Why “Do 30 Calls a Day” Fails After an Acquisition

A company gets acquired.

The new leadership wants growth.

So they tell the sales team:

“We need everyone making 30 calls a day.”

Makes sense.

More activity should create more opportunities.

Except there’s a problem.

The salespeople weren’t doing 30 calls a day before.

Maybe they weren’t doing five.

And now, overnight, the expectation is 30.

What happens?

For a few days, activity goes up.

Managers track the numbers.

Everyone focuses on the new initiative.

Then real life gets in the way.

Customers call.

Problems need solving.

Emails pile up.

The 30 calls become 20.

Then 10.

Then eventually everyone quietly goes back to the way they worked before.

We tend to assume that if people understand what we want them to do and why it matters, behavior will change.

It usually doesn’t.

If you want someone to start prospecting consistently, make the first behavior ridiculously easy.

Don’t start with 30.

Start with five.

Or three.

Maybe even one.

Create a time.

Make the list beforehand.

Give them the language.

Practice the call.

Then let them experience success.

Once five becomes normal, move to ten.

You’re building a habit, not launching a campaign.

This is particularly important after an acquisition.

You’re already asking people to deal with change.

New leadership.

New systems.

New expectations.

Maybe a new culture.

Then we pile a massive new behavior on top and wonder why it doesn’t stick.

If you want behavior to change, don’t just increase the expectation.

Make the new behavior easier to start.

Then build from there.

Thirty calls might eventually be the goal.

But it doesn’t have to be Day One.