November 15, 2025 | Read online​

Execution is the game: are you playing?

by Kevin 'KD' Dorsey

​​​​

Let’s kill the biggest myth in sales right now:

“We need a new methodology.”

Nah, you need better execution.

Your team doesn’t need another playbook. They need to run the one you already have.

Just like you don’t need another diet, you need to stop cheating on the one you're on.

Here’s the brutal truth: Most sales orgs aren’t struggling because they’re using the wrong process.

They’re struggling because their reps don’t understand how to execute the process. Not really.

The Performance Myth We Keep Telling Ourselves

“Sellers are the athletes of the business world.”

I love that line. I’ve said it myself. But I’ve also watched enough call recordings to know it ain’t true.

Athletes watch game film, every day. Sellers don’t even listen to their own calls.

Athletes practice 90% of the time and perform 10%. Sellers perform 90% of the time and avoid practice like it’s the DMV.

Athletes know their stats cold. Sellers can’t tell you their show rate, win rate, or what percentage of deals stall in Stage 2.

So let’s call it what it is:

We’re not athletes.
We’re performers who hate rehearsals.

Your Methodology Isn’t the Problem. Your Execution Is.

MEDDIC works. Challenger works. SPICED works. Just like keto works. Paleo works. Intermittent fasting works.

They all work—if you actually follow them. But most sales orgs don’t execute the methodology. They perform it. Ask a rep why they need to find the Economic Buyer and you’ll get something like:

Not:

See the difference?

One is checking a box. The other is playing chess.

Discovery Is a Scalpel. Not a Survey.

You want to see where execution falls apart?

Watch a demo.

Reps who ran a solid discovery still run the same damn demo.
Slide 1. Feature 2. Integration 3. Report 4. Death.

They learned what to ask, but not why to ask it.
So they keep showing features that have nothing to do with the problem the buyer needs solved.

You don’t lose deals because you lack functionality. You lose them because you show features no one asked for—and now they can’t unsee it.

The best reps don’t do product tours. They do product surgery.

Execution Is an Organizational Problem

It’s not just about individual reps missing the mark. It’s that your entire GTM org is winging it.

No coaching culture. No metric mastery. No actual accountability.

You say you’re “data-driven” but can’t name the top three metrics that drive quota attainment.

You say your reps are “coachable” but never give them reps in practice.

You say you want to “scale AI,” but don’t even have the foundation to support it.

That last one? Let’s dig into that for a second.

Want AI to Work? You Need Execution First.

95% of AI initiatives fail. Not because the tech doesn’t work—but because the foundation isn’t there.

Data’s a mess. Strategy’s a mystery. Execution’s a fantasy.

Want to know if your team is ready for AI that actually delivers ROI?

ZoomInfo built a 2-minute AI Readiness Assessment—and it’s 🔥.

It evaluates your org across the 12 key pillars that predict AI success. Based on MIT research, no fluff. You’ll walk away with:

✅ Your AI Readiness Score
✅ The specific gaps you need to close
✅ Actionable recommendations based on your maturity level
✅ And how ZoomInfo helps you fix it fast

Final Word: Train Like You Sell

Stop preaching discipline if you don’t practice it.

Stop saying you want elite performance if your team can’t explain the why behind the process.

And for the love of sales, stop showing features your buyer didn’t ask for.

This game isn’t won by knowing more. It’s won by executing better.

Now go put in the reps. And see if your tech stack is ready for what’s next.

📍 Start with the AI Readiness Assessment here.

You’re one execution upgrade away from the next level.

​

​