From Skeptic to Advocate: How Sandler Sales Training Turned Around a Struggling Sales Organization

Introduction: The Sales Turnaround Playbook Every CEO Should Know

As a CEO who’s led multiple companies through turnaround scenarios, I’ve developed a personal playbook. And one of the first questions I ask when stepping into a struggling business is this:

“How much time and money have you invested in sales training over the last five years?”

If the answer is “not much,” I already know why the company isn’t growing.

But I’ll admit—I didn’t always think this way.

Crisis Mode: The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything

During the 2008 housing crash, the construction industry collapsed. In some states, business dropped by 90%. Our company went from forecasting over $2 billion in profit to losing money. It was a freefall.

We thought we were managing the problem by pushing our salespeople harder—more calls, more pressure. I focused on KPIs and aggressive targets. But we weren’t actually helping them improve. We were just burning them out.

Our remaining sales team was demoralized. Many had lost their edge. As one colleague put it, “We have thousandaires negotiating with millionaires.” And we were sending them in unprepared.

That’s when a group came to me and said: “We need sales training.”

My answer? Absolutely not.

From Resistance to Research: How the Case for Training Took Shape

Rather than flat-out rejecting the idea, I did what any skeptical CEO might do—I handed it off to a committee.

Three months later, they came back with hard data showing that companies that invest in sales training and leadership development outperform those that don’t—significantly. Still, I wasn’t sold. So I sent them back again.

Eventually, they narrowed it down to three training providers. I agreed to interview them—fully intending to shut them all down.

The Turning Point: Why Sandler Stood Out

I challenged the first two companies hard. They stumbled. I wasn’t impressed.

Then came Sandler.

I was just as tough on them—but they didn’t flinch. In fact, they pushed back with better questions. They uncovered pain points I didn’t even realize I had.

Midway through the meeting, I had an out-of-body experience: “I can’t believe this is happening—I’m losing this argument.”

If Sandler could shift the mindset of someone as anti-sales-training as me, I knew they could help our team.

What I Learned at Sandler Boot Camp

When we launched with Sandler, I attended the first boot camp. I came away with two key realizations:

I had far more to learn than I thought.
I wasn’t nearly as good at sales as I believed.

I’d had commercial success my entire career, so I assumed I “got it.” But the truth is, I didn’t. I also believed we could train our salespeople internally. We couldn’t.

Sales training isn’t about tools or CRMs—it’s about real conversations and repeatable skills.

Real Financial Impact: Sales Stories That Show Results

Soon after training, the results started rolling in. We launched a sales contest—submit success stories and win an iPad. We received 40–50 entries a month, representing thousands of units sold without discounting.

In the past, reps would’ve slashed prices to close deals. Now, using Sandler techniques, they were preserving margin. One change saved us $30,000 in a single cycle.

Another sales leader—just a few years from retirement—completely reinvented his approach. His team’s earnings grew at triple the previous rate.

These stories were no longer anecdotal. We tracked the numbers and saw unit margin improvement quarter after quarter. The training was paying for itself—sometimes in just a few months.

Why Sales Training Should Be a CEO’s First Investment

In industrial businesses with mature product cycles, the sales team is the value driver. After safety, revenue is the most critical area—and sales is where revenue is won or lost.

Not investing in your salespeople is, in my view, corporate malpractice.

Sandler helped us create:

Stronger margins
Confident sales conversations
A measurable, repeatable sales process
A culture of accountability and improvement

Final Thought: If They Can Change My Mind, They Can Change Yours

I’ve now brought Sandler into four companies and trained over 1,000 people. The methodology works—across industries, across business models, and across every level of sales skill.

If you’re skeptical about sales training, I get it. I was, too.

But if Sandler could convert me—someone who once dismissed the entire idea—then they’re probably exactly the kind of partner you need.