers who will drive your organization's future success. What early leadership traits have you observed in your sales teams? How do you develop that potential? #SalesLeadership #TalentDevelopment #SalesManagement #CareerGrowth #SalesSuccess #LeadershipTraits #SalesCulture

Every Friday at 5 PM, our entire team pauses for fifteen minutes to do one thing: share a win from the week. No matter how small. We started this in our second year, almost by accident. Tanvi mentioned a small client win in our team group; someone replied with their own, and within minutes half the team had joined in. It wasn’t planned. It just felt good. So we kept it going. Every Friday since. The wins are usually small. A client saying “this is exactly what we needed.” A first successful cold email after weeks of silence. Someone finally solving a carousel format that had been stuck for days. No one talks about revenue in those fifteen minutes. No KPIs. No reporting. What it does is simple. It makes people feel seen for work that usually goes unnoticed. The small efforts that don’t show up in dashboards but still matter. Eight years in, we’ve grown from two people in a cafe to a team of twenty. Most early rituals didn’t survive that growth. This one did. Because it was never about wins. It was about making sure people end the week knowing their work was seen. PS: What’s one small team ritual that has done more for morale than any big initiative? #TeamCulture #Leadership #WorkCulture #FounderJourney #PeopleFirst

AI is transforming productivity across industries but sales is still a frontier waiting to be unlocked. Bain & Company’s research shows that while generative and agentic AI are already freeing up hours of work in marketing and operations, adoption in sales is lagging behind. That’s surprising, because sales is one of the most time-intensive, high-impact functions and even small conversion gains can deliver outsized business results. For CMOs, CROs, and GTM leaders, the opportunity is clear: use AI to give sellers back time, improve decision-making, and boost win rates. And here’s what often gets overlooked: buyer-group expansion and engagement are two of the most powerful drivers of those win rates. The more effectively teams can identify, engage, and influence the full buying committee- the CIO, the CFO, the head of engineering, security, procurement- the greater the likelihood of advancing and winning deals. AI can now do this at a scale and speed that simply wasn’t possible before. AI in sales isn’t about replacing people, it’s about equipping them with better tools. The organisations that act early will be the ones to capture the biggest gains. At Thoughtworks, we’ve been actively working toward this vision. Our award-winning PerformanceAI agent removes the need for sales and marketing teams to click through endless dashboards and instead delivers insights in plain English, on demand. Less time on analysis and more time on insight and action. We’re also reducing manual work through automation, from data entry to intelligence orchestration. We’ve invested in tooling that mines sellers’ conversations across voice, email, and calendar to extract key signals, map the buying group, and match insights to the right accounts and opportunities. And in the AI era, adoption in sales has become much simpler. The technology runs quietly in the background rather than becoming another system sellers need to feed. When human input is needed, we’re moving toward a voice-first experience so no navigating complex CRM interfaces, and sellers can make updates on the go right after a client meeting. How is your team approaching AI in sales today? Let me know in the comments.

When burnout's the trigger. Your team's already in flames. Too often, companies treat mental health like a fire alarm. Something to address only when the flames are already burning. Employees are overworked and overwhelmed. Stress builds up silently until it turns into exhaustion. Performance drops, engagement fades, and before long people start leaving. And then businesses start looking for solutions. They roll out wellness initiatives, schedule workshops, and send emails about mental health awareness. But by then? The damage is already done. Well-being shouldn’t be an emergency response. The organisations that truly thrive are the ones that act before the fire starts. They don’t wait for burnout to spike before encouraging balance. They don’t wait for retention issues before creating a supportive culture. They don’t wait for employees to struggle before offering resources. Instead, they build workplaces where: ✅ Mental health support is ongoing and not just available in times of crisis. ✅ Workload expectations are sustainable so employees aren’t stretched too thin. ✅ Leaders model well-being so prioritising mental health is normalised. A proactive approach to well-being isn’t waiting for employees to ask for help. It’s creating a culture where they don’t have to. Because when employees feel supported from day one, they don’t just work better. They stay longer, contribute more, and help businesses grow. Is your company leading with well-being or just reacting to burnout?

Your first 90 days with a customer can make or break the entire relationship. I've seen it happen too many times: - Great sales process - Solid product demo - Strong contract value - Excited stakeholders Then onboarding happens. And everything falls apart. Why? Most companies treat onboarding like a checklist: - Setup call ✓ - Product training ✓ - Technical integration ✓ - Documentation shared ✓ But here's the truth about onboarding: It's not about your process. It's about their success. After managing hundreds of onboarding sessions, here's what I've learned: The best onboarding isn't standard. It's personalized. Think about it: - Every customer has different goals - Every team has different challenges - Every organization has different paces - Every stakeholder has different priorities Your onboarding needs to reflect this. Here's what works: 1. Start with clear expectations - Define success metrics upfront - Set realistic timelines - Map out key milestones - Align on responsibilities 2. Build a dedicated team - Assign specialists who understand their industry - Create cross-functional support - Have clear escalation paths - Enable quick problem-solving 3. Monitor health signals - Track early usage patterns - Watch engagement levels - Note stakeholder participation - Measure progress velocity 4. Automate the right things - Regular check-in reminders - Progress updates - Resource sharing - Usage alerts But here's where most companies fail: They don't plan for challenges: - Low customer engagement - Complex technical integrations - Unclear success metrics - Resource constraints - Scalability issues The solution? Build feedback loops: - Collect input at every stage - Adjust plans based on signals - Iterate on materials - Improve processes continuously Remember: Onboarding isn't about getting customers to use your product. It's about helping them achieve their goals through your product. The first 90 days set the tone for everything that follows. Make them count. What's your approach to customer onboarding? What challenges have you faced? ------------------ ▶️ Want to see more content like this and also connect with other CS & SaaS enthusiasts? You should join Tidbits. We do short round-ups a few times a week to help you learn what it takes to be a top-notch customer success professional. Join 1993+ community members! 💥 [link in the comments section]

Most HR teams think their onboarding is solid. → Laptop ready. → Paperwork completed. → First day meet and greet? Check. But here is the truth we see behind the curtain: Most teams skip the parts that matter most for long-term success. Here are two steps most teams forget during onboarding and what to do instead. 1. 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 Telling someone your values is easy. Showing them how the team 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 works is the magic. New hires do not struggle with the handbook. They struggle with the unwritten rules. Give them real language instead of vague gestures. For example, instead of asking… "Do you use Slack?" Try saying… "Our team lives in Slack during business hours. We expect same day responses for most messages and a quicker reply if it is from your manager or during core hours." Other examples to spell out clearly: • How often leaders drop in for updates • When cameras are expected on • How people give feedback • When it is okay to block focus time • Preferred communication style (short pings or detailed notes) And pair them with a culture buddy. Someone who can answer real questions like "Is it normal to send a calendar note before messaging the VP?" That saves so much social anxiety and avoids awkward first month missteps. 2. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 A job title is not direction. People want to know exactly how to succeed. → Get specific. → Paint the picture. Instead of saying… "You will lead onboarding." Try… "In your first 30 days, you will run onboarding for three new hires. Success looks like zero missed system access steps, plus a feedback survey score of 4.5 or higher." Then schedule a 30 day check in. Not to judge. To support. Ask questions like: "What has been clear so far?" "What has been confusing?" "Where do you need resources or examples?" And tell them one thing they are doing well. Everyone needs a confidence anchor early. Strong onboarding is not fancy. It is clear, human, and consistent. Which onboarding detail made the biggest difference for you in a new role? If this sparked ideas, share it with another HR pro building better onboarding. #OnboardingTips #HRLeadership #PeopleFirst ♻️ I appreciate 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 repost. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗥 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀? Click the "𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿" link below my name for weekly tips to elevate your career!