Surviving the Sales Zombie Apocalypse: Is Your Team Brain Dead?

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Surviving the Sales Zombie Apocalypse: Is Your Team
Brain Dead?

By Frank Hurtte, River Heights Consulting

In honor of Halloween and all things creepy and unsettling, let’s talk about a truly frightening business epidemic: Sales Zombies.

You’ve seen them lurching around in the wild: salespeople moving through the motions, cold-calling without purpose, and chasing the same tired deals. Driven by habit instead of strategy, they slowly drain profits, eat away at customer loyalty, and leave a trail of missed opportunities.

Here are four telltale signs your sales team might be showing symptoms of zombification, and how to bring them back to life.

1. Sales Zombies Don’t Understand Their Customers

The best salespeople know how their customers make money, manage costs, and stay competitive. The undead ones? They don’t.

Without understanding key business drivers like labor costs, inventory control, and waste, they can’t offer meaningful solutions or position themselves as trusted partners.

The cure: Train your team to think like businesspeople, not order-takers. Encourage collaboration with specialists who can help uncover hidden value for your customers.

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

It’s not just about commissions.

Strong sales professionals understand the economic value they bring to customers and their own company. Zombies, however, give away time, support, and expertise without recognizing the cost. They sacrifice margin for motion.

The cure: Use value-based metrics and customer profitability analysis. Reward salespeople who know where the company truly makes money.

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

Too many salespeople haunt the same comfortable hallways, talking to mid-level contacts while ignoring the executives who make strategic decisions.

The cure: Expand the conversation. Encourage your team to engage across all levels—from the maintenance shop floor to the corner office. Strategic selling means building influence where it counts.

4. Sales Zombies Lack a Personal Strategic Plan

If your salespeople don’t have a plan, they’re just wandering aimlessly.

A personal strategic plan defines who will provide growth, what products drive that growth, and why those opportunities exist. Without it, you’re just hoping for sales magic.

The cure: Hold your team accountable for annual and quarterly plans that align with company goals.

The Cure: Active Management and Team Selling

Zombie behavior spreads fast, especially in sales cultures that lack accountability.

Fight the infection with active management, data-driven decisions, and team-based selling. Leadership must monitor progress, share insight, and ensure everyone’s focused on strategy, not survival.

Bottom Line

Don’t let Sales Zombies feast on your margins.

Stay alert. Stay engaged. And make sure your sales team has both a pulse and a plan.

Are your sales strategies turning undead? Bring your team back to life with smarter selling practices. Connect with River Heights Consulting today to start your sales revival

About the Author

Frank Hurtte is the Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting and a recognized expert in
industrial distribution strategy. Known for blending humor with hard truths, Frank helps companies stay competitive by turning traditional sales models into modern, team-driven success stories.





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