January 24, 2026 | Read online
You're Solving the Wrong Sales Problem
by Kevin 'KD' Dorsey
Alright y’all, let’s talk about something I see every single week when I’m in leadership sessions with CROs, VPs, and frontline managers. Pipeline feels soft. Forecasts feel shaky. Reps are busy as hell, calendars are packed, Slack is popping… and yet the numbers aren’t moving. And without fail, leadership jumps to the same conclusions: we need a better strategy, we need better reps, we need a new playbook. Cool story. That’s not the problem.
The real problem most teams won’t admit
The real issue — and this comes straight out of one of my most-used teaching sessions on issue diagnosis and metric-based leadership — is that most teams don’t actually know what to fix. And even when they do, they can’t get it executed consistently. Because here’s the truth most orgs don’t want to hear: you cannot change results. Results are already in the past. You can only change what causes the results. And right now, most teams are guessing at the cause.
Outcomes aren’t problems — they’re symptoms
In almost every workshop I run, I ask leaders one question that sounds simple but exposes everything: “What’s the problem?” And the answers are always outcomes. Revenue is down. Quota attainment is low. Pipeline coverage isn’t there. But that’s not the problem — that’s just what hurts.
Saying “revenue is down” is like going to the doctor and saying, “My knee hurts,” and stopping there. Cool… but why does it hurt? Is it inflammation? A torn ligament? Years of bad mechanics finally catching up to you? Because if you don’t diagnose the real issue, the prescription doesn’t matter. You’re just guessing. And that constant guessing is exactly where most sales orgs stall out.
Yes, sales is a numbers game (just not the way you think)
This is where people love to push back and say, “KD, sales isn’t a numbers game — it’s about quality.” Nah. Sales is absolutely a numbers game. It just happens to be a numbers game with behaviors behind the numbers.
Every metric you’re staring at is being driven by a behavior, a process, or a skill. Low close rate? Something is breaking in discovery, deal management, or follow-up. Low pipeline? Activity is off, targeting is wrong, or execution is inconsistent. Missed forecast? That’s not a forecasting problem — that’s a visibility and execution problem. This is why I hammer this point home in my sessions: great leaders don’t just look at data. Great leaders know how to change the data.
The execution gap nobody wants to own
Here’s the trap most teams fall into. They actually do know their numbers. They’ve got dashboards. CRM reports. Spreadsheets duct-taped together. Slack threads arguing about whose data is right. And yet… nothing changes.
Why? Because insight without execution is just trivia. Leaders see the problem. Reps agree there’s a problem. Everyone talks about the problem. But nobody actually changes how the work gets done day to day. That gap — between knowing and doing — is the execution gap. And that’s where systems quietly break down.
What high-performing teams do differently
When teams actually turn this around, a few things are always true. First, they can show a real, mathematical path to quota. No vibes. No hope. No “stretch goals.” They know exactly how many deals are needed, how many opportunities that requires, what level of activity feeds that, and how much time it actually takes. If you can’t math your way to quota, you’re setting your people up to fail.
Second, they diagnose before they prescribe. They don’t just yell “do more dials.” They ask where the drop-off is, why it’s happening, and which behavior needs to change right now — not someday.
And third, execution happens inside the workflow. Not in slides. Not in meetings. Not in post-mortems. Execution happens where reps actually work. And this is where most tech stacks fall apart.
Why most sales tools don’t fix execution
Most sales tools are great at telling you what already happened. They’ll show you the deal stalled. The account is at risk. Pipeline coverage is light. Cool. Too late.
What teams actually need is context, prioritization, and action — all in one place. That’s why I’ve been paying attention to how teams are using ZoomInfo GTM Workspace. Not as just another tool, but as an execution layer that lives where the work actually happens.
Where ZoomInfo GTM Workspace actually helps
From a leadership lens, a few things matter here. One workspace instead of twelve tabs means reps aren’t bouncing between CRM, spreadsheets, notes, and LinkedIn all day long — which reduces friction and increases follow-through. When CRM data is paired with real account and buyer intelligence, reps stop guessing who to prioritize, where risk actually lives, and which deals deserve attention right now.
And day-one impact matters more than ever. If a tool doesn’t change behavior immediately, it won’t stick. Add in AI that actually executes the work — not just suggests it — and that’s how execution scales.
This is how real accountability gets created
When leaders ask me how to increase accountability, my answer is always the same: accountability isn’t pressure. It’s clarity, ownership, and execution. You can’t hold people accountable to unclear expectations, invisible work, or broken systems.
But when the work is visible, priorities are clear, and execution lives inside the workflow, responsibility replaces micromanagement. That’s when teams actually level up.
The bottom line
So if any of this sounds familiar — you know the numbers but they don’t change, forecast calls feel like debates, reps are busy but pipeline is thin, leadership feels reactive instead of proactive — you don’t need another strategy offsite, another slide deck, or another motivational speech.
You need better execution infrastructure. And that’s exactly where tools like ZoomInfo GTM Workspace earn their keep: by closing the gap between knowing and doing.
Want to see what execution actually looks like?
If you want to see what execution looks like in practice — especially when it comes to pipeline visibility, deal risk, account prioritization, and rep execution — take a look at how teams are using ZoomInfo GTM Workspace to operationalize the exact things I teach.
No fluff. No theory. Just execution.
Because in this market, the teams that win aren’t the ones with the best strategy. They’re the ones that execute better than everyone else. 💥
