"Sustainability includes how you run your business and includes how you treat your people. Sustainability starts with your staff."

Tom Douglas

Tom Douglas’ words are a direct challenge to CEOs and Presidents who want long-term, profitable growth.

We do know this, sales results are never sustainable when they’re driven solely by pressure, quotas, and short-term wins. When leaders invest in the growth of their salespeople, developing their skills, confidence, and character, they build a foundation of trust internally.

It's that trust which shows up externally with clients, creating consistency in performance rather than spikes followed by burnout or turnover.

I believe when salespeople feel valued, developed, and supported, they sell differently. They show up with greater authenticity, ask better questions, and focus on creating meaningful value instead of chasing transactions.

This shift has a direct impact on what I call revenue quality. Opportunities close with stronger margins, clients stay longer, and referrals increase.

Underdeveloped and disengaged sales teams may hit numbers occasionally, but they erode profit through discounting, high churn, and constant rehiring costs.

Sustainable revenue is a byproduct of sustainable people practices.

For CEOs and Presidents, the takeaway is crystal clear... Investing in your salespeople is not a soft initiative, it’s a strategic growth lever.

Coaching, trust-based leadership, and intentional development compound over time, just like revenue. When your salespeople grow, your culture strengthens.

When your culture strengthens, clients feel it. When clients feel it, revenue and profit follow in a way that's scalable, repeatable, and sustainable.

You know what? That’s how you build a sustainable sales engine and a business that lasts.

As the calendar resets and the noise of New Year’s resolutions fill the air, I must ask... If nothing fundamentally changes in how you grow your people, why would this year produce different sales results than last year?

New Year's don’t create new results, leadership decisions do.

Let's Set the Table

The turning of the year has a way of giving leaders permission to hope again. Hope for new opportunities and for better results.

Hope that this will finally be the year things click and fall into place.

We all know that hope is not a deep business strategy. Hope without ownership is one of the most expensive habits in business.

Every single year, leadership talks about growth as if it will magically arrive with a new calendar, a refreshed forecast, or a few motivational meetings. Yet the same behaviors, the same excuses, and the same lack of discipline quietly remain.

Sales growth doesn’t stall because teams lack ambition, sales growth stalls because leaders outsource responsibility to hope instead of owning the hard decisions required to change outcomes.

Different results demand different leadership. Different leadership demands uncomfortable clarity. And clarity demands acting now, not after Q1.

The real question isn’t what do we hope will happen this year? It’s what are we willing to own, change, and execute consistently to make it happen?

Real sales results don’t come from believing harder, they come from you leading better.

The Seduction of a Fresh Start

January doesn’t fail leaders, leaders fail January.

The calendar flips and suddenly everything feels possible. New goals, new language and new priorities.

How many leaders stand in front of teams declaring this will be the year, stronger culture, disciplined execution, real growth? You know what? The optimism is real; the intent is genuine but how many have sung that song before?

By Q2, the truth shows up quietly and without drama.

Pipelines thinning out, activity becoming inconsistent, coaching conversations turn into forecast updates and most of all, accountability starts to soften.

Slowly, leaders begin outsourcing responsibility to external factors or should I say, excuses.

The market, the buyer, the economy, the competition, you name it, they say it.

Here’s something you may not want to hear... Revenue does not break down at the strategy level; it breaks down at the people-development level.

Sales teams don’t drift because they forgot the plan, they drift because no one consistently developed the human beings responsible for executing it.

And you know what? That falls on you, the leader.

Too many leaders confuse managing outcomes with leading people.

You inspect numbers but avoid behavior. You demand results but underinvest in growth. You talk about culture but tolerate habits that quietly erode it.

The gap you created becomes lethal and detrimental.

You cannot ask your salespeople to show up authentically when you all you do is hide behind dashboards.

You cannot expect disciplined execution from your salespeople who are only coached when numbers are down.

You cannot build trust externally when internally the standard changes with the quarter.

Authentic leadership isn’t revealed at sales kickoffs, it’s revealed in March, May, and in August, when motivation is gone and consistency is the only thing left.

This is where Selling from the Heart becomes a leadership mandate, not a sales philosophy.

Leaders who drive sustainable revenue growth do three things relentlessly well...

• They develop people, not just performance.

• They coach behaviors before inspecting outcomes.

• They model the consistency they expect from their teams.

The real question isn’t... What’s our strategy this year?

It's...

• Who on our team is better today because of my leadership?

• What behaviors am I reinforcing, intentionally or not?

• Am I willing to do the uncomfortable, unglamorous work of developing my salespeople long after the kickoff slides are forgotten?

Most sales teams don’t have a sales problem; they have a leadership courage problem and revenue is simply the symptom.

New Opportunities Require New Leaders, Not Just New Targets

Your clients and prospects are more informed, more skeptical, and far more selective about who they trust. Credentials and clever messaging no longer win the day.

What wins their hearts and minds are character, consistency, and credibility.

This puts extraordinary pressure on your salespeople not to sell harder, but to show up differently.

You cannot demand growth from salespeople if you’re unwilling to grow yourself.

Salespeople are mirrors, they reflect leadership priorities with radical honesty.

If coaching is optional, growth becomes optional. If excuses are tolerated, accountability disappears. And, if activity is celebrated more than outcomes, mediocrity becomes safe.

If you want a sales team that sells with heart, you must lead with heart. This means moving from a command-and-control mindset to a care and consult mindset.

When you stop treating your sales team like a sales force and start treating them like a human force, they stop treating their prospects like leads and start treating them like people.

The Gap Between Intent and Impact

I know you genuinely care about your salespeople. You want them to win, and this is why you invest in tools, CRMs, enablement platforms, and training events.

Training without coaching is just noise.

A two-day sales kickoff doesn’t change behavior. A motivational speaker doesn’t build discipline, and a new playbook doesn’t create trust.

Real growth happens in the quiet, unglamorous moments...

• One-on-one conversations

• Opportunity reviews that challenge assumptions

• Coaching sessions that push past comfort

• Leaders willing to say, that excuse ends right here and right now.

This is where most will hesitate. Because coaching isn’t convenient, it’s uncomfortable and it requires massive amounts of courage.

Coaching Is the Ultimate Leadership Commitment

Coaching is not a nice-to-have, it is a declaration of seriousness.

When leaders commit to coaching, they’re saying...

• We don’t accept potential without progress.

• We believe growth is earned, not wished for.

• We will invest time, not just money.

The most elite sales cultures don’t rely on heroic performers; they create repeatable excellence through disciplined coaching rhythms.

Coaching is not micromanagement.

Micromanagement says, do it my way, while coaching asks, what’s really getting in your way?

Micromanagement creates compliance, while coaching creates ownership.

Click on here to subscribe to the Culture from the Heart Newsletter.

The Cost of Uncoached Talent

Uncoached salespeople don’t fail loudly, they fade quietly.

They stay busy but not effective, they talk more than they listen, and they default to price conversations instead of meaningful value conversations.

Uncoached salespeople avoid discomfort and call it being too strategic.

Quite often, leaders often misinterpret this as effort. This is what we do know, effort without effectiveness is just motion.

When salespeople aren’t coached...

• Win rates stagnate, crawl to an inconsistent halt

• Sales cycles lengthen

• Trust erodes both internally and externally

• High performers eventually leave

High performing salespeople leave not because of compensation but because they outgrew the environment.

Ditch The Excuses and Draw a Line in the Sand

At some point in time, every leader and their team will eventually reach a defining moment.

A moment when leaders must decide...

• Will we protect comfort or pursue growth?

• Will we explain results or own them?

• Will we coach or continue to hope?

Growth without excuses doesn’t mean being harsh, it means being honest.

When it comes to honesty, it's being honest about...

• Sales activity that doesn’t convert

• Opportunities that stall for predictable reasons

• Behavior that’s tolerated but toxic

• Leaders who manage numbers but avoid people development

Salespeople don’t need more pressure, what they need is more clarity.

They need clarity about expectations, standards, and that growth is non-negotiable.

The Discipline of Doing the Hard Things Consistently

If you want results no one else is getting, your sales team must be willing to do what no one else is doing.

Most executives say they believe in coaching, yet very few are willing to structure their time, energy, and accountability around it.

Real coaching isn’t occasional, it's not reactive, and it isn’t dependent on the quarter or the calendar.

Real coaching shows up as...

• Weekly one-on-ones that are never canceled especially when things are uncomfortable

• Opportunity reviews that challenge thinking, not just inspect forecasts

• Feedback that addresses mindset before tactics

• Leaders who coach behaviors, standards, and habits not personalities

This all requires massive amounts of discipline and commitment.

This is about having the discipline to slow down when speed feels easier. The discipline to stay present when avoidance would be simpler.

This is about having the discipline to reinforce standards long after the novelty wears off.

Discipline isn’t flashy, it doesn’t trend on LinkedIn. What it does do well is compound over time, as it shapes cultures, strengthens trust, and produces results that look effortless.

Discipline isn’t sexy, it's transformational.

The Trust Multiplier and Coaching

Sales effectiveness with your sales team is directly tied to trust-building ability.

Salespeople who...

• Build authentic relationships

• Deliver meaningful value

• Create inspirational experiences

• Execute disciplined habits

They don’t just win more deals, they create loyalty.

Trust is learned and trust is coached.

You cannot expect salespeople to build trust externally if they don’t experience it internally.

Coaching communicates belief... I see your potential and I’m committed to helping you reach it.

Coaching your sales team...

• Increases credibility by sharing expertise and guidance.

• Builds reliability through consistent support.

• Creates intimacy by showing genuine belief in the team.

• Focuses on the sales team’s growth, not your own agenda.

Coaching your salespeople changes the way they show up for clients and prospects.

Trust is built with your sales team when your words align with your actions, and your actions align with your heart.

A New Year Challenge for CEOs and Presidents

As you step into this year, I encourage you to resist the temptation to set only revenue goals.

Instead, ask yourself deeper questions...

• Who on my leadership team truly coaches and who only manages?

• Where have we tolerated excuses?

• What behaviors do our salespeople repeat because we allow them?

• If our sales results reflect our leadership, what are they telling us?

New opportunities demand new standards, and new standards demand leadership resolve.

If executives and their sales teams are to win more win opportunities, increase their revenues and to grow their profits... They’ll be the ones who...

• Invest in consistent and disciplined coaching, not just training events

• Hold sales leaders accountable for people development

• Replace excuses with ownership

• Commit to growth even when it’s uncomfortable

Growth doesn’t come from turning the calendar, it comes from leaders willing to look in the mirror and say... This year, we’re not leaving sales results to chance. We will grow our salespeople, grow our business, and do this with heartfelt purpose.

So, as the new year begins, will you ask yourself this one final question... If this truly is a year of new opportunities and new results, then what am I willing to do differently, starting with how I grow my salespeople?

The answer to that question will determine everything that follows.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.