Stop sabotaging your own sales team - a RevOps POV

Sales teams are the growth engine of any business. They bring in revenue, carry quota, and represent the company directly to buyers. Yet even the strongest sales team can struggle to perform iftheir own organization keeps tripping them up.

Here’s where companies go wrong and how to get it right.

#1 Overcomplicating the process

Reps are supposed to be in front of buyers. Too often, they’re buried in admin. When every deal requires endless approvals, form-filling, or chasing down collateral, sales momentum evaporates.

Handoffs between SDRs and AEs are another common sinkhole, where qualified leads get stuck or dropped altogether. Multiply that friction across dozens of reps and hundreds of opportunities, and the losses are staggering.

The fix? Back to the drawing board!

Map the sales process end-to-end. This definitely isn't a quick fix but it's the only real way to get ahead of procedural problems.

Where are the choke points? Which steps add value, and which just burn time?

Once you see the bottlenecks clearly, you can start cutting them out.

#2 Too many tools

What starts as a good idea (“let’s add this new prospecting app”) quickly spirals into chaos. Before long, reps are juggling half a dozen systems, copying notes between platforms, and losing valuable context every time they switch screens.

This might be mistaken for enablement from the outside, but on ground it complicates instead of simplifies.

The fix? Simplification

‍Start with an audit of the current stack (we do this for free btw).

The goal is to slowly chip away at the overlap.

Work towards a single, reliable CRM, then connect the surrounding tools so data flows automatically. A well-integrated system means no more copy-paste, no more “where’s that email thread,” and no more reps chasing their tails.

The rule of thumb is simple: if a tool makes life easier for the buyer and the seller, keep it.

If it just adds more admin, let it go.

#3 One-and-done training

Training is too often treated like a checkbox. New reps get firehosed during onboarding and then left to fend for themselves. Over time, skills fade, products evolve, objections change... Suddenly even experienced sellers find themselves 'winging it' on high-stakes calls.

When training dies after day one, performance follows.

The fix? Make it a habit

‍Weave short, focused sessions into the weekly rhythm: quick role-plays on real objections, deal coaching tied directly to revenue, and lightweight refreshers when new tools or products launch.

Beyond formal training, reps also need instant resources. Things like case studies, competitor briefs, battle cards, stuff that's easy to grab and use mid-conversation.

#4 Letting data decay

Upkeep is hard, especially when your teams are running around like headless chickens trying to tend to all that needs doing. This inevitably leads to bad data quality.

When the data's bad, trust in the CRM collapses, reps abandon it, and the aftermath is predictable.

The fix: treat data as one of the most important company resources

‍Treat data like you treat cash. You protect it, you invest in it, and you put it to work. Bad data is like counterfeit bills - it looks fine until you try to use it, and then everything falls apart.

Aspire to produce and capture good, quality data at every touchpoint. Soon enough, you'll know exactly which doors to knock on, when to reach out, and what to say once you’re there.

#5 Siloed teams

Sales doesn’t operate alone but too many companies act like it does.

Marketing throws over low-quality leads.

Product launches new features that sales learns about from buyers.

Finance rewrites discount rules halfway through a deal.

Customer Success inherits accounts already frustrated from the handoff.

Each misalignment adds drag, and the rep is left to smooth it over with the buyer.

The fix: build the bridge

Keeping teams aligned isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline.

Everyone has to speak the same language.

- What counts as a lead?

- What stage is “real” ?

- When is a handoff successful?

Set guardrails once and make sure everyone plays by them, so reps don’t get blindsided halfway through a deal.

Pause before pointing fingers

When sales misses targets, it’s tempting to point the finger at the reps. But most of the time, the real issues live upstream. Overcomplicated processes. Tool bloat. One-and-done training. Decaying data. Teams that pull in opposite directions... It can all derail your sales efforts.

RevOps exists to fix those systemic problems. It strips out friction, builds alignment, and creates the infrastructure that makes selling seamless again.

Revblack helps organizations make this shift real. If you’re ready to stop sabotaging your sales team and start building momentum, let’s talk.