Underperforming Sales Team: Why It Happens and How to Turn It Around Fast

Why Sales Teams Underperform

Let’s be honest, sales slumps happen. Even the best teams hit rough patches. The key is not to panic or start throwing random solutions at the wall. If you can spot the signs early and understand what’s really going on, you can turn it around before things spiral. Underperformance is almost always the result of something deeper, not just a lazy team.

Common Reasons for a Sales Team Underperforming

Poor communication or unclear expectations

If reps don’t know what they’re aiming for, they’re going to miss. Vague goals and fuzzy roles leave people guessing. And guesswork leads to messy results.

Lack of proper sales training

Some reps are thrown into the fire with no real prep. Maybe they shadowed someone for a day, maybe they watched a video. That’s not training. Real training is structured, repeated, and evolves with the market.

Low morale or burnout

When your team is emotionally drained, nothing else works. Constant pressure with no support, no wins to celebrate, and no sign of change? That kills motivation fast.

Weak or inconsistent leadership

Leadership sets the tone. If it’s chaotic, absent, or reactive, the team reflects that. Reps stop trusting the process, and performance tanks.

Misaligned compensation plans

If pay is tied to the wrong metrics, reps will chase those instead of what actually drives growth. A messy comp plan doesn’t just confuse people, it misleads them.

Outdated or broken sales processes

Reps shouldn’t have to fight the system to get results. If the CRM is clunky, the pipeline is a mess, or there’s no follow-up structure, good luck closing deals.

Product or service-related issues

You can’t sell something that isn’t landing. Maybe the pricing is off, the competition is eating your lunch, or the offer just feels generic. If reps don’t believe in what they’re selling, it shows.

Poor lead quality or targeting

When reps are working leads that were never a fit in the first place, it wastes time and crushes confidence. A bloated pipeline with bad leads is worse than no pipeline at all.

Insufficient feedback loops

Reps need to know what’s working and what’s not. Without real feedback, people drift. They keep repeating what feels familiar instead of what actually works.

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Diagnosing the Root Cause of Performance Issues

Before you try to fix anything, pause. You need to understand what’s broken. A lot of companies rush to patch things up without figuring out the real issue. That’s how you end up with even more confusion and less trust. You’re not just treating symptoms, you’re finding the root.

Look at the Data

Start with numbers, not opinions. Look at conversion rates, outreach volume, deal velocity, and close rates. Are some reps crushing it while others are stuck? Are there patterns by product line or customer segment?

Once you map the numbers, you can spot gaps. Maybe reps are making enough calls but closing nothing. That’s not effort, that’s execution. The data helps you see if it’s a skill issue, a process issue, or something else entirely.

Get Feedback from the Team

The answers are usually sitting inside your team. Talk to them. Not in a big meeting, but in one-on-one chats where they can be honest. You’d be surprised what comes out when you give someone space to vent without judgment.

Also, anonymous surveys work if you want unfiltered insights. Just make sure you act on what you hear. Nobody wants to give feedback that disappears into a black hole.

Observe Behavior and Attitude

Numbers and words are helpful, but watch what people actually do. Is someone always late? Are they checked out during calls? Do they seem defensive when you give feedback?

This stuff matters. Disengagement is usually visible long before performance drops on paper. Don’t ignore the vibe.

Leadership Moves That Make a Difference

If your team’s underperforming, look in the mirror first. Leadership drives performance more than any single tactic or tool. Your reps follow your lead, even when you think they’re not watching. Good leadership creates clarity, confidence, and consistency. Bad leadership creates chaos.

Clarify Roles, Goals, and Expectations

People can’t hit a target they can’t see. Set clear numbers. Define what success looks like. Don’t just hand them a quota. Show them the path.

Make sure KPIs connect to real business results, not just activity for the sake of activity. Closing one good deal should matter more than making fifty useless calls.

Improve Communication and Feedback Culture

Talk to your team. Not just in big meetings, but in regular one-on-ones. Make feedback part of the rhythm, not something scary that only shows up during reviews.

The best managers give feedback weekly, not yearly. And they do it with clarity, not criticism.

Address Individual Weaknesses Privately

Nobody likes being called out in front of the room. That’s not tough love, that’s just bad management. If someone’s struggling, pull them aside.

Build a plan that focuses on progress, not punishment. Show them you’re invested in helping them grow, not just replacing them.

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Sales Process and Strategy Tweaks That Actually Work

Let’s cut to it. A lot of underperforming sales teams aren’t struggling because they’re lazy or untalented. They’re stuck in outdated or broken systems. If your sales process is a mess, even the best reps will start missing targets. Small tweaks to the right parts of your system can unlock huge results.

Fix the Lead Qualification Process

Not all leads are created equal. If your team is wasting time chasing leads that were never going to buy, that’s not a rep problem. That’s a pipeline problem.

Start by defining what a good lead actually looks like. This means identifying your ideal customer profile clearly. Industry, size, pain points, decision makers, budget, the whole picture. Then use that profile to score your leads. Route them based on fit. Give your top reps the top leads. Let automation handle the rest.

Document Your Follow-Up Playbook

Follow-up is where most deals die. One missed call, one forgotten email, and it all falls apart. You need a system. Not just reminders in someone’s head.

Set response time expectations. Make it part of your culture that no lead sits untouched for more than a few hours. Use tools that remind, track, and automate. The goal is consistency. Prospects should never feel like they’re chasing you.

Audit and Refine Your Offer

Sometimes the problem isn’t the pitch. It’s what you’re pitching. If prospects keep ghosting or raising the same objections, something’s off.

Look at your offer with fresh eyes. Is the value obvious in the first ten seconds? Are you solving a real problem, or just describing features? Talk to customers. Ask them what made them buy. Then tighten the pitch around that insight.

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Compensation, Culture and Motivation

You can’t fix underperformance without fixing the environment reps are working in. If they don’t feel motivated, fairly rewarded, or connected to their team, good luck getting consistent results. Culture is not a nice-to-have. It’s a performance lever.

Revisit Your Compensation Plan

Look at how your team gets paid. Really look. If someone hits all the right behaviors and still makes less than someone who lucked into one big deal, your plan is broken.

The best comp plans reward both effort and outcome. They push reps to do the right things, not just chase whatever closes fastest. Make sure your plan is simple, fair, and aligned with long-term growth, not just short-term spikes.

Use Sales Contests and Recognition

A little friendly competition goes a long way. Run quick contests. Weekly challenges. End-of-month pushes. Give shoutouts for effort, not just results.

People want to feel seen. Celebrate when someone overcomes objections, lands a tough meeting, or helps a teammate close. Recognition builds energy. It keeps the floor buzzing.

Build Team Cohesion

Sales can get cutthroat if you’re not careful. That kind of toxic competition kills collaboration. Your team should feel like a unit, not a group of people fighting over commission.

Pair high performers with newer reps. Encourage knowledge sharing. Make winning something everyone contributes to, not just one person on a leaderboard.

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The Emotional Side of Sales: Motivation and Morale

This is the part most managers skip, and it’s exactly why their teams burn out. Sales is emotional work. Rejection, pressure, stress, repeat. If you don’t support your team emotionally, the performance problems never really go away. You have to keep their mindset strong or everything else falls apart.

Create Psychological Safety

People need to feel like they can speak up without getting smacked down. If reps are scared to share concerns or admit mistakes, you’re not getting the truth.

Create space for honest conversations. Show them it’s okay to mess up as long as they learn from it. That’s how trust is built.

Build Trust Through Listening

It’s not enough to say your door is open. Actually listen. When someone brings you a concern, don’t dismiss it or rush to defend yourself. Hear them out. Ask questions. Get curious.

You don’t have to agree with everything, but people should feel like their voice matters.

Care About Life Outside of Work

Reps are humans, not machines. Ask about their weekend. Notice when they’re off. Support them when life hits hard.

Encourage time off. Respect their time after hours. A healthy work-life balance doesn’t hurt productivity, it protects it.

Make Motivation a Daily Ritual

Don’t wait for quarterly kickoffs or all-hands meetings. Motivation has to happen daily. Quick morning huddles, wins from yesterday, personal shoutouts, even a funny meme. It adds up.

The goal is simple. Start the day with energy and direction. Keep that pulse strong.

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Training, Coaching and Long-Term Development

You can’t just hire reps and hope they figure it out. Sales is a skill. It needs sharpening. It needs direction. If you want consistent performance, you need to invest in your people, not just push them for numbers. Long-term development is what separates teams that grow from teams that constantly churn and stall.

Set Up a Continuous Learning Culture

Sales is never really “mastered.” Markets change. Buyers shift. What worked last quarter might flop this one. That’s why learning can’t be a one-time thing. It needs to be baked into the weekly flow.

Run quick roleplays. Host workshops. Break big skills into small lessons and space them out. Learning should feel like a habit, not a punishment.

Provide One-on-One Coaching

Group training has its place, but real growth happens one-on-one. Sit down with each rep. Watch how they pitch. Listen to their calls. Give them direct feedback that’s actually usable.

Coaching isn’t just about fixing what’s broken. It’s about helping someone go from good to great. And when reps feel someone’s investing in them, they start investing in themselves.

Address Technological Gaps

Sometimes the rep isn’t the issue. The tools are. If your team doesn’t know how to use the CRM properly, or if they’re struggling with automation tools, you’re wasting their energy.

Set aside time to walk through the tech stack. Create bite-sized walkthroughs. Make sure everyone knows how to use what they’ve got. The smoother the tech experience, the more time they spend actually selling.

When to Take Tougher Action

Sometimes coaching isn’t enough. Sometimes clarity and support still don’t move the needle. When that happens, you have to get more direct. It’s not about being harsh. It’s about being honest. A sales team can’t afford dead weight. But every rep deserves a fair shot before you pull the plug.

Define a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

A PIP isn’t a trap. It’s a structure. It says, here’s where you’re falling short, here’s what needs to happen, and here’s how long you have to make it work.

Make it crystal clear. Set expectations. Give support along the way. Most reps either rise to it or self-select out. Either way, you get clarity.

When It’s Time to Let Someone Go

Nobody wants to fire people. But keeping someone who isn’t improving after multiple chances sends the wrong message to the team.

When it’s time, do it with respect. Be direct, but kind. Let them keep their dignity. And always make it the last step, not the first move.

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How to Turn Around an Underperforming Sales Team Fast

Not every fix needs six months and a full reorg. Sometimes you just need to reset the energy and focus. If your team is down, the goal is simple. Build quick momentum. Create small wins. Show them it’s possible to turn things around, and they’ll start believing again.

Set a 30-60-90 Day Plan

Clarity beats chaos. Break your turnaround into chunks. What should happen this month? What does a win look like in the next two?

Make the plan visible. Review progress weekly. Don’t let it live in some deck no one opens. Reps need to see movement.

Get Quick Wins to Build Momentum

Forget huge overhauls. Focus on fast wins. Warm leads that are close to closing. Call blitz days to stir up the pipeline. Objection-jam sessions to practice common blocks.

Momentum is everything. Once one deal lands, energy shifts. Then another. Then another. Before you know it, you’ve got a team that believes again.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You’ve heard the theory, seen the strategy, but sometimes you just want straight answers to the stuff that comes up all the time. Here are the real answers to the most common questions leaders ask when dealing with an underperforming sales team.

How do you motivate an underperforming sales team?

Start by listening. Really listening. Figure out what’s blocking them. Then celebrate small wins, give them ownership, and create a rhythm of coaching. People show up when they feel seen and supported.

What’s the best way to deal with underperformers without killing morale?

Keep it private. Never call someone out in front of the team. Give them clear, honest feedback with a path forward. Show them it’s about growth, not punishment. And make sure the rest of the team sees how you support improvement, not just punish failure.

When should I fire a sales rep?

After you’ve tried everything else. Coaching, support, a clear improvement plan. If none of it works and the effort just isn’t there, it’s time. But make it respectful. Never let someone find out they’re being let go the same day you decide.

Can changing compensation fix performance issues?

Sometimes. If your comp plan was confusing, misaligned, or flat-out unfair, fixing it can help. But if the real issue is training, process, or morale, throwing more money at the team won’t change anything. Diagnose first.

What tools help boost sales team productivity?

You want tools that remove friction, not add complexity. CRMs that are actually usable. Call coaching software to sharpen messaging. Dashboards that show real-time performance. And follow-up automation to keep reps consistent without draining their time.

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