When sales slow down, most leaders move fast. They change the comp plan. Add new KPIs. Call an emergency meeting.

It’s a common reaction but often, it’s not leadership. It’s symptom management.

In Dubai’s competitive service industry, I’ve noticed the same pattern again and again: sales teams are expected to sell too many different services at once. Without a clear focus, reps keep switching between offerings. They never get the chance to become specialists. They don’t build deep product knowledge, which means they lack confidence when meeting clients and that impacts win rates.

Now, I’m not against salespeople handling multiple offerings there’s a time and place for that. But if you’ve tried every incentive, every training, every KPI adjustment, and you’re still not getting traction, it’s time to ask a different question: Is this really an execution problem, or is it a design problem? Sometimes, the issue isn’t how the team is working it’s how the work is structured.

One proven fix is creating Centres of Excellence dedicated roles or teams that focus on a single service area. When a rep works on the same offering every day, they become faster, sharper, and more confident. They anticipate objections. They know the pricing, benefits, and differentiators inside out. They stop wasting time switching contexts and start spending more time selling effectively.

Leaders who manage symptoms might throw in new dashboards, incentives, or bonus schemes to spark short-term performance. Leaders who lead the cure redesign the system so that reps are set up for success long-term.

That means asking:
– Does our structure create clarity or confusion?
– Are we enabling our team to become experts or generalists who never master anything?
– Have we built the kind of depth that wins trust in competitive markets?

Especially in Dubai’s fast-moving market, the difference between hitting your short-term targets and building sustained growth often comes down to whether your team operates with crystal-clear focus.

So next time your numbers dip, resist the urge to just treat the symptoms. Step back. Diagnose the real issue. Build a structure that fixes it for good.

Because great sales leaders don’t just manage they cure.