For many managers, it can feel like the top 20% of their team carries the weight for the other 80%. But if the rest of your reps could just close the gap, even slightly, you’d stop scrambling every quarter to make numbers.
The truth is that most “average” reps are much closer to success than they think. So how do you help your reps become top sellers?
The good news is that you don’t need unicorn hires – you need to shift rep behavior at scale, and give them the data, tools, and coaching to execute consistently.
Start by Breaking Down Limiting Beliefs
One of the most common barriers keeping reps from high performance isn’t external, it’s internal. Many salespeople tell themselves stories that limit their success:
- “No one buys in my territory.”
- “The product isn’t strong enough.”
- “I’m just not as good as the top performers.”
According to Gabe Biondo, author of groundbreaking sales mindset book Bridge of Fire: “The average salesperson tells themselves something which tends not to be true. They believe in that something, and then they act inside of that belief system.”
Gabe discussed this topic during of one of our webinars, where the focus was on how you can help dismantle those excuses in your role as a leader.
Encourage honesty; push reps to ask themselves whether they’re really making enough calls, following up consistently, preparing properly, and using the resources at hand. When the conversation shifts from vague reasons to concrete actions, accountability follows, and so does progress.
Help Them Build Consistency Over Heroics
Top sellers don’t rely on big, dramatic wins; they succeed through daily habits that compound over time. But average reps often assume high performers have some kind of advantage or magic charisma.
The difference isn’t in talent or territory; it’s in showing up every day and doing the work.
Leaders should highlight those consistent behaviors and make them visible. Reward the reps who build momentum through routine, not just those who land one-off big deals. Build dashboards around leading indicators and activities that create pipeline, not just closed-won.
Focus on Small, Achievable Milestones
The gap between average and top sellers can feel overwhelming, and closing it looks like running a marathon with no finish line in sight. That’s why it’s important to help your team break progress down into smaller, more manageable milestones.
Gabe described it with a story from a friend who runs marathons: “He said: I just pick a spot. As long as I can get to that hill, then I’ll give myself permission to give up. And as I’m approaching that spot, I just pick another one.”
Reps need the same approach. Guide them toward small wins like a set number of calls each day, a pipeline target for the month, or a goal for booked discovery meetings. These milestones build confidence, and confidence builds momentum.
Try small goals like:
- Book 5 net new meetings this week
- Increase your connect rate by 10% this month
- Re-engage 3 stalled opportunities this quarter
Cultivate Desire, Not Just Discipline
Even with the right processes in place, discipline alone won’t carry reps to the top. They need motivation that connects their daily grind to something bigger.
As Gabe explained, drawing on Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich: “Help them decide if they really truly want to succeed, because it is going to take some work. But if they want that, then they can muster up a burning desire to carry them through.”
As a leader, help your reps identify their “why.” What does success mean to them personally? What will they gain if they push through discomfort and improve? When activity is connected to purpose, resilience follows.
Try to link sales success to what personally matters to each rep. It’s not always income, it could be recognition, promotion or pride in doing a good job.
Replace Busy Work with Meaningful Action
One of the traps many average reps fall into is mistaking busyness for progress. They’ll spend hours polishing email templates or reorganizing their CRM, while avoiding the harder but more valuable work of outreach and follow-up.
As Gabe pointed out, “No customer has ever bought me because my email was arranged the right way.”
What matters is the activity that advances deals: calls, conversations, relationship building. Leaders should coach reps to ask themselves: does this action directly create pipeline or move an opportunity forward? If not, it’s not a priority.
Model and Multiply Success
Once someone does break into the top 20%, don’t let their knowledge sit in a silo. Encourage them to mentor others, run peer-to-peer coaching sessions, or share how they handle objections. This not only helps lift the rest of the team but also reinforces best practices for your top sellers themselves.
As Gabe emphasized, “Once you’re over the bridge of fire, it’s your obligation to help other people do it. There’s no ego in it. You’ve had success; now go help others.”
You Need a New Framework, not a New Team
Transforming your reps into top sellers is not about hiring unicorns or hoping for better territories. It’s about helping them shift their mindset, build consistent habits, focus on meaningful action, and connect their daily work to a deeper purpose.
As a sales leader, your role is to break down false beliefs, guide your reps toward achievable milestones, and foster a culture where success is shared. When you do, you’ll discover that the line between the lower 80% and the top 20% isn’t as wide as it seems.
Most reps are already closer to top performance than they realize; they just need a leader who can help them move from chasing quote to consistently exceeding it.
And Giving Them the Best Tools to Succeed
Helping your team transform into top sellers isn’t just about coaching, it’s also about giving them the right tools. Lead Forensics identifies the anonymous B2B visitors on your website, revealing what pages they’re engaging with to help you understand where they are on their journey.
If mindset is the first level in transforming sales success, data is the second. And with these insights, your reps can focus on the hottest opportunities, tailor their outreach with warm calling, and close deals faster.
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