Pop quiz, boss:
Where does your time go?
👉 Firefighting with underperformers?
👉 Brainstorming with your rockstars?
Yup. Most inside sales leaders get caught in a loop:
- Coaching the bottom 13% because you have to.
- Hanging with the top 13% because you want to.
And somewhere in between?
68% of your team is waving a tiny flag… quietly waiting to be led.
Let me say this loud and clear:
Your middle reps aren’t your problem — they’re your untapped goldmine.
Why We Ignore the Middle
They’re not squeaky wheels.
They’re not hitting alarms in Salesforce.
They’re not on the leaderboard.
They’re… “fine.”
And “fine” doesn’t drive exponential growth. “Fine” doesn’t get you noticed by leadership. “Fine” won’t promote you.
Here’s what Mastering Inside Sales Leadership lays out crystal clearly:
“More than a third of your team is in this ‘better than the middle’ band… and they get almost none of your attention.”
Why the Middle 68% Matters in 2026 Planning
Let’s talk numbers (the kind that make your CFO smile).
If 6 out of 10 of your reps hit goal just one more month this year, what happens?
Or half of them book one extra appointment each week?
You don’t need AI.
You don’t need a new script.
You need to pay attention to the middle.
Because here’s what you already know:
The top is maxed out.
The bottom might not make it.
The middle? They’re coachable, ready, and waiting.
Planning Action Step:
Pull your last three months of rep performance.
Find your “in the middle” reps (hint: 92–97% to goal types). Then:
✅ Look at their effort; are they coasting or trying?
✅ Check their PIA factor (Pain In the A**), do they lift or drag the team?
✅ Use UpYourTeleSales’ Salesperson Value equation: Results + Effort ÷ PIA = Where You Spend Your Time
Then…
Pick one. Just one.
Schedule a coaching convo with them this week.
Ask:
- “What’s the next level look like for you?”
- “What’s something you haven’t tried yet?”
- “What would make this job more meaningful?”
Coach. The. Middle.
📘 This blog pulls straight from Chapter 4 of Mastering Inside Sales Leadership launching January 8, 2026.
Inside sales leaders across industries are already using these insights to build stronger, more profitable teams; without burning out.