9 Ways The CEO Screws Up Sales

By Gil Cargill, Sales Acceleration Coach

In many of the consulting engagements that I’ve had over the past 39 years, the real sales productivity obstacle is the CEO. Now, I don’t pretend for a minute to say that CEOs and/or business owners are deliberately sabotaging themselves. But, nonetheless, their actions contribute to persistent underperformance of the salesforce. Following are the actions that I’ve seen that contribute to this, as well as a recommendation to cure them.

• Hiring Wrong. It all starts with hiring. If you hire wrong, you will have poor or no sales results.  CEOs and entrepreneurs frequently hire based on the “likeability” of the salesperson. Make sure that any man or woman that you hire is not only likeable but, even more important, successful selling in the form and fashion that your market requires. Don’t hire someone who has sold produce to sell software, for instance, regardless of how likeable they may be.
• Creating Factions Within The Company. The CEO that allows any member of the team to disrespect other members of the team (regardless of their position) is allowing a very negative environment to surface and, tragically, flourish. Sales is a team sport. When the CEO treats sales like a team sport, productivity blossoms. Don’t make the mistake of letting a salesperson bully a non-salesperson and/or vice versa.

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