The Sales Blame Game
Is a Sales Reorg the Answer—Or Just a Scapegoat?
The phrase “sales is just the tip of the iceberg” might sound like a cliché, but it holds more truth than most companies realize. When revenue stalls, many organizations instinctively reorganize their sales teams—again and again—hoping for a breakthrough. Yet, the results are often disappointing.
A 2010 Bain & Company study of 57 major reorganizations found that fewer than one-third led to meaningful improvements. That’s not surprising. Managing change is far more complex than maintaining the status quo. So if a company struggles with day-to-day execution, the odds of successfully navigating a major sales reorganization are slim.
This raises an important question: How often does a sales reorg actually solve the problem? And how often is it just a distraction from deeper issues—ones the company is either unwilling or unable to fix?
Diagnosing the Real Issue
If you’re wondering whether sales is truly the culprit behind stalled revenue, here’s a simple framework to consider:
Is your go-to-market strategy similar to that of your top competitors?
If yes, you’re likely meeting customer expectations at a basic level.
Is your sales execution at least average?
If so, you’re probably keeping pace with competitors. Sustained excellence is costly and difficult to maintain, so over time, most organizations settle into “average” execution.
Is your sales and marketing budget comparable to competitors’?
If your rivals outspend you 10-to-1, no amount of creativity or hustle will close that gap. But if your spending is in the same ballpark, then competitive bidding should balance out over time.
If you answered yes to all three, then the problem likely isn’t your sales execution. Sure, there’s always room to optimize, but tweaks alone won’t drive transformational growth.
The Real Danger: The Sales Blame Game
This is where many companies fall into the Sales Blame Game—pouring resources into sales reorgs while ignoring deeper issues like product gaps, customer dissatisfaction, or operational inefficiencies. This cycle is especially common in mid-market firms with limited resources, where leadership focuses on what feels controllable rather than tackling the harder, systemic problems.
If you’re a sales leader in an organization unwilling to look beyond sales for answers, it might be time to consider your options. Breaking free from the Sales Blame Game requires bold leadership, a willingness to challenge assumptions, and sometimes, a change in direction altogether.