Coaching with Purpose. Win Big. Newsletter #8
Sales culture isn’t fluff. It’s the system behind the scoreboard.
Welcome back to my newsletter, Coaching with Purpose. Win Big. This is where I unpack the real-world playbook for sales leaders who want to build high-performing teams, without losing sight of the people who make it happen. In this edition, I’m diving into what it takes to build a true sales culture: how to turn strategy into systems, and values into daily habits that actually win in the field.
Not the energy in a room.
Not a quote sent every morning on Slack.
Certainly not the vision board on the break room wall.
And definitely not just a quota push with that cool new incentive.
Sales culture is the daily behaviors, coaching rhythms, and leadership tone that drive results, retention, and reputation.
When I joined Spectrum as Director of Sales, our retail teams were already in the middle of a transformation, shifting from a service-first mindset to a sales-forward culture. My role was built to support that momentum: to operationalize strategy, align the field, and move faster.
The challenge? Many team members had never seen sales done well.
The opportunity? We had a vision. We just needed the systems and coaching to make it happen.
So we got to work:
- Weekly coaching rhythms
- Clear sales playbook
- Recognition that reinforced behaviors
- Dashboards that tied rep activity to company goals
And results followed:
- 62% YoY growth
- 79% improvement in close rates
- Bottom-tier teams doubled their output
None of that happened because of a great comp plan alone.
It happened because we built a culture that made sales make sense.
Why Sales Culture Matters
Culture isn’t a side project. It’s your operating system.
A strong sales culture turns engagement into execution.
It builds teams that know what good looks like, and want to live it.
When you get it right:
- Employees are more engaged and confident
- Coaching becomes expected and wanted; not resented
- Reps see development as part of the job, not a side task to check off the list
- Sales performance improves through more consistent behaviors and better frontline execution
- Customer experience improves because reps are more consistent, clear, and motivated
- Net Promoter Scores rise because customers can feel the difference
And most importantly, leaders stop managing problems and start multiplying performance.
The 10 Characteristics of a Strong Sales Culture
1. Strong Leadership Presence
Culture follows the leader. If you want your team to take sales seriously, you need to model that seriousness yourself. Leadership presence isn’t about being the loudest voice, it’s about being the most consistent one. Your presence sets the tone for urgency, focus, and engagement. Whether you’re on the floor, on a call, or reviewing a dashboard, how you show up will always carry more weight than what you say. Leaders must coach, reinforce behaviors, ask questions, and connect dots across strategy and execution. Presence equals trust; and trust fuels culture.
Tips:
- Block two hours weekly to join team calls or shadow reps, then share a takeaway in your next team sync.
- Open every team meeting with one behavior-focused win (not just metrics) to reinforce what good looks like.
2. Frequent Coaching Touchpoints
Coaching shouldn’t be reserved for underperformers. It’s a development tool for everyone. When done consistently, coaching builds skill, drives clarity, and builds trust. High-performing teams don’t just get feedback during QBRs; they’re coached weekly. Leaders who build this rhythm help reps focus on the right behaviors before problems arise. And when coaching is behavior-based, not just number-based, you foster growth, not fear.
Tips:
- Use a standard coaching doc for all 1:1s; track notes, action items, and behavior goals for accountability.
- Schedule 15-minute skill check-ins between pipeline reviews to stay behavior-focused.
3. Clear Accountability Systems
Accountability is not about catching people doing something wrong. It’s about setting clear expectations and following through with consistency. Define what success looks like, both in activity (behaviors) and outcomes (results). Reps should know what good looks like, and leaders must hold the line. But here’s the truth: accountability only works if your team knows you’re in it for them. When paired with coaching and support, it becomes a system of belief, not just enforcement.
Tips:
- Set specific, observable behaviors tied to each role (e.g., 5 new opps per week, 3 demos booked).
- Create a shared accountability tracker (visible to the team) where sellers update progress weekly.
4. Defined Sales Playbook
A strong sales playbook answers two questions: “What does good look like?” and “How do I do it here?” It standardizes your best practices so reps don’t have to guess. It also enables leaders to coach consistently across the team. Your playbook should be simple, evolving, and accessible. It’s not a binder on a shelf; it’s a go-to tool that keeps everyone aligned, especially as new hires onboard or new products launch.
Tips:
- Build your playbook around 3 sales behaviors / motions (e.g., prospecting, discovery, objection handling) then map core actions for each.
- Record top performers walking through talk tracks or demos; include these videos into the playbook for easy access.
5. Ongoing Training and Development
Sales is a craft, and sales skills are perishable. Reps who aren’t actively developing fall behind; fast. Ongoing development sends the message that getting better is part of the job. It also creates a team-wide growth mindset. Formal training is just the start. What matters more is how often leaders reinforce skills in the field. And when reps are trained well, they coach each other better too. That’s how you scale learning and build a self-sustaining culture of excellence.
Tips:
- Run biweekly “Skill Sprints” – 20-minute drills on objection handling, discovery, or closing techniques.
- Assign mentors for new reps with structured checklists and milestone goals to speed ramp time.
6. Incentives and Recognition
Reps pay attention to what gets rewarded. Incentives should align with your core behaviors and values, not just top-line results. When you recognize effort, growth, and consistency (not just who’s #1) you create an environment where everyone has something to strive for. The best sales cultures celebrate the journey, not just the destination. That includes personal milestones, improved close rates, and progress toward goals.
Tips:
- Build a monthly recognition board highlighting specific behaviors; like best discovery call, most improved objection handling, or peer-nominated collaboration.
- Run flash contests that reward behavior metrics (e.g., highest number of personalized outbound messages in a day).
7. Alignment with Company Goals
People want to know that their work matters. When sellers see how their effort connects to the broader mission, they bring more ownership and urgency to their roles. This creates meaning; and meaning drives discretionary effort. Don’t assume your team understand the why. Show them. Talk about how your product solves real problems. Make the connection from “this sale” to “this customer’s outcome.”
Tips:
- Create a slide in your team deck that maps quarterly sales targets to broader company objectives and review it monthly.
- Ask reps to bring one customer impact story to each team meeting to tie daily work to bigger outcomes.
8. Healthy Competition
Healthy competition energizes. Toxic competition drains. Great sales leaders create contests that drive fun, learning, and collaboration, not fear. Done right, competition increases engagement without undermining trust. And when you measure progress beyond just revenue (like conversion improvement or quality of conversations) you give everyone a chance to win and grow.
Tips:
- Run team-based competitions using cross-functional pods (e.g., pair SDRs with AEs) to promote collaboration.
- Track performance improvement, not just raw output, and recognize most-improved reps in weekly recaps.
9. Customer-Centric Mindset
When salespeople focus on solving, and not just selling, they build trust and close more. A customer-first mindset shifts the conversation from “What can I sell you?” to “How can I help you?” It improves the customer experience and drives long-term loyalty. This mindset doesn’t happen by chance. It must be modeled by leaders, built into training, and reinforced in every coaching conversation. When reps hear “put the customer first” in meetings and see it modeled in how wins are discussed, they internalize it.
Tips:
- Review call recordings or meeting recaps monthly as a team; evaluate if the rep was solution-focused or pitch-heavy.
- Build a “customer wall” with quotes, success stories, or call snippets; review these during team huddles.
10. Data-Driven Focus
Data gives you insight, but only if it’s clear, actionable, and aligned. A data-driven culture uses the right metrics to drive the right behaviors. Don’t just show leaders and sellers their numbers; help them understand why the numbers look that way and what to do about it. Connect the dots between behaviors (inputs) and results (outputs). Make the data accessible, relevant, and part of everyday conversations. And use it as a coaching tool, not a compliance stick.
Tips:
- Build a simple dashboard with 3 core KPIs: leading, lagging, and quality metrics and review in every 1:1.
- Use a “data story” format in coaching: what the number says, why it matters, what action to take next.
Culture That Wins, Reps That Stay, Customers Who Come Back
This isn’t theory. It’s how teams grow. It’s how companies grow.
A sales culture built on clear systems, real coaching, and strong leadership will outperform a script or comp plan every time.
The best part? You don’t need to overhaul everything at once.
Start small. Pick two of these ten. Build rhythm. Then expand.
Because when your culture works, everything else gets easier:
- Hiring gets easier
- Retention gets stronger
- Coaching gets simpler
- Customers stay longer
That’s the power of getting it right.
If you found this helpful:
- Follow me here on LinkedIn for more
- Subscribe to my newsletter for tactical insights
- Visit www.ericboettner.com for coaching frameworks and enablement tools
Let’s Connect
Visit www.ericboettner.com or follow me on LinkedIn.
Driving Sales Growth at the Intersection of People, Process, Performance | Sales Enablement & Execution Expert | Strategic Operator | Servant Leader | 20+ Years Scaling Teams, Systems & Results
I build sales engines by connecting strategy, enablement, and coaching to drive measurable growth and stronger teams. That includes delivering 62% year-over-year growth across a 450-person team and leading enablement programs that supported over 700 locations.
I make complex ideas practical, build coaching cultures focused on behaviors over outcomes, and design scalable enablement systems that align people, process, and performance. The result is execution with clarity, consistency, and accountability.
𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁
Open to conversations and leadership opportunities where enablement, coaching, and operational clarity can drive measurable growth.
Leave a Reply