The Focus Gap Is Quietly Undermining Sales and CX – Here’s How to Close It

When sales teams underperform, the finger-pointing usually lands on talent, tools, or pricing. But there’s a deeper problem lurking beneath flat revenue charts and churn reports: misdirected focus.

At SugarCRM, we call this “the focus gap.” It’s the costly disconnect between the accounts sales teams engage with and the ones that actually need attention. It’s the kind of problem that doesn’t always show up in dashboards but quietly drains revenue, damages retention, and erodes customer experience (CX). The symptoms are easy to miss until it’s too late, and the consequences are quiet but severe: missed reorders, stalled renewals, and shrinking market share.

What Happens When Sales Suffers from the Focus Gap

Salespeople naturally gravitate to where the action is: big-name logos, high-volume repeat customers, or whoever shouts the loudest.

Here are symptoms:

• 70% of sales activity is concentrated on just 10 key accounts
• 40% of accounts receive no touch for 90+ days
• Only 1 in 5 reps can identify likely churn risks
• “Gut feel” still drives account prioritization more than data

This misalignment results in lost opportunities, delayed renewals, and stagnant relationships that could’ve been nurtured into growth. It also damages brand perception: Customers that feel neglected don’t just leave; they may tell others.

Customer Experience Suffers in Silence

The focus gap isn’t just a sales problem; it directly impacts CX. When the wrong accounts are prioritized, loyal but quieter customers are overlooked. If caught in a focus gap, they may be reducing orders, waiting for support, exploring alternatives, or reaching out to competitors – all issues that remain unaddressed when attention is focused elsewhere.

In an era where customers expect personalized, responsive service, this gap is a recipe for churn. Unfortunately, most sales, CX, and operations teams don’t even see it happening. That’s because the data that flags these at-risk relationships isn’t living in the CRM; it’s buried deep inside ERP systems, siloed from the people best positioned to act on it.

ERP Data: The Overlooked Information Gold Mine

For many companies, sitting quietly in ERP systems is a treasure trove of insights that could supercharge both sales and customer retention strategies. Purchase histories, SKU drop-offs, and shifts in purchase frequency aren’t just operational metrics or accounting line items. They are behavioral signals from your customers – quietly indicating shifting needs, reduced engagement, or rising churn risk.

But here’s the problem: Most sales and CX teams never see the warning signs.

In most organizations, ERP data lives in a universe that’s separate from CRM. As a result, sales reps continue to prioritize accounts based on outdated assumptions or “gut feel,” while the real signals of revenue opportunity go unnoticed. A customer who’s halved their order volume over the last two quarters may still appear “healthy” in the CRM because they haven’t complained, canceled, or closed their account. That’s a dangerous blind spot.

Worse yet, high-potential accounts showing increased purchase variety or frequency may be buried in a spreadsheet that no one in sales may have access to. By the time the patterns are recognized (if they’re recognized at all), the window to upsell, cross-sell, or prevent churn may have already closed.

This disconnect between what your customers are actually doing and what your sales team sees is more than a data silo issue; it’s a revenue leakage problem. It leads to misdirected outreach, missed follow-ups, and a narrow focus on the “noisy” accounts, while quiet churners slip away and high-value prospects are left untapped.

To close this gap, sales needs visibility into the customer behavioral indicators buried in ERP data – automatically, in real time, and directly within the systems they already use. Without it, sales is making strategic decisions based on only half of the roadmap.

Turning Warning Signs into Action (and Revenue)

Modern sales intelligence platforms are closing this visibility gap. By tapping into ERP and CRM systems simultaneously, these tools analyze customer behavior in real time, alerting teams to:

• Accounts with declining order volume
• Quiet customers likely to churn
• Gaps in product adoption or usage
• Opportunities for cross-sell or upsell

These platforms don’t just deliver more data; they deliver timely insights. They tell you who to engage, when, and why – giving marketing teams the insight to tailor messages while providing sales reps a reason to re-engage before it’s too late.

This is where the front line and back office intersect. When insights are shared across departments, go-to-market efforts become more targeted, customer outreach becomes more meaningful, and the bottom line improves.

Country Fare Foodservice: A Revenue Turnaround Story

Food and beverage wholesaler Country Fare Foodservice is an example of sales intelligence in action.

Previously, they were unable to surface customer behavior patterns. After implementing a sales intelligence platform, they had full visibility into at-risk accounts showing slowed purchasing, customers nearing silent churn, and sales opportunities tied to product gaps.

The results speak for themselves:

• 40% revenue growth from existing customers
• 20% gain in reporting efficiency
• Tighter internal alignment across sales, marketing, and operations

Closing the Focus Gap with Sales Intelligence

If your sales and CX teams are constantly running but not gaining traction, you may not have a motivation issue – you may have a focus issue.

The good news is the focus gap can be remedied. By unlocking the insights buried in your ERP, empowering teams with real-time sales intelligence, and connecting departments around shared signals and warning signs, you don’t just sell – you serve. Better.

Dennis Smith is VP of sales at SugarCRM.