Building A Great Sales Culture

How To Tap Into People’s Why

Understanding what actually motivates each rep and using that knowledge ethically to drive performance and retention.

The Answer
Ask early, listen for specificity, document privately, connect daily work to the why explicitly, revisit annually, and never weaponize it. The why is a tool for support.

Overview

Every rep has a ‘why’ that is more specific and more durable than ‘I want to make money.’

Tapping into someone’s why is not manipulation; it’s basic respect.

Reps who feel that connection work harder, stay longer, and bring more of themselves to the work.

Steps

  1. Ask the question early. ‘What does success at this job buy you in your life over the next 2-3 years?’
  2. Listen for specificity.
  3. Document it. Don’t share it without permission.
  4. Connect daily work to the why explicitly.
  5. Revisit annually. People’s whys evolve.
  6. Use the why ethically.
  7. Share your own why. Reciprocity matters.
Pro Tip
Write each rep’s stated why on the back of a notecard in your desk. Glance at it before every 1:1.
Watch Out
Don’t weaponize the why. The why is a tool for support, not pressure.

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About The Author

Meet the coach behind
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Nate Broome
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Nate Broome
Founder
Nate Broome is known for building high-performing, operationally rigorous sales teams—and for the journey that shaped how he leads them. Starting as a top-performing individual contributor, Nate quickly learned that personal success doesn't scale. His transition into SDR leadership taught him how to coach, create structure, and drive consistency across a team. As a sales leader, he developed a deep appreciation for process, pipeline discipline, and cross-functional alignment. And at the executive level, he's learned that the real leverage comes from setting vision, building leaders, and creating systems that scale beyond any one person.
Along the way, Nate has been mentored by and learned from industry leaders like Manny Medina, Mark Kosoglow, Harish Mohan, and Anna Baird—shaping his perspective on what it takes to build modern, high-performing revenue organizations.
With leadership experience at companies backed by Sequoia, Accel, ICONIQ, Greylock Partners and other top tier firms, Nate has operated across every stage of growth—from early pipeline generation to enterprise-scale revenue operations. He's been described as "process-driven leader who knows how to get big things done" and "a visionary sales leader who always sees 2–3 steps ahead."
A University of Washington alum based in Seattle, Nate founded Tech Sales Coach to pay forward the insights and mentorship that shaped his career—equipping sales leaders at every stage with practical, field-tested coaching to build high-performing teams and evolve into impactful, scalable executives.
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