The Wake-Up Call: Are You Ignoring Your Sales Team’s Core?
If your sales team feels “fine,” it probably means your middle 60% is coasting. That’s not okay.
Listen now to Revenue Rewired on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or Amazon Music to hear why that quiet middle holds the key to your growth.
Sandwich Leadership and the 20/60/20 Trap
“What if your sales team were a sandwich, and you only cared about one slice of bread?”
Most companies obsess over the edges of their team. Top performers get applause. Bottom performers get plans (or exits). The middle? Crickets.
We worked with a client who had a team of 40. Leadership knew the names of the top 5. They had meetings about the bottom 5. But the 30 in between? Zero strategy. That’s where the real lift was waiting.
The Insight: Middle Performers Aren’t Failing, They’re Floating
Here’s the truth: that middle 60% isn’t just underperforming. They’re under-supported.
They know the product. They care. They’re doing their best. But leadership rarely gives them structure, coaching, or feedback. And eventually, the silence becomes self-doubt.
I’ve seen this pattern over and over:
- Reps don’t know where they’re falling off in the pipeline
- They’re rarely given specific feedback
- Leadership is too focused on the extremes to offer support
You don’t need to overhaul your team. You need to stop overlooking the part that’s already doing the heavy lifting.
The Opportunity: How to Coach and Elevate Your Middle 60%
- Coach in the cracks.
Weekly micro-coaching works. Don’t wait for someone to fail to step in. Support proactively. - Peer labs, not just training.
We’ve run “reverse shadowing” sessions where middle performers learn from top reps in live roleplay. It’s awkward. And incredibly effective. - Use your CRM like a mirror.
Data isn’t just for dashboards. If reps are consistently dropping after the proposal phase, coach them. Tailor support to the actual stall point, not just quota math. - Revisit compensation through a people lens.
If your comp plan only rewards closers, you’re leaving motivators on the table. Not everyone’s driven by dollars, some need recognition, others mentorship paths, or even just clarity on how to grow.
The Bigger Picture: Marketing, Data, and Culture Matter Too
One overlooked angle? Marketing.
If your sales team doesn’t have clean, consolidated data or isn’t looped into what marketing is producing, they’re flying blind.
I’ve seen tech stacks so messy, reps don’t even know where to find lead history. Or worse, they don’t trust it.
Better dashboards, shared language, and consistent enablement matter. So does breaking down the wall between sales and marketing. The more aligned those two functions are, the more supported your middle performers feel.
The Wrap-Up Challenge
If you’re a COO or CMO, ask yourself:
- Who on your team feels seen?
- Are your systems built for scale, or just survival?
- Are your expectations clear, or just loud?
Don’t let your middle 60% quietly burn out. You hired them for a reason. It’s time to coach and activate what’s already there.
At StringCan, we help marketing and sales teams get aligned, not just on goals, but on the people behind them. Let’s fix the gaps, support your middle, and grow your revenue the smart way.
