Nearly 67% of sales reps didn’t expect to meet their quota in 2024, according to research from Salesforce — and yet, many sales leaders don’t realize it until revenue projections crumble or key accounts walk away.
Here’s the thing: underperformance in sales rarely looks obvious. In fact, it’s often camouflaged by activity, charm, and inflated pipelines. Everything appears fine on the surface—until one day, it’s not.
As someone who runs sales performance audits for scaling brands, I’ve been inside dozens of sales teams that look great from a dashboard but are quietly leaking revenue, rep morale, and market trust behind the scenes.
In this post, I’ll walk you through 10 red flags I consistently see in an underperforming sales team—plus what you can do about them before they become costly mistakes.
The Invisible Cost of an Underperforming Sales Team
Let’s be real: a consistently underperforming salesperson doesn’t just miss their number—they cost you opportunity, energy, and culture.
A study by The Harvard Business Review found that a bad sales hire can cost a company upwards of $200,000 in lost revenue, training time, and reputation.
Even scarier? Underperformance is contagious. It drags down top performers, breeds complacency, and forces managers to manage symptoms instead of solving root problems.
So how can you spot the early warning signs—before your bottom line takes the hit?
10 Red Flags of an Underperforming Sales Team
1. High Activity, Low Productivity
Activity does not equal impact.
Just because a rep is sending 50 emails a day and hopping on back-to-back calls doesn’t mean they’re moving the needle. If you’re seeing high activity but low conversion, that’s a red flag.
Reality Check: Dive into your CRM. Look at meeting-to-opportunity ratios, proposal-to-close rates, and time spent in each stage. Is the motion translating into meaningful movement?
Must Read: These are some B2B sales metrics to track.
2. Pipeline Bloat with Low Velocity
If your pipeline looks impressive but deals are sitting stagnant for weeks—or even months—chances are your team isn’t qualifying prospects correctly or struggling to progress conversations.
77% of B2B buyers describe their last purchase as “very complex or difficult.” If your reps can’t simplify the process, buyers won’t move forward.
Gartner
Watch for: Deals stuck in “proposal sent” for 30+ days, or reps recycling the same late-stage opps month after month.
Must Read: The Guide to Building a SaaS Sales Pipeline
3. Over-Reliance on Discounts
When reps default to dropping prices, it’s usually a signal that they’re not communicating enough value.
Discounting might close a deal, but it erodes your brand and sets dangerous expectations.
As sales strategist Jill Konrath puts it: “If buyers see you as a commodity, they’ll treat you like one.”
Fix it with coaching on value-based selling and objection handling.
Must Read: How to Manage SaaS Discount Requests?
4. Low Customer Retention Post-Sale
Sales doesn’t stop at the signed contract.
If you’re losing customers shortly after onboarding, you likely have a misalignment between what’s promised and what’s delivered.
In my audits, I often trace churn back to how the rep positioned the product or set expectations. It’s not just a CS problem—it’s a sales integrity issue.
Must Read: How to Improve Post-sales Experience?
5. Reps Can’t Clearly Articulate the Brand’s Value Proposition
If you asked every rep on your team to pitch your solution in 30 seconds, how many would give the same answer?
If your reps fumble when asked, “What makes you different?” they’re not just losing deals—they’re hurting your reputation.
A strong value prop isn’t a script—it’s a belief. And it needs to be baked into onboarding, reinforced in enablement, and lived out in every interaction.
6. Consistent Misses on Forecast Accuracy
Missing forecast once? That’s sales. Missing it every quarter? That’s a systems issue.
Only 45% of sales leaders have confidence in their forecast accuracy.
Gartner
If reps are sandbagging or overpromising, it’s time to audit their deal inspection process, qualification rigor, and stage definitions.
7. Poor CRM Hygiene
Dirty CRM data is more than an operational annoyance—it’s a symptom of disengaged or undisciplined reps.
Inconsistent notes, outdated contacts, and stages that don’t reflect reality? You’re flying blind.
Tip: Run a “CRM accuracy audit.” Compare logged data to actual email/call activity and deal outcomes. You’ll quickly spot who’s documenting and who’s disguising.
8. Lack of Peer-to-Peer Learning
Top-performing teams share strategies, wins, and even losses. If your sales floor (or Slack) feels like a silent zone, something’s off.
A lack of collaboration often points to a competitive or fear-driven culture where reps feel unsafe to be vulnerable or unsure.
As Mark Roberge, former CRO at HubSpot, says: “The best teams don’t just have great reps—they have a system for making everyone better.”
9. Low Conversion Rates in the Middle of the Funnel
Most sales orgs focus on top-of-funnel metrics (leads, meetings) and bottom-of-funnel (closed-won). But the middle is where the gold is—and often where deals die.
If your reps are losing momentum after discovery or demo, they may lack consultative selling skills or struggle with objection handling.
This is where call audits and roleplays are invaluable. You need to hear how they’re positioning, not just what they’re saying.
10. No Feedback Loop with Marketing
Sales and marketing should operate like a flywheel—not a funnel. If your reps aren’t giving feedback on lead quality, content effectiveness, or objections they’re hearing, you’re leaving improvement on the table.
Tight alignment here improves lead quality, sharpens messaging, and drives better results for both teams.
Why These Signs Often Go Unnoticed
So, why do these issues fly under the radar?
Because most sales leaders are over-indexed on dashboards and under-indexed on behavior. It’s easy to celebrate booked meetings and proposals sent—but those are lagging indicators.
What’s harder (and more important) is understanding how your team sells, not just how much they sell.
There’s also the culture of silence—reps may not feel safe admitting struggles, and managers often lack the time to investigate patterns deeply.
That’s where an outside perspective becomes powerful.
How a Sales Performance Audit Reveals the Truth
When I run performance audits, I look beyond the surface. That means:
- Listening to sales calls, not just reading notes
- Analyzing pipeline velocity, not just deal size
- Assessing message-market fit, not just script adherence
- Interviewing stakeholders across sales, marketing, and customer success
One brand I worked with thought they had a talent problem—half their team missed quota for two quarters. But after digging in, we found the real issue: their qualification process was broken, leading to inflated pipelines and frustrated buyers. After fixing it, their win rate jumped 27% in 90 days.
What You Can Do Right Now
Here’s the good news: most underperformance is reversible—if you catch it early.
Start with these action steps:
- Audit your CRM for deal progression and data integrity
- Listen to 5 random call recordings and look for messaging gaps
- Check pipeline velocity by stage and by rep
- Host a peer-to-peer win/loss debrief to spark learning
- Ask your team to pitch your product in 30 seconds—are they aligned?
And if you want a sharper lens into what’s really happening in your sales org, book a performance audit. I’ll help you uncover blind spots, untangle inefficiencies, and turn “stuck” into “scalable.”
Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait for Quota to Miss Itself
The cost of underperformance compounds. A weak rep doesn’t just miss revenue—they slow down your top performers, confuse your buyers, and weaken your culture.
But the signs are always there—if you know where to look.
If even a few of these red flags are showing up in your sales org, don’t ignore them. A quick audit now can save you six figures later.
Want a free Sales Underperformance Checklist?
Book a 15-minute strategy call to see if a full sales audit makes sense for your team.
