Every sales organisation has targets. The uncomfortable truth is that many of those targets contain a fair amount of hope disguised as strategy.
Sales leaders work with imperfect information, incomplete data and assumptions about what customers, competitors and markets will do next. Then something changes. The economy slows, budgets are frozen, decision-making takes longer or an unexpected global event completely rewrites the commercial landscape.
We cannot eliminate uncertainty from sales. What we can do is reduce our dependence on hope by increasing the quality, speed and intensity of the actions we control.
Why is hope dangerous in a sales strategy?
Hope becomes dangerous when sales targets depend on assumptions that the sales team cannot influence or validate. Forecasting is necessary, but a forecast is not the same thing as a strategy.
Every sales organisation has incomplete information. We extrapolate from previous results, pipeline data, market conditions and what customers tell us. Unfortunately, circumstances can change very quickly. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how suddenly established assumptions could become irrelevant. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 created another major shock affecting supply chains, energy costs and business confidence.
The problem isn't having assumptions. We cannot run a business without them. The danger comes when assumptions quietly become expectations and expectations become targets without enough attention being paid to what could derail them.
Do now: Identify which parts of your sales target are supported by evidence and which depend mainly on favourable assumptions.
What should sales leaders focus on when external conditions cannot be controlled?
Sales leaders should concentrate less on telling people to "focus on what you can control" and more on identifying the specific activities that can still influence revenue. Salespeople need practical direction, not motivational slogans.
Revenue targets don't disappear because the economy becomes difficult. Numbers still have to be generated even when buyers become cautious, budgets shrink or approval processes lengthen.
This creates a psychological problem. Set targets that salespeople regard as completely unrealistic and they may mentally check out. They probably won't announce, "I have given up". Instead, activity gradually declines. Prospecting falls, follow-up becomes less persistent and fewer new conversations are created.
The salesperson starts protecting themselves psychologically from a target they no longer believe is achievable.
Sales management therefore has to connect targets with credible actions: number of prospecting conversations, dormant clients contacted, proposals advanced and decision-makers reached.
Do now: Translate the revenue target into measurable weekly sales activities that people believe can actually influence the outcome.
How should sales teams respond when deals are taking longer to close?
When sales cycles slow down, sales teams should search aggressively for sectors, clients and opportunities where purchasing decisions can still happen faster. The objective is to improve deal velocity rather than simply adding more opportunities to the pipeline.
Not every industry is affected equally by an economic downturn, geopolitical disruption or changing market conditions. Some sectors continue spending while others freeze budgets. Some companies make decisions quickly; others introduce additional approval layers.
This distinction matters because sales teams often run out of time rather than opportunities.
A deal sitting in the pipeline for six months may look reassuring in the CRM, but it contributes nothing to this quarter's revenue. Sales managers therefore need to examine the pipeline for velocity as well as value.
Where are customers still investing? Which problems have become more urgent? Which opportunities have fewer approval hurdles? Which prospects have budgets that must be used within the current financial year?
Do now: Review the pipeline by both probability and speed. Prioritise opportunities where genuine customer urgency can shorten the sales cycle.
Should sales managers increase supervision when sales results decline?
Yes, but the answer is more coaching and information-sharing rather than simply more pressure. Difficult markets expose experience gaps that can remain hidden when business conditions are strong.
When targets are being achieved, experienced salespeople can often be given considerable freedom. When results deteriorate, managers need greater visibility into what is happening in prospecting, customer conversations, proposals and follow-up.
Smaller teams, more frequent roundtables and structured coaching sessions can help. Salespeople can compare what customers are saying, identify emerging objections and share approaches that are working.
Experience becomes especially valuable during difficult periods. Salespeople who have previously worked through severe downturns have encountered cautious buyers, postponed projects and disappearing budgets before. Less experienced colleagues may never have sold through those conditions.
The objective isn't surveillance. It is accelerating collective learning.
Do now: Increase coaching frequency and create short sales roundtables where experienced team members share what is currently working with buyers.
Why should salespeople revisit former clients?
Dormant and lapsed clients are often one of the fastest sources of new sales opportunities because a commercial relationship already exists. They should be systematically reviewed before the sales team depends entirely on cold prospecting.
Every business has what I call a dead pool of clients. These organisations bought from us previously but stopped for some reason.
Circumstances change. The original contact may have moved. Budgets may have disappeared. Priorities may have shifted. None of this necessarily means the underlying need has vanished.
There can also be practical advantages to reactivating a previous client. We may remain an accredited supplier. Vendor registration may already be completed. Procurement may already know us. That can remove some of the friction involved in establishing a completely new commercial relationship.
Don't simply ask, "Would you like to buy from us again?" Find out what has changed since you last worked together and what problems have emerged.
Do now: Build a list of dormant clients, identify why each relationship stopped and contact them with questions about what has changed in their business.
How can one customer's problem reveal an entire new sales market?
A problem discovered in one company often exists across other organisations in the same industry, making existing client insights a powerful prospecting tool. One successful engagement can become the foundation for a targeted sector campaign.
Suppose a five-star hotel tells you employee retention has become a major problem. It would be extraordinary if that hotel were the only luxury property facing the issue.
Instead of treating the engagement as an isolated sale, investigate whether other hotels have the same problem. Contact them with informed questions based on what you have learned about the sector.
This approach is stronger than generic prospecting because the salesperson begins with a plausible business issue rather than a product pitch.
The same principle applies across B2B sales. Problems involving retention, leadership, productivity, customer service, sales performance or communication frequently occur across competitors operating under similar market conditions.
One client problem can therefore reveal an entire pool of potential buyers.
Do now: For every significant customer problem you uncover, identify five to ten comparable organisations likely to be experiencing the same issue.
Replace Hope With Sales Activity
There will always be some hope embedded in sales strategy because nobody can predict the future perfectly.
The mistake is allowing uncertainty to immobilise the sales organisation.
When markets become difficult, increase the quality of activity. Examine where customers are still spending. Look for opportunities that can move faster. Coach the sales team more intensively. Use experienced salespeople to help colleagues navigate unfamiliar conditions. Revisit dormant clients. Take problems discovered with one customer and search for similar organisations facing the same challenge.
We cannot control the economy, geopolitical events or every decision made inside our customers' organisations.
We can control whether we prospect, investigate, coach, follow up, learn and act.
Gradually, that is how we replace hope with action.
Author bio
Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results.
He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー).
Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.
