This article comes from Melissa Murray Bailey’s insightful talk, ‘Building the culture your team needs’, at our New York 2022 Chief Revenue Officer Summit.

Melissa is now the Managing Director of Vista Equity Partners

Have you ever wondered what would happen if every sales rep on your team hit their quota? It's a question that changed everything for me.

As the Chief Revenue Officer at Hootsuite, I've had a front-row seat to the traditional sales culture for over 20 years. I started as the SVP of sales, then expanded my role when we decided to put the customer at the center of everything we do. 

That's my job now: keeping the customer at the heart of our operations.

For most of my career, I was laser-focused on numbers. I built my reputation as an operational leader who demands and delivers results. Numbers were my north star. 

But about a year ago, I had an epiphany that turned my approach on its head. I realized that it's not just about the numbers—it's about the people and the culture.

Today, I want to share with you how we're transforming our sales culture at Hootsuite, and why I believe this new approach could revolutionize the way we think about sales success.

Our philosophy is simple:

When our customer grows, we grow, and our company grows. Everything starts with the customer. But to truly serve our customers, we need to start by serving our own people.

That's what this new approach is all about.

So, are you ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about sales culture? Let's dive in.

The problem with traditional sales culture

Let's be honest: the traditional sales culture isn't working. We've all seen it - the feast and famine cycle, the celebration of a few top performers while the rest of the team struggles to keep up. 

It's a world where we plan for half our reps to fail, where turnover is accepted as a fact of life, and where the gap between company success and individual rep success grows wider by the day.

Does this sound familiar? The disconnect is real, and it's hurting our teams, our companies, and ultimately, our customers.

The numbers from recent Salesforce reports, paint a stark picture:

  • 60% of sales leaders say they won't hit their quota
  • 57% of sales reps aren't meeting quota
  • The average salesperson lasts only about 2.5 years in a role
  • It takes at least 6 months for a new rep to be fully productive
  • On average, 37% of sales reps turn over every year

Think about that last stat for a moment... 

How can we possibly create a sustainable, predictable revenue organization when we're constantly dealing with a revolving door of salespeople?

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A new approach

Here's the question that changed everything for me: