The Tennessee Problem (And Why Your Sales Training Isn’t Working)
NOTES FROM NORTHWOOD
Living in Texas, it’s painful when everyone talks about UT and it’s not Knoxville.
But as a long suffering Vols fan, I’ve watched the same cycle for 15 years: Butch Jones, Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin, Jeremy Pruitt… hire a coach, expect immediate results, get frustrated when it doesn’t happen, fire the coach, repeat.
Even now with Josh Heupel showing promise, the pattern remains (though he’s safe for now): we keep changing the coach but never address the real problem.
→ We expect magic to happen without building the foundation.
Sound familiar? It should. Because most companies approach sales training the exact same way.
The One Day Training Myth
“We need sales training for the team.”
I hear this every week from CEOs who think a one-day workshop will transform their sales organization.
Just like Tennessee fans think hiring the “right” coach will instantly fix 15 years of systemic problems.
Here’s what actually happens: You bring in a trainer (like Northwood), deliver some great content, everyone gets excited, and then… nothing changes.
Six months later, the same problems exist. The same deals are stalling. The same reps are struggling.
So what do you do? Fire the trainer and try someone new. Just like Tennessee fires coaches.
But the problem was never the trainer. Just like Tennessee‘s problem was never really the coaches.
What Tennessee Gets Wrong (And So Do You)
Tennessee has talent. They recruit well. They have good facilities and passionate fans.
But they’ve had the same fundamental issue for over a decade: no sustainable system for developing that talent.
They get great recruits, but how are they developing offensive and defensive lines that are NFL worthy? How are they creating consistency in their schemes? How are they building the culture that sustains success?
Without those systems, even the best individual talent hits a ceiling.
Your sales organization has the same problem.
You hire good people. You bring in trainers. You might even see some initial improvement.
But if your managers don’t know how to coach what was taught, if there’s no reinforcement between sessions, if there’s no accountability for implementation… you’re just hoping talent alone will carry you.
It won’t.
The Real Problem
I was talking to a client after a recent training session. She said, “I thought there would be more follow-up instruction for managers.”
After I got over being frustrated that she was asking me to do more work, I realized she was absolutely right.
We need to give managers paint-by-number instructions on what to work on with their people between training sessions.
Because just like football, sales is not a one-person sport. You need coaches who can develop individual skills, reinforce the system, and hold people accountable to the process.
Most sales managers think their job is pipeline reviews and forecasting. That’s administration, not development.
The real job is coaching specific skills, creating accountability, and reinforcing what was learned in training.
But nobody teaches them how to do that. So they wing it, just like Tennessee coaches who don’t have a systematic approach to player development.
How We Fixed This at Delta Faucet
Delta Faucet had been around 70 years, but their leaders were struggling. Higher turnover than expected. Managers feeling unsupported.
We didn’t just deliver training and hope for the best. We built a complete development system:
10 modules over 20 weeks. Not a one-day event, but sustained development
Activity-based learning. No one sitting as hostages in a room for hours
Manager involvement. Leaders participated in all training and got specific coaching tools
Follow-up accountability. Clear instructions on what to practice between sessions
The result? 100% of participants recommended the program. Leaders felt “significantly more important.” Communication improved across departments.
Most importantly: it stuck. Because we built a system, not just delivered content.
The “More is Caught Than Taught” Principle
Here’s what Tennessee doesn’t understand (and what most training programs miss):
You can’t lecture someone into being better. You have to create experiences where they discover what works through guided practice.
In our programs, we don’t explain communication theory for 2 hours. We put people in scenarios where they have to navigate difficult conversations.
We don’t teach delegation concepts. We create exercises where they experience what happens when instructions aren’t clear.
Some activities seem silly at first. People roll their eyes.
But then the light bulb goes off. They figure it out themselves. And because it feels like THEIR discovery, they own it and actually change their behavior.
That’s why our retention rates are so high. Not because we’re brilliant trainers, but because people teach themselves through structured experience.
What This Means for Your Sales Team
Stop looking for the magic bullet trainer who will fix everything in one session.
Start building a development system that includes:
- Manager development first. Teach them how to coach, not just administrate
- Sustained reinforcement. Training is an event, development is a process
- Activity based learning. Create discoveries, not lectures
- Clear accountability. Specific skills to practice between sessions
- Patience with the process. Cultural change takes 6-8 months, not 6-8 hours
Tennessee cycled through multiple coaches over the past 15 years hoping for different results. But until they build systems for consistent player development, the pattern continues.
Don’t make the same mistake with your sales organization.
Build the system. Develop your managers. Create sustained accountability.
The wins will follow.
