What CEOs Get Wrong About Sales Leadership

Sales is often seen as something you’re either innately good or bad at. But one early experience taught Lars Tewes that the reality is far different.

Lars is a sales leadership expert and founder of a global sales consultancy that helps CEOs and leadership teams build high-performing sales organisations.

At nineteen, he travelled to the US to learn how to sell, and made a discovery that fundamentally shaped the way he approached sales.

“In England, we don’t really think of sales as a profession,” he explains. “We think of it as a black art: you either can sell or you can’t.”

But in the US, he saw something entirely different. Selling was structured, respected, and taught with the same discipline as any other profession. There were processes, frameworks, and clear expectations. And people were proud to work in sales.

“I took the American knowledge of selling and founded a consultancy that helped UK businesses put those proven sales structures in place.”

Today, he helps CEOs understand what effective sales leadership actually looks like, and what it takes to build a high-performing sales team.

We caught up with Lars ahead of his Vistage event on the 25th February to find out more about his sales philosophy, and what you can expect to gain from the session.

Sign up for Lars’ session here.

The two biggest mistakes businesses make

Most businesses make the same two mistakes that quietly undermine their sales growth.

“The first is when a business simply takes their best salesperson and promotes them to sales manager without any clear training or support,” Lars says. “The expectation often is: ‘You know the business, the clients, and the product. Over to you.’” 

But leaving new sales leaders to figure things out alone inevitably creates roadblocks.

“That person is usually exceptional,” Lars explains. “But selling and sales leadership are completely different skills.” Without guidance, even high performers can struggle to lead, coach, and scale a team effectively.

Instead, he advises businesses to treat that promotion “almost like an external hire.” That means investing in leadership development, putting a clear sales framework in place, and defining what good sales leadership actually looks like.

The second mistake, Lars says, is far more widespread.

“Very rarely do we see a true structure in the sales system,” he explains. “Sales tends to be relationship-led, however, forget about the importance of building a clearly defined sales process.”

And, in many organisations, what’s called a “sales process” is actually just a reflection of their CRM.

High-performing sales organisations take a different approach. They start by understanding the stages their customers go through when making a purchasing decision. 

“They define the buyer journey first,” Lars explains. “Then they map the sales process to that journey and train their teams accordingly.”

Without that alignment, sales activity becomes inconsistent and difficult to scale. With it, sales leaders gain clarity, predictability, and a framework their teams can actually execute.

Why attend?

In his Vistage event on 25th February, Lars wants leaders to leave with a practical lens on their entire sales operation, from recruitment and onboarding through to continuous development.

“Most CEOs don’t come from a sales function, therefore they have never really had an opportunity to look into what it takes to be a high-performing sales team,” he explains. 

“My goal is to help CEOs understand what sales leaders should be doing to build a high-performing team.”

Lars will share four practical tools designed to help sales leaders lead, tools attendees can take straight back into their organisations and apply with their teams.

The real impact of sales

“Sales is a profession people should be proud of,” Lars concludes. “It’s the most valuable role for the customer. Because, when it’s done right, the customer wins.”

And when organisations embrace sales as a profession, not a personality trait, the impact reaches far beyond revenue. “That alone can transform an entire organisation.”Sign up for Lars’ session on February 25th here.

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