True Story

A top sales rep was failing — until she stopped making so many cold calls


Sales leaders rely on KPIs for a reason. Activity drives pipeline, and pipeline drives revenue. It’s Sales 101.

We coach our teams with familiar truths:

  • Start with what you can control
  • More activity creates more opportunity
  • Selling is a numbers game — trust the process

And in most cases, that works.

But when KPIs are applied without coaching and context, they can quietly undermine performance — even for top sales reps.

Earlier in my career, I made this mistake myself. Later, as a senior leader, I watched it happen repeatedly.

This isn’t about the quantity vs. quality debate, which is another whole ball of wax.

It’s about something more subtle: assuming that consistency automatically equals effectiveness.

When KPIs are working for most of the team, it’s easy to conclude that a struggling rep simply needs to “do more” or “follow best practices.”

But that assumption can be costly.


When standard KPIs don’t fit the rep

This sales rep had been a multi-year President’s Club performer before moving to a new team under a new leader.

For two years, she struggled to build her book of business.

She wasn’t disengaged. She wasn’t lazy. She hit her prospecting goals week after week — and still felt like she was failing.

Eventually, she hired a sales coach.

The coaching wasn’t about motivation or discipline. It was about understanding how she actually won business.


Together, they analyzed:

  • Her prospecting channels
  • Her available prospecting time
  • Her natural strengths
  • How her target buyers preferred to engage

What they discovered was simple but critical:


The standard prospecting KPIs — dials, emails, texts — were not right for her desk.

  • They didn’t play to her strengths
  • They didn’t fit her workflow
  • They weren’t the most effective way to reach her ideal customers

What happened next

They built a customized prospecting plan and she proposed it to her leader.

The response? A hard "No".

     “Your peers have the same goals, and they’re getting it done.”

     “We’ve been doing this a long time — we know this works.”

But hey, she's a top sales rep, so a few weeks later she tried again — this time proposing and securing a three-month trial.


Coaching changed the outcome

Within six weeks of implementing the customized plan, her desk exploded with new business.

And with it:

  • Her confidence returned
  • Her engagement skyrocketed
  • Her commitment deepened

Oh — and she’s pacing President’s Club again.


The leadership lesson

KPIs aren’t the problem.

Uncoached, one-size-fits-all KPIs are.

Strong sales leaders don’t just enforce activity — they understand how each rep wins and design goals accordingly.


So to sales leaders reading this:

  • If your goals are applied globally, pause and reassess
  • If you aren’t coaching your people with the right intent, you won't get the most out of them

Because consistency isn't the only ingredient needed to drive performance.

A dash of understanding must be added, too.