Why Sales Struggles Are Usually Leadership Problems

Scott Peterson
Sep 3
3 min read

Updated: Sep 15

I recently joined The Rialto Marketing Podcast with Tim Fitzpatrick for a great conversation on why so many B2B founders hit a sales ceiling.

You can listen to the full episode here: [link]

Here are some of the highlights:

The Common Growth Trap for Founders

Many entrepreneurs I work with are 10+ years into their business. They started as the original Rainmaker—building the company on relationships, expertise, and hustle.

But eventually, they hit a ceiling (or start thinking about a successful exit):

They hire salespeople.
They attempt to bring in “top talent.”
They try to step back from selling.

And yet performance disappoints. Opportunities stall. The wrong clients sign on. Sales ends up back on the founder’s desk.

The root cause? Without leadership clarity—around strategy, process, and structure—sales becomes chaotic and unsustainable.

Sales Isn’t a Mystery—But It Is Different for Founders

Two patterns show up again and again:

Sales-oriented founders sell naturally but can’t replicate their style across a team. Founder selling is not the same as traditional sales.
Technical founders often see sales as a “black box.” They lack confidence, don’t know what good looks like, and can’t spot the gaps.

In both cases, the problem isn’t effort—it’s the absence of a systematic, repeatable, and effective approach.

Data Reveals the Gaps

After a decade of analyzing client data, one pattern is clear:

The top 20% of clients generate ~80%+ of revenue.
The bottom 50% of clients generate only single digits.

The surprise isn’t the 80/20—it’s how much time and energy gets wasted chasing the wrong prospects (and clients).

When founders see this, the lightbulb goes on: consistent growth requires defining Blue Chip Clients and building a repeatable process to win more of them.

Why Leadership Matters More Than Hiring & Training

Early in my consulting career, owners often asked me to “fix the salesperson.” I’d coach individuals, build tools, and see progress—but the impact was limited to that one person. It didn’t transform the organization, because there was nothing foundational to anchor the work to.

The breakthrough came when I required leaders to co-create the sales foundations:

Refine the strategy (Blue Chip Client Profile).
Define the process (including what good looks like at each stage).
Align the structure (performance goals, expectations, and visibility).

When leaders were actively involved, everything changed: consistency, accountability, and growth followed. They needed the understanding, ownership, and conviction to stick with their sales process.

That’s why I believe that growth is a leadership issue, not a sales issue.

Final Thought

If you’re leading a founder-led business, don’t just hire salespeople and hope—and don’t outsource the lifeblood of your company to a fractional sales leader.

It’s your responsibility to build the plane before asking someone to fly it—even if that means stepping back into the Sales Leader role for a season while you get things defined.

Because when leadership owns the system, growth follows.

📊 Revenue Compass Assessment

If you’ve ever wondered why sales feels stuck—or if growth is too dependent on you as the founder—the Revenue Compass Assessment is the best place to start.

In less than five minutes, you’ll get a clear diagnostic of your sales organization:

Where you’re strong (your bright spots).
Where you’re vulnerable (your bottlenecks).
How you stack up across strategy, process, structure, and management.

Most importantly, it gives you and your team a shared framework—so sales stops being based on gut feel and starts being based on facts.

Take the assessment here: [link]

📚 Go Deeper

Ready to explore further? Here are a few related posts you may find valuable:

Carver Peterson helps growth-minded leaders and organizations achieve predictable and sustainable revenue growth through a refined strategy, defined process and aligned structure.