The Engagement Crisis in Sales
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In the 10 July episode of Sales Frequency, Jesús Llamazares and Will Squire tackled a question many leaders are quietly asking: Why is my sales team so unmotivated — and how do I fix it?
Their answer wasn’t performance plans or pep talks. It was coaching — but not in the traditional sense. Coaching as a leadership mindset, not a meeting. A cultural shift, not a quick fix.
Misalignment: The Real Cost of Poor Motivation
Motivation, as Jesús framed it, is often misdiagnosed. Disengaged salespeople aren’t lazy or disinterested — they’re misaligned. They’re stuck in systems that don’t reflect the current reality of selling, guided by leaders who confuse activity with value.
Will shared Gallup and CIPD data that showed stagnating engagement and a rise in “quiet quitting” — signs of a workforce that’s switched off rather than fired up. And the economic backdrop doesn’t help. Declining productivity, cautious investment in skills, and a post-Brexit, post-pandemic hangover have left teams under pressure and under-supported.
Motivation isn’t just low — it’s being quietly eroded by a lack of clarity, purpose, and psychological safety.
The issue? Too many organisations try to solve motivation with incentives or more CRM oversight. But as Jesús and Will made clear, you can’t fix a mindset problem with a dashboard. What’s needed is alignment — between purpose, people, and performance. And that begins with how leaders show up.
Coaching: From Meeting to Mindset
Here’s where the conversation got honest: most managers think they’re coaching. They’re not.
They’re managing. Directing. Sometimes mentoring. But real coaching — as explored in Consalia’s Coaching for Sales Transformation programme — is about something deeper. It's a shift from telling to listening, from solving problems for people to helping them solve their own.
Will explained that effective coaching requires a “psychologically safe space,” active listening, and a commitment to non-directive questioning. It’s about creating room for reflection, not giving the answer.
One standout moment: Jesús compared coaching to the human side of AI. “AI can give you an answer, but it won’t grow your mindset,” he said. Coaching, done well, helps people develop their own internal compass — so they’re not just more capable, but more confident.
Crucially, coaching isn’t about underperformance. When embedded as a proactive leadership habit, it becomes a multiplier. Coaching builds trust. Trust builds motivation. Motivation builds results.
And when coaching is absent? Misalignment becomes chronic. Sales leaders spend their time solving crises instead of scaling people. Teams grow dependent. Leaders get burned out.
Reframing the Sales Leader’s Role, From Manager to Multiplier
The final third of the conversation focused on the future: if motivation depends on mindset, then how must sales leaders evolve?
Both Jesús and Will agreed that this isn’t about adding another meeting to the calendar. It’s about leading differently.
Will laid out some practical starting points:
- Try transformational questions like: “What would you do if you had total freedom in your role?”
- Build a new habit: 10 minutes of undistracted listening in your next 1:1
- Shift your default mode from feedback to coaching dialogue
The episode ended with a strong call to action: if you’re not coaching, you’re likely managing at the cost of long-term performance. And if you’re unsure where to start, Consalia’s Coaching for Sales Transformation programme is designed to embed these principles at the heart of how teams lead.
Conclusion
Low motivation isn’t a sign your team doesn’t care. It’s a mirror. And what it reflects is often a lack of clarity, consistency, and coaching.
In a world of sales standups and Slack pings, the most radical thing a leader can do might be the simplest: ask a question, be silent and listen.
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