Surviving the Sales Zombies: Is Your Sales Team Brain Dead?

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In the interest of Halloween and all things creepy and scary,

here are four signs your sales team might be zombies. Sales teams can sometimes resemble zombies, driven by habit and lacking strategic thought. These “undead” behaviors slowly drain company profits and undermine customer relationships. Here are four warning signs of brain-hungry habits, along with strategies to counter them.


1. Sale Zombies Don’t Understand Their Customers

Successful salespeople align products with customer needs. However, many lack knowledge about how customers make money, their internal costs, or key challenges like labor expenses and material waste. Without these insights, they fail to offer meaningful solutions, missing chances to collaborate with specialists and partners.




2. Sales Zombies Don’t Recognize the Value They Provide

Sales growth and commissions are not the real value of a salesperson's work. Strong sellers provide valuable services but often misjudge their economic impact, giving away costly support to low-potential customers. They may sacrifice company margins just to close deals without understanding which efforts drive profits. Talk about brain-hungry!


3. Sales Zombies Don’t Call on the Right People

Salespeople must engage with all key decision-makers, from maintenance teams to senior management. Many only build relationships with mid-level ghoul contacts, ignoring executives who control major purchasing decisions. This leaves accounts vulnerable to competitors offering strategic deals at higher levels.


4. Sales Zombies Lack Personal Strategic Plans

Zombie-like salespeople drift through the year without clear plans. Instead of proactively identifying growth opportunities, they rely on luck and routine. A solid plan should address who will provide growth, what products will drive it, and why accounts are poised to expand.


The Cure: Active Management and Team Selling

Even low-service discount sellers aren’t immune to zombie-like behavior. Poor decisions spread quickly without proper oversight. Using data-driven strategies and team-based selling can help combat these tendencies. Management must track performance, provide direction, and ensure sales teams stay sharp in today’s competitive environment.


Bottom Line

Be vigilant—don’t let zombies eat away at your sales success!





Frank Hurtte, Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting, shares his personal


experiences with over 30 years of "in the trenches" training and 19 years as

a consultant.  He serves as a personal coach to industry leaders across many lines of distribution.  He has authored 6 books (with another in the hopper) and has written hundreds of articles for national trade magazines, including IMARK Now Electrical Magazine.

Frank is also a sought-after copywriter of marketing materials for technology companies.  His charismatic, yet laid-back, easy-to-follow manner makes him a favorite among public speakers.





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