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Sales Teams Are Not Lazy - They’re Trapped in the Wrong System

SupaHuman Team

Monday, May 12, 2025

min read

If you run a franchise network, mid-market service business, or manage field-based sales teams, you’ve likely asked the same question:

Why, despite all the tools, is productivity still flatlining?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: it’s not your people. It’s the structure they’re working in.

NZ Context: Productivity Isn’t Just a Sales Issue — It’s a National Bottleneck

Low productivity is costing New Zealand more than deals. It’s hurting margins, investment, and resilience.

  • NZ businesses experience 18% lower profit margins than OECD peers
    (Deloitte NZ, 2023)

  • 58% of firms are unable to define ROI models for AI or automation, delaying innovation
    (NZ Productivity Commission, 2022)

  • 3x higher business failure rates in low-productivity firms over 5 years
    (Business NZ, 2024)

  • 62% of companies face serious challenges with data infrastructure (Digital Readiness Index, 2023)

This isn’t due to a lack of tools — it’s a lack of operational alignment and integration.

Where It’s Breaking Down — 3 Core Patterns

From our research across cleaning, logistics, insurance, and other field-heavy sales sectors, three patterns consistently show up:

1. Leads Are There — But They Aren’t Prioritised

CRMs are packed with leads, but there’s no daily logic for what to action first. Reps are left guessing:

  • Who’s hot?

  • Who’s due for follow-up?

  • Who’s worth re-engaging?

Without automated prioritisation, high-value leads often go cold while effort is wasted on low-potential accounts.

2. Estimates Are Manual and Inconsistent

Lack of standardisation in quote generation leads to:

  • Time lost chasing info

  • Errors in pricing or scope

  • Delayed delivery and reduced close rates

Worse — quotes vary between reps, creating brand inconsistency and confusion for head office.

3. Upsell Opportunities Slip Through the Cracks

Even when clients are happy, reps rarely have:

  • Triggers to identify upsell moments

  • Visibility into usage or behaviour patterns

  • Tools to act on cross-sell insights

The result? Recurring revenue is left on the table.

How Organisations Are Trying to Fix It

Many businesses are trying to solve this through:

  • More headcount — which raises cost without improving flow

  • CRM plugins and sales tools — which often create more silos

  • Manual dashboards and tracking sheets — which are out of date by the time they’re opened

A few are getting smart. They’re building:

  • Unified sales data environments

  • Lead scoring models

  • Templated estimation systems

  • Daily prioritisation workflows

It’s not just about having AI — it’s about operationalising intelligence.

Final Thought: Work Smarter Before You Work Harder

Sales productivity doesn’t start with a motivational speech. It starts with fixing the systems that are draining your best people.

If you’re still:

  • Sorting leads manually

  • Quoting from scratch

  • Leaving upsells to chance

Then your sales team isn’t underperforming — they’re under-supported.

Next Up

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