Solo-host podcast episode (Ben Wright) for seven- to eight-figure construction and trade sales leaders describing three evergreen qualities of great sales teams: (1) regularly measuring progress and being accountable to metrics (meetings, quotes, pipeline, close rates), (2) actively challenging and learning from one another with formal and informal training (the "1% better" mindset), and (3) balancing a short- and long-term pipeline approach (recommended roughly 70/30 split). The episode closes with a promotion for the "Sold Out Sales Teams" program claiming a 25–30% sales increase in week one after locking down the quoting process and offering a limited bonus one-on-one strategy session to the first three listeners who book via the show notes.
Questions this episode answers
Episode 167
January 18, 2026
Roughly 70% short-term / 30% long-term
25 to 30% sales growth in week one
The first three podcast listeners who book will receive the bonus session
Chapters
In this episode we will unpack the three qualities of great sales teams. Welcome to Sales Process Made simple. The show helping seven to eight figure industry construction and trade. Sales and business leaders finally end the stress of inconsistent sales by simplifying your sales systems so your team can close more deals and grow faster. I'm your host Ben Wright, a leader who has been building businesses and sales teams just like you for the last 20 years. In this episode we will have a look at how great sales teams measure progress, challenge each other and play both a short and long term sales game. There's no doubt that I have worked with plenty of great sales teams across my career. On the same hand, I've worked with even more mediocre teams and even more again, poor sales teams who are just not delivering results. So across that journey, I've been able to see really consistently the habits of both not so successful teams as well as really successful teams. And whilst they do change, certainly pre Covid was different to during COVID which is different again to post Covid, there are some similarities around these teams that have been absolutely evergreen across that period. And for me, their qualities that make the really strong sales teams perform over long periods of time. So today we're going to unpack those and we're going to start with number one, which is all about measuring progress. Great sales teams are not afraid to be accountable to results. They're not afraid to measure the number of meetings, their number of quotes, their pipeline size, their close rates, their sales numbers, or how effective they are in their role. Because the difference between really good or great sales teams and not so great sales teams is all in the interpretation of these results and that is that they see them as opportunities to improve rather than signs of weakness or indications that they're not doing their job. So if their lead numbers are down across a period of time, they look at that to say, oh great, that's a reminder. I needed to get back onto lead generation and really crush some great new business over the next few months. If their pipeline numbers are way higher than they need to be, then that's an indication for these teams to say, hey, I'm not spending enough time actually pulling these through the funnel to and I'm gonna end up with a really large funnel that's not closing. Fantastic. Let's lean into it. So the measuring of progress is not just the art of measuring it, but also the appreciation that they can see from these results to help them recalibrate when they're not perhaps bang on track with where they need to be. So that's number one, great sales teams are regularly, really regularly measuring progress and they all buy into it. Number two is really good. And great sales teams know how to challenge each other to get better. So they have both formal learning programs as well as those informal type of programs where they are able to actively talk to each other and openly talk to each other about areas of the offer that might be relatively weak performance areas where one or more people might not be stepping up to the plate to deliver on or anything that's going to impact their ability to learn as both individuals, teams and a wider business. Great sales teams really learn into being better every single day. That 1% better mentality I talk about really frequently. Great teams really lean into making sure that they are never stopping learning and they are always finding ways to move the dial. And the best way I see that personally is through a really formal training program that happens once a week that in delivery actually becomes quite agile and informal. And the teams really, they really challenge each other and get a lot out of these sessions. So great sales teams I'm seeing measure progress really regularly challenging each other and then lastly playing a mixture of both the short and long game. Too often I see sales teams who are not performing really drive hard in the short game and almost become desperate to get sales across the line. Whereas the higher performing sales teams, those great sales teams we talk about, they balance a pipeline for now as well as a pipeline for later. So they're making sure that even though they are hitting their targets in the current moment, they are filling the pipeline for future success so that when times are a little bit leaner, the panic button doesn't get hit because they've got a mature pipeline that is ready to close in time. And I'll see sales teams focus roughly, the really good sales teams focus roughly 70, 30 on this, 70% of their time on now, 30% of their time on building out a robust, strong future pipeline that's going to deliver them results in the future. So to wrap that up, the best teams I'm seeing, whether it be pre, during or post Covid, have typically followed some really similar outputs. They are, number one, they measure progress. Number two, they challenge each other so they're learning 1% better each and every day. And number three, they play a balance of the short and long game, meaning they're not just looking after today, but their future self is thanking their current self for putting in the work to help them through leaner times. So as you leave today's podcast, the mindset I'M hoping you take from today is to be able to challenge yourself around each of those three areas. Firstly, am I as an individual standing up to those? If not, are there any areas of improvement? But secondly, if I have a team or a business, is my business standing up to those? And if I'm not, which one can I pick to move the dial on? Now, you don't necessarily need to change everything at this point in time, but if you do think you've got an area of weakness, pick one, work on it and see if you can improve it by those little amounts. That 1% better each and every day approach and you'll no doubt start to see your sales numbers growing. So we're dropping episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'm very grateful for everyone listening in. Thank you. Today was very much an episode around being 1% better each and every day. So if nothing else, please keep that focus up on how you can improve in small amounts because when you do so, it will make the difference and to growing your sales results. That's it for today. We'll see you next time. Bye for now. Are you struggling to grow your monthly sales numbers? Feel like you've reached a sales ceiling, are involved in every deal, or have no real sales system in place to help you grow? And is that causing a level of worry or stress about how you can get more sales in the future? If that's you, that's exactly why we created the Sold Out Sales Teams program to help you get month on month sales growth with less stress. In just the first week, we will lock down your quoting process to grow sales by 25 to 30%. And that's just week one. And for the first three podcast listeners that we speak to this week, we'll offer you a bonus one on one strategy session with me to make sure you can pay off your investment even faster. Which by the way, for most businesses is only one or two extra sales. To book in, click the link in our Show Notes. It's a direct calendar link so you can instantly confirm your meeting time.
