How can we develop sustainable & profitable Customers ?
At GASP Sales Academy, I have seen it time and again—sales teams who are doing everything “right” but still struggling to close effectively. The problem? Execution gaps in the way they manage customers.
Let’s be clear: mastering sales execution isn’t about working harder—it is about operating smarter. That means getting brutally honest about where your customer management process is breaking down. Over the years, I have distilled 6 common pitfalls that silently erode sales performance. These aren’t theoretical errors—they’re executional lapses we encounter across industries and geographies.
Here is what I see in the field:
1. DUVP: The Missing Link Beyond USP
Most salespeople can recite their Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in their sleep. But that’s not enough. If you’re not articulating a clear Differentiated Unique Value Proposition (DUVP)—you’re playing a commodity game. With GASP, we train sellers to go beyond “what makes us different” and focus on “why we are uniquely valuable” to this specific customer, at this moment, in this market.
2. Pricing: More Than Just a Number
This is the silent killer. Most teams confuse cost with pricing. Cost is a fact; pricing is a policy. If your pricing strategy isn’t built around perceived value—and if you’re defaulting to discounts to win deals—you’re not executing, you’re eroding margin. We embed pricing discipline into the GASP framework as a strategic lever, not a reactive tactic.
3. Customer Coverage: Know Your LEAD from Your OPPORTUNITY
One of the most frequent executional missteps I observe is poor segmentation of the sales funnel. Sales reps often treat Leads, Prospects, and Opportunities interchangeably—this muddles pipeline management and wastes effort. Sales execution demands laser-sharp clarity on customer classification, with differentiated action plans at each stage.
4. Sales Call: Weak Scripting, Zero Listening
Let’s be honest—most sales calls are poorly planned and even more poorly executed. Weak scripting, monologues, and no active listening skills. At GASP, we coach sellers to run high-impact conversations with a consultative mindset, backed by powerful questioning and deep listening. Because execution lives or dies in the quality of the conversation.
5. Sales Productivity Norms: Activity vs Impact
Another red flag—teams focus on Lagging Indicators like closures and revenue. What they ignore are Leading Indicators: quality of meetings, funnel velocity, cross-sell ratio, etc. In our SPARK program, we institutionalise productivity norms so that leading indicators drive the right sales behaviors before results go south.
6. Sales Administration: Kicking the Can Down the Road
Nobody likes admin. But if you don’t keep your CRM updated, delay documentation, or ignore internal coordination—you’re sabotaging your future self. Sales administration is not back-office work; it’s the scaffolding that supports scalable, repeatable success. At GASP, we build process discipline into the DNA of high-performing sales teams.
The GASP Lens: Execution Is the Real Differentiator
All six pitfalls above point to one truth: strategy is what you think, execution is what the customer experiences. That’s where GASP (Generally Accepted Sales Principles) comes in. It’s the only end-to-end framework that embeds sales discipline across Customer Management, Sales Productivity, Sales Partner Management, and Sales Operations.
If your sales team is struggling with patchy execution or inconsistent customer outcomes—it’s time to revisit the fundamentals. Let’s stop managing symptoms and start curing the disease. Let’s Master Sales Execution.
✅ Ready to fix your sales execution engine?
Explore how SPARK, our Sales Productivity Acceleration & Resource Kit, helps embed GASP principles into your organisation. Visit www.gaspsalesacademy.com or book a free consultation now at https://bit.ly/4kk0LQO
Dinkar Suri I Founder I GASP Sales Academy