Reader Mailbag Q&A!
Question: We pride ourselves on maintaining a strong, positive culture. For that reason, we haven’t historically published sales figures. Should we?
Answer: I believe you should. And here is why. Years ago, my Division President at PulteGroup, Pat Beirne, drilled one truth into our heads: Sales drive the business—and salespeople are accountable.
Barrel-chested with a helium-tinged voice, Pat was sharp with numbers and a human Ginsu knife with expectations. Every Sunday night, company-wide emails listed each “new home consultant,” force-ranked by sales performance. No filters. No sugarcoating.
When sales were awesome—which was from the day I started in August of 2000 until early 2008—no one really commented much on the weekly sales scoreboard. Then Lehman Brothers collapsed and the Great Recession hit. Suddenly, sales volume wasn’t just a bit of corporate trivia, it dictated whether people kept their jobs.
Sales do drive the business. And salespeople should be accountable because cash flow is so critical.
Now, if you’re worried your culture may be negatively impacted because sales numbers are public, just wait and see what happens if your sales nosedive. That’s the real threat. Just ask anyone who lived through the Great Recession.
Transparency fuels accountability. It creates urgency. Publishing a weekly or monthly sales scoreboard does just that. It gives reps an early-warning system and prevents the most dangerous sales affliction: comfortable underperformance.
Yes, some reps will feel uncomfortable at the bottom—that’s the point. When a rep sees their name below their teammates’, it can ignite extra effort in a way no sales manager ever could.
Initiative, drive, and I-gotta-make-three-more-prospecting-calls-before-I-leave-tonight doesn’t come from leadership—it comes from within.
Who should see the numbers?
The entire sales team should regularly see each other’s performance. My preference is to also share high-level metrics across the company:
- Are you on-pace for this year’s goal?
- What are your sales year-over-year?
- Have you landed any high-volume builders recently?
- Have you lost any?
- What’s your best guess on market share gains or losses?
This visibility aligns teams. It reinforces that performance matters. And that it’s measured.
Objection: Hurt feelings.
Sales is all about navigating around objections. “Oh boy, Pete’s sure gonna be ticked when these numbers come out,” is a red flag. Shielding Pete from reality isn’t compassion, it’s complacency, or even worse: it’s fear. Publishing sales figures isn’t about shame, it’s about standards.
Yes, sales cycles vary. And yep, one invoice can swing things dramatically. And true, publishing sales numbers without context can mislead. Accept these as the leadership opportunities they are. Add context.
Share sales vs. goal rankings too. Track net new revenue (new logos + targeted product category expansion within key accounts) in addition to gross profit dollars. Embrace the nuance. Use it to demonstrate your communication skills to unite the company around the idea of incremental and accretive sales growth.
Final thought:
Imagine watching a basketball game on TV with no score. Just some guys running around, jumping occasionally, taking an extra two bounces on a Eurostep. The ball falls through the net and the camera swings to the jumbotron—it’s off.
That’s what it’s like to work in sales without visible metrics.
Sales is a sport.
Turn the scoreboard on.
Publishing sales results provides structure, momentum, and motivation. Most of all, it builds accountability. If accountability feels like a threat, the problem isn’t the scoreboard—it’s the roster.
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Bradley Hartmann & Co.
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Contact Bradley Hartmann:
bradley@bradleyhartmannandco.com
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