The Deadly Sins of Sales Management

AB Inbev's secret to improving sales in both modern and traditional channels. And what is ABM? 

Sales management in the B2B space is a challenge that extends beyond closing deals. It involves leading teams, optimizing processes, and ensuring that every customer interaction delivers value. However, many organizations fall into critical mistakes that hinder commercial performance and jeopardize growth. Identifying and addressing these pitfalls is essential to building a high-performing sales team.

Sales leaders must be aware of the factors that limit productivity and prevent opportunities from converting into actual sales. From poor pipeline management to misalignment with the marketing team, errors in the sales strategy can lead to lost revenue and dissatisfied customers. Understanding these issues enables better decision-making and strengthens team performance.

Recognizing the most common mistakes in B2B sales management not only helps avoid failure but also transforms challenges into opportunities for improvement. With a structured, data-driven approach, companies can refine their sales processes, enhance customer relationships, and drive sustainable growth.

Selling is an art and especially if you are looking to sell more. 

To increase sales, sales managers need to think differently. 

After working with different clients, listening to colleagues, and reflecting on the strategic changes we have experienced with many of them, as well as considering the current situation where we are facing the challenges of the pandemic and remote teams, I have concluded that there are 5 deadly sins that most organizations commit that do not allow them to maximize their sales strategies. 

Companies are called upon to make changes in their strategies if they want to secure their place in the present and future. 

Believing that you can sell anything to anyone is a trap to avoid. Selling without the right tools is a mistake. Not riding the wave of digital transformation and taking advantage of the facilities offered by the technologies and platforms available in the market is a mistake that will cost you customers who will leave with the competition. Selling is more challenging today than ever before. Selling strategies are part of a complex process where there are no shortcuts, but where platforms can make the road shorter. 

The 5 deadly sins in sales strategy. 

1. Outdated catalogues 
2. General promotions 
3. Non-personalised contracts or negotiations 
4. Not being available 24/7  
5. Non-scalable model 
   
   

And finally, there is a sixth element that I mention, which is not a sin, but rather the introduction of a new concept, which will probably sound familiar, but which practically no company handles correctly, and which is key to increase sales: ABM or Account Based Marketing.
 

Well, now let's analyze those 5 deadly sins a little bit: 

• Outdated catalogs: as you know, the product catalog is basically a document in which all the products or services of a company are organized. It sounds easy, but this "simple" catalog has some important challenges:
   

• Updating it 
• Editing it 

• Publish it 
• Printing it 
  
  

All these tasks take time and money, many companies use printed catalogs with high production costs, which also quickly become outdated, here, some companies have taken the initiative to pass it to pdf formats and publish them on the web, but this is not an easy task, it requires a person with some knowledge of design and programs that edit it, which must then be passed to a person responsible for the website to publish it, again it is not possible to have it updated in real time. 

• General promotions: promotions are a key component of any sales strategy, either as an incentive, offer for certain products, among others, the problem is that in the traditional sales model promotions are made in a general way, they are offered to all customers equally without distinction, which clearly does not achieve the desired results with B2B customers, this is not optimal, since in principle we should put personalized offers for customers based on their habits, historical, etc., so that each customer only sees the promotions that will be of interest to them and more importantly, we can make sure we have promotions for all types of customers. 
  
  

• Non-personalized contracts or negotiations: the sales tools that companies usually use are limited, they basically allow grouping customers into large groups according to certain characteristics, offering prices and discounts to those customer categories, clearly this has great disadvantages as it does not allow managing the relationship in a personalized way, based on history, purchases, recurrences, etc., and limits sales management.   
  
  

• Not being available "24/7": The capacity to serve customers in the traditional way is extremely limited, given that a salesperson usually works 8 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week, which limits the number of customers he/she can serve, especially if he/she must travel physically. Under this premise is that the model becomes costly, since to serve more customers, more salespeople are required. Taking the above into account, the sales that have been lost, the customers that have not been served, or how to reduce sales costs, have been analyzed. 
  
  

• Non-scalable model: the traditional sales model is limited in many ways because the cost structure grows in line with revenues, in other words, to earn more you must spend more, in a linear fashion. Companies under traditional sales model cannot work the B2C, B2B and export channels. 
  
  
  
  >> The key questions to ask yourself when considering your B2B strategy <<
  
  
  
  

How can this be reversed? 

The solution is Magento commerce the best eCommerce platform in the world, it allows to manage B2C and B2B commerce, the main features: 

• Reduces Business Costs 
• Get to Market Quickly 
• Drives New Revenue Growth 
• Versatility, it integrates with any architecture your company has. 
  
  

So, what is ABM and how can it help me sell more? 

It is a concept that we all handle, the famous 80 / 20 or Pareto's law, but ABM seeks to take that concept of 80 / 20 and define a clear strategy to work with those key accounts that in principle generate or may generate most of my sales. 

ABM is Account-Based Marketing, a growth strategy in which marketing and sales work together to create personalized buying experiences for a select group of high-value prospects. 

The pillars of ABM: 

• Business overview 
• Key business initiatives 
• Customer relationship landscape 

• Products and revenues 
• Competitor analysis by account 
• Purchasing process and points of sale 
• Relationship goals and strategy 
• Sales opportunities, objectives, and risks 

• Action plan 
  
  

Effective B2B sales management is not solely dependent on the products or services offered but on the team’s ability to avoid strategic and operational mistakes that impact results. Lack of follow-up, poor internal communication, and resistance to innovation can hinder commercial success. Identifying and addressing these issues is crucial for achieving optimal performance.

Success in sales is not driven by isolated tactics but by a comprehensive approach that combines leadership, strategy, and technology. Companies that prioritize process optimization, team training, and data analysis can differentiate themselves and create a meaningful impact in their market. A well-managed sales team not only drives revenue but also strengthens customer relationships and enhances brand perception.

Fixing the most common mistakes in B2B sales management is an essential step toward sustainable growth. Organizations that adopt a mindset of continuous improvement—focusing on measuring and optimizing their sales strategy—will be better positioned to compete and thrive in the long run.