Bench Strength & Training Should Never Be Optional
- Garfield Campbell
- Jan 15
- 3 min read
Great Sales Cultures Are Built with Training.
There is a quiet danger that creeps into sales organizations when expectations are left unspoken and development is treated as optional. It ultimately reveals itself.
I was reminded of this through a story shared by one of our clients. A Director sat down with a seller to offer performance feedback and clarify expectations. When asked about results, the seller replied plainly:
“I’m doing my job. If you look, you can see I responded to all the leads that came in this month.”
On paper, that statement sounds responsible. In practice, it exposes a large gap between activity and impact.
Responding to inbound leads alone will very seldom produce the revenue required to become a market leader. Leadership, however, is forged through proactive prospecting, strategic storytelling, and the discipline of being ready and waiting where opportunity has not yet knocked.
Leadership is About Setting the Expectation Early and Clearly
High-performing sales teams are built on clarity, deliberate messaging followed by confirmation that message is understood.
From the moment you hire, be explicit about what success looks like. Not just what to do, but how to think. A seller’s role is not to manage email inboxes, but rather to generate demand, shape perception, forge new and accretive relationships and create value where none previously existed.
That clarity must be reinforced through a disciplined 30-60-90 onboarding plan that includes defined skills assessments, specific timelines for mastering required tools, scripts, brand storytelling, and assignments that intentionally test comfort level, resilience, and creativity.
Training is not a one-time activity. It is a required, ongoing component of the development plan and should occur with the same regularity and accountability as performance feedback and monthly review meetings.
We’ve Heard That Feedback Is a Gift, Give the Gift Often
Great sales leaders coach relentlessly. They encourage, uplift, and champion their teams but they also listen. They stay alert to red flags, such as defensiveness, avoidance of proactivity and mediocrity. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we miscalculate or miss these red flags during the hiring process. When this happens, leadership requires courage. Addressing a hiring miscalculation early, before momentum is lost is not a failure; it is sound leadership. Delaying action for two additional months to confirm what was evident by week four is far more costly than making a decisive course correction.
Stretch the Seller. Sharpen the Craft.
Growth happens at the edge of discomfort.
Expose your sellers to varied environments:
Cold prospecting, where no relationship exists
Re-soliciting a client who left for valid reasons and learning how to win trust back
Navigating a rate objection where the customer wants your hotel, but not at your price
Selling value with confidence or guiding a client to say “no” while preserving the relationship
These moments forge professionals. They teach sellers how to think, not just react.
Above all, cultivate a culture where the job is about exceeding expectations, not merely meeting minimum standards.
Build the Bench Before You Need It
Bench strength is not a contingency plan; it should be a core philosophy.
Seek out those promising associates, the curious ones who tend to do more than is asked of them. Invite her to participate or audit portions of your sales training sessions. Allow him to sit-in on a client negotiations meeting. Let her observe a pre- or post-convention session. Give her a glimpse of what’s possible.
When turnover inevitably occurs, you won’t be scrambling. You’ll be ready with a backup plan, either temporary or permanent. Some of the strongest sellers I’ve led over my career were homegrown, developed with intention, trust, and opportunity.
Caution Leaders
We caution seasoned leaders to move away from the tired narrative that “today’s sellers don’t want to compete or work hard.” That belief is often rooted in dogma and anecdote rather than evidence. Talent still rises consistently and predictably when the culture is designed to invite, reward, and sustain excellence.
We are Built to Help You
When there is a need for proactive sales support, whether following turnover or in markets where additional prospecting energy is required, StanfordG Hospitality Consulting, can help restore momentum, reinforce expectations, and elevate performance with seasoned, brand-trained sales leadership. Great sales cultures are not accidents. They are built one expectation, one conversation, one coached moment at a time.
© 2026 StanfordG Hospitality Consulting. All Rights Reserved.
Comments