--- title: 5 Signs your Sales Culture is a Dumpster Fire | Rainmaker description: It has been used for years to describe struggling sports franchises, politics, and relationships gone awry the term resonates with certain Sales Cultures. image: https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Dumpster%20Fire%20Sales%20Culture.jpg --- [![iStock-911746532](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Dumpster%20Fire%20Sales%20Culture.jpg) ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/5-signs-your-sales-culture-is-a-dumpster-fire) # 5 Signs your Sales Culture is a Dumpster Fire Mar 9, 2018 by [Joe Jones](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/author/joe-jones) - - - [Merriam Webster](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/human-capital-strategy-blog/desiring-a-thing-cannot-make-you-have-it) formally added "dumpster fire" to their online dictionary this week.   ![Dumpster Fire 2.png](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Images/Dumpster%20Fire%202.png?width=770&height=251&name=Dumpster%20Fire%202.png) While it has been casually used for many years to describe struggling sports franchises, politics, as well as personal relationships gone awry, the term resonates very well with certain Sales Cultures. **What contributes to a Dumpster Fire Sales Culture?** If you have ever been a part of a “Dumpster Fire” Sales Culture you don’t have to think too long to come up with some examples of what contributes.  Here are 5 that made our list.   1. **Hiring team members who are not wired for the job from the start.** 2. **Ongoing poor performers are not held accountable for specific results**, or performance managed to address deficiencies. 3. **Sales team members who are unable to articulate the 3-4 Key Accountabilities of their job** (along with the specific activities that drive those accountabilities). 4. **Compensation is not tied to performance.** Poor sales performers are paid the same, or on par with strong sales performers. 5. **Lack of communication, or miscommunication between sales management and team members.** New directives should not be passed down via the “Telephone Game”.  Leaders must be clear and concise. [Sales Culture](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/tag/sales-culture) ### Recent Posts ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Illustration%20of%20competing%20organizational%20priorities%20and%20diverging%20paths%2c%20representing%20Organizational%20DriftTM%2c%20unclear%20direction%2c%20and%20misaligned%20execution.jpg) [ Stop the Drift™ ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/stop-the-drift) Jun 24, 2026 ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/iStock-1322139081.jpg) [ Build What Talent Chases™ ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/build-what-talent-chases) Jun 3, 2026 ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/organizational-drift-and-structural-misalignment.jpg) [ DRIFT DISCIPLINE ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/drift-discipline) May 28, 2026 ### Posts by Tag - [Sales Selection (49)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-selection) - [Scaling Up (40)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/scaling-up) - [Sales Management (25)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-management) - [Sales Culture (24)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-culture) - [Sales Performance (20)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-performance) - [Leadership (19)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/leadership) - [Mindset (17)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/mindset) - [Sales Strategy (15)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-strategy) - [Team Effectiveness (15)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/team-effectiveness) - [Rockefeller Habits (7)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/rockefeller-habits) - [Culture (3)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/culture) - [Metronomics (3)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/metronomics) - [Blue Ocean Strategy (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/blue-ocean-strategy) - [Employees (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/employees) - [Founder Mode (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/founder-mode) ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=238051740001209&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Joe Jones", "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/author/joe-jones" }, "dateModified" : "2022-03-10T21:49:39.334Z", "datePublished" : "2018-03-09T21:01:00.000Z", "headline" : "5 Signs your Sales Culture is a Dumpster Fire | Rainmaker", "image" : [ "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Dumpster%20Fire%20Sales%20Culture.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/5-signs-your-sales-culture-is-a-dumpster-fire", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/the-rainmaker-group-logo-top-nav.svg" }, "name" : "The Rainmaker Group" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "The Rainmaker Group", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/TheRainmakerGroup", "https://www.twitter.com/therainmaker", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rainmaker-group-inc.", "https://plus.google.com/+Therainmakergroupinc" ], "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com" } ```