Why your team isn’t closing more business—and what to do about it.
If you’re frustrated by inconsistent growth, low-margin deals, or the sense that only a handful of people are doing the heavy lifting when it comes to sales… you’re not imagining it.
At this year’s SUMMIT, Berkeley Harris, global facilitator, and former Royal Marines Commando (yeah, seriously), delivered a high-energy reality check for sales leaders:
“You can’t expect the team to live the plan—until it’s their plan.”
Translation? If only your sales department is selling, your business is leaving money on the table. Everyone—from HR to product to finance—has an impact on revenue. The problem is, most companies don’t act like it.
Let’s break down what “The Whole Company Is the Sales Department” really means—and how to put it into practice.
1. Map the Gaps: Where Sales Actually Breaks Down
Start with a company-wide gap analysis.
Not just the sales team. Everyone.
Ask yourself:
Is leadership aligned around a clear revenue, retention, and client satisfaction plan?
Are managers in operations, finance, product, and logistics bought into how they support growth?
Do departments speak a common sales language or are we all using our own acronyms and KPIs?
Berkeley’s advice was clear: Sales isn’t just about the people carrying quotas. It's about every single team influencing how a client experiences your brand.
If there’s no cross-functional alignment, that friction shows up in the pipeline—and in your churn rate.
2. Make the Plan Belong to Everyone
You know what happens when the sales plan lives in a Google Doc only three people can access? Nothing.
Berkeley’s message was simple: You have to cascade the strategy.
That means the BIG 3 goals—Revenue, Retention, Client Satisfaction—can’t just be posters in the boardroom. They need to show up in:
Weekly team meetings
Departmental dashboards
Incentives across departments
Coaching conversations
Hiring and onboarding processes
And most importantly? The plan has to be repeated until everyone knows it by heart.
3. Build a Culture of Coaching and Accountability (Not Micromanagement)
This isn’t about creating more checklists or stuffing people’s calendars with status updates.
It’s about building a culture where coaching is the norm—not just for reps, but for leaders too.
Quick Wins from Berkeley’s playbook:
Coach to the BIG 3 weekly
Match incentives to the BIG 3
Embed coaching into every 1:1, team meeting, and onboarding conversation
Get every department asking, “How are we supporting revenue, retention, and client satisfaction?”
And here's a big one:
Stop thinking referrals are only the sales team’s job.
Customer success, marketing, operations—they all interact with the client. If everyone’s asking for introductions, your pipeline fills itself.
4. Use a Common Sales Language Across Departments
Imagine the power of your legal, finance, or customer service teams understanding why deals stall—and knowing how to respond in alignment with sales.
That’s what a common sales language gives you.
If your finance team hears "I’m not the decision-maker" and responds with a payment schedule instead of looping in procurement, that’s a missed opportunity.
Common language = better collaboration = faster deals = fewer deals lost to misalignment.
5. Don’t Wait for a Crisis to Align Your Team
This is the part most leaders miss. They wait until the pipeline is dry, churn is up, or a key account walks out the door before rallying the troops.
Here’s a better plan:
Simplify your growth strategy so everyone can repeat it
Reshare it often, department by department
Hold every team player accountable to how they support it
Involve your superstars—they’ll carry the message further than leadership ever could
Berkeley said it best: “Grow yourself. Grow your team. Grow your business.”
Final Thought: Sales Is Not a Department. It’s a Culture.
If you want better margins, stickier clients, and consistent growth, stop isolating sales as a function and start treating it as a company-wide mindset.
Your business doesn’t need more hustle—it needs alignment.
Want to learn how top-performing teams are making this shift? Join us at SUMMIT26 in Fort Lauderdale.
This is where the real work begins—and where leadership teams come to level up.
