Your First 90 Days: Launching a More Collaborative Sales Culture

If you're taking on a sales leadership position, one of the most influential things you can do is create an authentically collaborative sales culture. This is not merely about getting people to work more collaboratively together—it's making a system in which collaboration comes naturally because it benefits everyone.

The initial 90 days are your opportunity to reset the tone, dissolve silos, and create a team that sells together, not side by side. This book takes you through a step-by-step process that's practical and proven. No fluff, no watered-down tips—just a clear plan for making your sales culture a competitive differentiator.

Days 1–30: Diagnose the Culture

Your first month is a learning month. Not only what the sales process is like in a slide deck—but how it works when the heat is on. Meet with each individual that touches the sales cycle. These are not performance reviews. They are frank discussions about how deals progress, where they get stuck, and when teamwork helps or hinders.

As you listen, you'll start to notice patterns. Perhaps customer success doesn't even hear about a new customer until after the handoff has already occurred. They may not want to involve marketing because they are unsure of what they'll receive. These are not side remarks. These are indicators of where collaboration is lacking or nonexistent.

At the same time, join sales calls, pipeline reviews, and cross-functional meetings. Watch how the team communicates. Who leads? Who's quiet? Who follows up—and who disappears once their part is done? The details matter here. You're not just looking at the system. You're watching the culture in motion.

Once you've gathered everything, summarize what you've seen in a way the team can understand. Don't just say, "Collaboration is inconsistent." Show what that looks like. Use real examples. Instead of blaming anyone, focus on what isn't working and what could be made easier.

That level of clarity is what opens the door to real change.

Days 31–60: Redesign How the Team Works

The second month signifies the shift from listening to taking action. Now that you have gained insight into where teamwork fails, it is time to establish a new framework that facilitates effective teamwork.

Begin by defining what collaboration looks like, not in theory but in practice. Rather than saying, "Account Executives must introduce CS before sending proposals," say precisely when and how that should occur. Make it explicit so that nobody is left guessing. If an AE must introduce a CS partner before sending a proposal, that is what should be routine, not the exception.

Next, try running a small experiment. Build a few deal pods—small groups of cross-functional teammates who work on one or two live deals together using the new structure. Watch closely. Are handoffs cleaner? Is buyer information being shared early enough to shape better conversations? Are people actually leaning on each other—or just pretending to?

You'll learn a great deal quickly.

Meanwhile, create a central location where deal information resides. Not scattered in inboxes or Slack channels—but a single shared document, dashboard, or CRM view that provides access to the entire deal picture for everyone. This isn't a tool. It conveys that sales has now become a collaborative effort among team members.

Additionally, consider revising your definition of success. If your sole measure is revenue closed, you're only half-receiving the story. Begin to measure other factors, such as how often other departments are involved in deals, how frequently strategies incorporate feedback from CS or marketing, and how usually sales insights are fed back upstream. Those numbers let you know if collaboration becomes a habit—or merely a lovely thought.

Days 61–90: Reinforce and Scale

The final month is about turning progress into routine. You're not done—you're stabilizing the culture shift you've started.

Begin by sharing stories. Not generic praise, but clear wins that came from real collaboration. Highlight deals that closed faster because marketing helped shape the messaging. Celebrate customer renewals that happened because CS was brought in early. These examples do more than motivate—they teach.

Then, bake your new approach to onboarding into the process. All new hires must learn not only how to sell but also how your team collaborates to close. Please provide them with examples of successful deals. Allow them to shadow collaborative calls. Incorporate this culture into their initial impression.

Lastly, gather your leadership team together for a monthly culture check-in. This does not have to be formal. Sit down every month with sales leaders, CS leaders, marketing leaders, and product leaders and ask three questions: What is working? What does feel forced? What is still holding you back?

That cycle—of experimentation, learning, and tuning—is how your collaborative culture becomes stronger year after year.

Conclusion: A Sales Culture That Wins Together

Building a collaborative sales culture in 90 days is not about trying to do everything simultaneously. It's about doing the right things in the correct sequence and bringing each change to life.

You begin by listening intently, so you get what's going on—not what's meant to. You rebuild little bits of the process so that working together gets simpler, not more complex. And you build on the successes so that collaboration becomes the default way of working.

When teamwork is embedded in the system, rather than merely being motivated from the sidelines, everything changes. Transactions happen faster. The customer experience is enhanced. And the team starts to think beyond their targets and towards a common goal.

That's what a healthy sales culture looks like. And now you have 90 days to get started building it.