Why Telling Your Sales Reps to "Work Harder" is a Leadership Cop-Out

Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read

February 22, 2025 | Read online

Why Telling Your Sales Reps to "Work Harder" is a Leadership Cop-Out

by Kevin 'KD' Dorsey

Y’all, let’s get real for a minute. How many times have you heard a sales leader tell their reps to just “work harder”?

I’m gonna be straight with you - I can’t even remember the last time those words came out of my mouth to anyone on my team. It’s like the default response when a rep isn’t hitting their numbers or following through. But listen up, because this approach is not only outdated, it’s straight up misguided.

If you think pushing your reps to hustle more is the magic solution, you’re missing the whole damn point. This isn’t about effort, y’all. It’s about understanding why they’re not following through in the first place.

Before you start pointing fingers at them, take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’ve given them the clarity, the impact, and the skills they need to crush it. This is where my BIPSY framework comes in, turning conventional wisdom on its head and putting the responsibility back on leadership to drive accountability.

I’ve been in the sales leadership game for a minute now, and I’ve managed and coached more reps than I can count. I’ve seen the psychology and motivations behind rep behavior firsthand. And that’s why I developed BIPSY - a systematic framework for diagnosing and tackling lack of rep accountability head on.

And let me tell you, it ain’t about pushing them to work harder. It’s about understanding the real obstacles they’re facing and addressing them directly.

Lack of Clarity

Reps can’t follow through if they don’t have clear expectations and direction from leaders. And there’s not a good process, right? This is the P in BIPSY. Are the things we’re asking them to do documented, defined, demonstrated? Have we led trainings on it? Do we have the wiggle room? Do we have what “good” looks like for the how? Or are we just asking them to do it?

When things are ambiguous around goals, processes, and expectations, reps don’t take action. Only 38% of employees have clarity on expectations, leading to lower engagement and retention. Employees with high clarity are three times more likely to be engaged and twice as likely to stay (Reworked, 2022). So, if your reps aren’t following through, ask yourself: Have you made it crystal clear what you expect from them? Have you documented the processes? Have you demonstrated what good looks like?

Lack of Impact

Even with clarity, reps won’t fully engage if they don’t see how their work matters. Second, they don’t have a strong enough reason to, right? We’re asking them to do something, but they don’t follow through. Very often, it means there’s not a strong enough reason to do what we’re asking them to do, and it’s not connected to their goals.

It could be disagreement, lack of impact—where we’re asking them to do things they don’t agree with or they don’t understand the impact. Or we’re asking them to do things that don’t have any impact. Misaligned goals, too. They’re trying to achieve X, we’re trying to achieve Y, and we wonder why there’s no follow-through in this process.

Leaders need to connect individual contributions to the broader team and company impact. Misaligned goals and lack of perceived impact are major barriers. Reinforce the “why” behind tasks and inspire through purpose. When reps see how their work contributes to the bigger picture, they’re more likely to follow through.

Lack of Skill

Reps may struggle to follow through simply because they lack the necessary knowledge or capabilities. There could be fear. What are they afraid of? Is there a lack of understanding? This is so, so common that you’ll see it, and we just never address it. People always say, “Alright, just gotta work harder. You just gotta do it.” Well, people are more willing to do something they’re good at. If they don’t understand it or they’re not good at it, they ain’t gonna do it, right?

It’s the leader’s responsibility to ensure reps have proper training and coaching. Without training, 70% of salespeople lack formal training, leading to inconsistent performance. Without training, 50% of reps miss quotas or underperform (Docket.ai, 2023; Janek, 2023). Companies with coaching see 28% higher win rates and 7% greater revenue growth. Managers who coach drive 13-24% better performance in reps (Salesforce, 2023).

Identify skill gaps and implement targeted development plans. When reps are confident in their abilities, they’re more likely to take action and follow through.

Conclusion

Alright, let’s recap. The next time you’re tempted to tell your reps to “work harder,” take a step back and reflect on your own leadership. Have you provided the clarity they need? Have you connected their work to a greater impact? Have you ensured they have the skills to succeed? Addressing these issues can unlock rep motivation and drive performance.

It’s time for leaders to self-reflect on their role in driving or hindering rep performance. Audit your leadership approach and make the necessary changes. Remember, the key to accountability starts with you.