Fixing the Fundamentals in Sales with Richard Pole

In this episode of The Art and Science of Complex Sales, Paul Fuller sits down with Richard Pole, the founding partner of Noodle Spark Group to unpack why many sales teams are underperforming right now, and what leaders can do to fix it.

Together, they explore why sales is often treated as a “necessary evil” instead of a core business function, how denial and bad assumptions damage performance, and why the fundamentals are still important in the profession.

Sales Is Broken Because Leaders Are in Denial (09:28)

Richard explains that declining win rates, inaccurate forecasts, and falling quote volumes are rarely caused by the market. Instead, many leaders wait for conditions to improve rather than addressing internal issues. He argues that denial at the leadership level is preventing teams from fixing what is actually broken in sales execution.

Why Most Sales Teams Fail Without a Documented Process (14:33)

Richard identifies the absence of a clearly defined and documented sales process as the number one root cause of underperformance. Without a shared framework, sellers work independently, leaders default to fixing instead of coaching, and improvement cannot be scaled across the team.

Stop Selling Proposals and Start Aligning to the Buyer (35:01)

Richard’s advice to struggling sellers is direct: align to the customer, educate them, and guide them. When this happens, selling becomes easier because trust and clarity are already in place. Proposals sent too early create false confidence, inflated forecasts, and stalled deals that never close.