5 Signs of a Healthy Sales Culture

Your sales culture is either accelerating deals or killing them. Every day, sales leaders watch talented reps burn out, top performers jump ship, and team morale tank — all while trying to hit increasingly aggressive targets. The reality? Most sales cultures are broken, and it's costing you revenue.

But here's what separates thriving sales teams from the rest: they've cracked the code on building a culture that actually drives performance. They know exactly what signs to look for, what toxic behaviors to eliminate, and how to create an environment where reps want to win — together.

This guide breaks down the five unmistakable signs of a healthy sales culture, plus the practical steps to build one that scales. Whether you're fighting high turnover, fixing a toxic environment, or just trying to get your team firing on all cylinders, you'll find the roadmap here.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• What we mean by "sales culture"
• Who's responsible for building sales culture
• The 5 signs of a healthy sales culture
• What toxic sales culture looks like
• How to build a sales culture of the future

What is sales culture?

Sales culture is the collection of a sales organization's attitudes, habits, and values. It's the set of "norms" that make up the day-to-day work life of team members.

The best sales cultures are competitive, collaborative, passionate, and inclusive. They give people a reason—outside of earning a paycheck—to show up to work every day and perform their best.

Who's responsible for building sales culture?

Everyone contributes to culture building. But, it's ultimately the sales leader's job to ensure their team's culture is positive and productive.

While higher-ups (i.e. founders and executives) are in charge of setting the tone for the company, sales managers and team leads are responsible for creating a sales culture that motivates and inspires their teams.

Research says that direct managers influence 80% of salespeople's perception of a company. Every time a sales manager structures a team meeting, gives feedback, or sets a goal, they are upholding a sales culture—whether that be a positive or negative one.

5 signs of a healthy sales culture

Sign #1: Unblocked communication

Your reps won't buy into the organization if they feel their voice isn't valued.

In healthy sales cultures, open communication is routine. Leaders are continually inviting people to speak up They encourage input, ask questions, foster creative conflict, and actively unblock communication channels.

Sign #2: Lively sales competition

Most salespeople are confident, hungry, and goal-motivated. Sales cultures that are fast-paced and competitive give these reps the motivation they need to reach their goals.

But, there's a fine line between harnessing a positive competitive spirit and encouraging toxic rivalries. How can teams stay competitive without pitting sales representatives against each other?

• Give teams an external competitor. Encourage salespeople to rally together and outsell your market's top competitors.
• Match newer reps with more experienced reps. Strategically pair up salespeople to encourage mentorship and growth.
• Gamify sales. Use creative sales incentives that challenge and reward sellers of all skill types. Try daily challenges, team competitions, and/or contests based on retention or customer reviews.
• Focus on personal bests. Awesome sales cultures direct a lot of competitiveness toward personal numbers and setting new PRs.

Sign #3: Maintained accountability

Sales accountability is the sense of ownership that salespeople feel over their jobs and their work. An accountable team takes the necessary steps to meet its goals and accepts responsibility for the outcomes.

There are a few ways to identify if a sales team promotes a culture of accountability.

First, they set clear expectations. Team members can only take responsibility for their work when they are aware of their role and what's expected of them. Tip: Using the SMART format is a helpful way to create specific and measurable goals for your team.

Next, they encourage autonomy. A workplace that gives its employees the freedom and control over how they work empowers them to take ownership of everything they produce.

Finally, they are data-driven. Leaders in accountable environments rely on performance metrics to uncover real outcomes and to show reps their successes and areas for improvement.

Sign #4: A shared vision

There is a lot of emotion in selling. Peak performance only happens when sellers believe in the organization's product, offerings, and mission.

Align team members towards a common goal with a distinct vision statement. For example, "Be one of the top five sales teams in the company in the next 12 months" or "Increase retention by 45% in the next 6 months."

A good mission statement is ambitious, but also achievable. It supports a healthy sales culture by keeping reps motivated to make something positive happen—together.

Sign #5: Frequent training and coaching opportunities

B2B sales reps forget 70% of the information they learn within a week of training. Companies with successful sales cultures keep reps fresh and up-to-date with regular training and coaching.

As you look to provide reps with growth opportunities, keep the 70-20-10 model in mind.

Used by thousands of high-performing companies around the world, the 70-20-10 model states that 70% of learning experiences should be hands-on, 20% should be through coaching and mentoring, and only 10% should come from formal instruction and training.

What does toxic sales culture look like?

While it's great to know what a healthy culture looks like, it's just as important to spot the red flags of a toxic one. A toxic sales culture doesn't just hurt morale; it actively kills deals and drives your best people away.

Keep an eye out for these warning signs:

• Fear-based motivation: Leaders rely on threats and intimidation instead of inspiration to drive performance.
• Lack of transparency: Information about commissions, territory, and company performance is hidden or inconsistent.
• Unhealthy internal competition: Reps are encouraged to undermine each other to get ahead, destroying teamwork.
• Constant churn and burnout: High turnover isn't just a fluke; it's a symptom of a system that exhausts its people.

If any of these sound familiar, it's a clear signal that changes are needed—fast.

Building a sales culture of the future

If your culture doesn't check all these boxes, it's never too late to make some changes. Here's how you can start building and scaling a world-class sales culture.

Know where you are and where you want to go

Take a minute to assess your current situation. Ask yourself:

• How do we define selling in this organization?
• What is our informal sales culture today?
• What best practices do we want our team to follow?
• What are our values?
• What habits and disciplines do we expect from our team members?

Open up the discussion and ask your team for their opinions on the current state of the workplace. Their feedback should heavily inform where changes need to be made.

Hire candidates who are the right fits

CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, once said, "There's no tolerance for brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high."

And he's right: one toxic person can infect an entire organization.

As you scale your team, look to hire candidates who add value to your culture. Balance these qualities with a candidate's skill set and potential as you assess whether or not they'll be a good addition to your team.

Here are a few interview questions that can be used to help you hire for culture add:

• How do you personally benefit a team when working with colleagues?
• What skills, interests, or passions do you have that set you apart from others in this role?
• Tell me about a problem you solved creatively.
• What is your impression of our company culture so far?

Upgrade your tech stack

Modern sales tools promote a culture of efficiency and empower reps to do their jobs and do them well.

Ensure that your team has access to the best sales software on the market. With an end-to-end platform full of enriched contact data and time-saving sales automation tools, reps can ditch manual data entry and focus on creating human interactions and relationships.

Start building your healthy sales culture today

It's all too easy to let sales culture run on autopilot. But the best teams are built with intention. By focusing on the signs of a healthy culture and actively weeding out toxic habits, you can create an environment that doesn't just hit targets but also attracts and retains top talent.

Ready to give your team the tools they need to thrive in a high-performance culture? Apollo's end-to-end sales platform helps you automate the grunt work and provides the data-driven insights needed to foster accountability and success. Get Started with Apollo and see how a unified tech stack can transform your sales culture.

Frequently asked questions about sales culture

What's the difference between sales culture and company culture?

Think of it like this: company culture is the overall personality of the entire organization, while sales culture is the specific subculture within the sales department. While it should align with the broader company values, sales culture has its own unique rituals, motivations, and norms centered around hitting targets and driving revenue.

What is a sales-driven culture?

A sales-driven culture is one where the entire company—from product to marketing to support—is aligned around supporting the sales team's success. Decisions across departments are made with a key question in mind: "How will this help us sell more effectively?" It prioritizes revenue generation and empowers the sales function as a primary driver of business growth.

How long does it take to change sales culture?

There's no magic number, but it's not an overnight fix. Minor adjustments might show results in a quarter, but a significant cultural transformation can take anywhere from six months to over a year. Lasting change requires consistent effort, clear communication from leadership, and buy-in from the entire team.

How do you measure sales culture success?

You can measure it through a mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Look at the hard data: Are revenue targets being met? What's your employee turnover rate? How long does it take to ramp new hires? Then, pair that with qualitative feedback from employee surveys, one-on-one meetings, and team retrospectives to get the full picture.