Peter Button has spent four decades training and coaching other people’s B2B sales organisations. Throughout this journey, he has seen the same patterns everywhere.
The most fundamental: salespeople are measured and rewarded based on revenue metrics, bookings, renewals, upsells, not on whether customers achieve their intended outcomes. Even in account management roles with ongoing relationships, success is defined by contract value, not customer success.
This isn't individual failure—it's the system working exactly as designed. Every commission plan, every performance review, every recognition programme reinforces the same message: hit your revenue targets.
Peter also observes two critical capability gaps. First, salespeople rarely have the skills to capture comprehensive notes during customer conversations. Second, even fewer can write compelling proposals that truly reflect customer needs. These aren't character flaws—they're predictable outcomes of a system that prioritises velocity over deep customer understanding.
