Beyond Lip Service: 3 Signs Your Sales Team Is Embracing Change

Ever wonder if your sales transformation is actually working, or just creating resistance?

While most change initiatives fail, there's a critical moment when the tide turns. I've spent years guiding companies through this terrain, and there are three unmistakable signals that reveal whether your team is truly embracing change or merely telling you what you want to hear in team meetings.

We've talked in the past about the challenges CEOs face when evolving their sales culture. And today, I want to focus on the positive side – the signals that indicate your team is embracing change and adopting your new sales approach.

I'm grateful to my client and friend, Tom Hurst, CRO at ACA Group (pictured above), for sharing these insights that are worth putting into print and sharing with you.

Let’s jump in:

Three Signs Your Team is Embracing Change

1. The Language Shift: From "They/Them" to "We/Us"

Pay close attention during team meetings. When team members start using inclusive pronouns like "we" and "us" instead of the distancing "they" and "them," it signals they're taking ownership of the new approach rather than seeing it as something imposed from above.

This subtle language shift reveals that your team has begun to internalize the transformation as their own journey rather than your directive.

2. Open Discussions Replace Defensive Posturing

When your team is adopting change, you'll notice the quality of discussions transform. Rather than defending "the way it's always been done," or “this is all our clients will accept from us,” salespeople lower their guards and engage in genuinely collaborative conversations.

Authenticity matters here. Creating space for vulnerability in your team meetings pays enormous dividends. Team members feel safe to admit uncertainty, ask questions, and explore the new approach without fear of judgment.

This leads to an interesting leadership question: Should leadership be more about "acting brave" (as Colin Powell suggests in this compelling 2-minute video) or about being vulnerable through "authentic leadership"?

Personally, I believe in authentic leadership. This approach creates a psychologically safe environment where people can be imperfect and vulnerable while learning and growing together. In this type of culture, team members recognize both their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to achieve more as a unified team. (To go deeper on this read or listen to literally anything Brené Brown has published.)

3. Team Members Become Evangelists

The ultimate signal of successful transformation? When your team is fully bought in they evangelize the new approach to others when you're not in the room. This is how you know the transformation has fully taken root.

There's nothing more powerful than genuine followership. As a leader, your job is to establish the right priorities and communicate them consistently. When team members champion these priorities independently, your transformation is complete.

The Path Forward

Creating lasting change in your sales organization isn't easy, but these positive signals will help you gauge your progress.

The path forward for successful sales transformation isn't about implementing dozens of initiatives simultaneously. It's about identifying your (three) most critical priorities, communicating them relentlessly, and ensuring every team member understands how their daily work connects to these larger goals.

Want to learn more about the power of prioritization? Click here to hear how Bob Iger saved Disney with his top-3 priorities.