Santa runs one of the most efficient operations on the entire planet. Global delivery. One single night. And zero excuses.
And as far as we know, there have been 0 reports of panic and last minute scrambling. Just systems that work smoothly.
So if Santa took over your sales team this December, what would he fix first?
Spoiler: it wouldn't be motivation speeches or pressure-packed targets. It would be the fundamentals most teams quietly ignore.
He'd Stop Guessing Who's "Good" at Sales
Santa doesn't rely on guesses or gut feelings. He has a list.
Most sales teams still judge performance almost entirely by closed deals. But deals are lagging indicators. By the time a deal is won or lost, the behaviours that caused that outcome are already weeks old.
Santa would care less about who closed and more about how they sold. Who consistently asks sharp discovery questions? Who handles objections without getting defensive? Who follows a repeatable structure instead of improvising every call?
That's where real coaching lives and thrives. In patterns, not outcomes. When you understand how reps sell, you can fix problems before revenue is on the line.
He'd Replace Annual Reviews with Real-Time Feedback
Imagine if Mr Claus only checked the naughty or nice list once a year.
That's effectively what most sales teams do with performance reviews. Feedback arrives long after the deal is gone, the moment has passed and the same mistake has already been repeated multiple times.
Coaching shouldn't be happening weeks later in a meeting room. It should be in the midst of the process. Small nudges while deals are active, specific feedback tied to actual conversations and corrections in the moment, not lectures after the fact.
Growth happens in real time. Retrospectives are useful but only if learning doesn't stop there.
He'd Eliminate Burnout Before It Kills Performance
Even elves need breaks. And they certainly get them. (Trust me, I called Santa and asked.)
December sales teams are running on fumes. Year-end targets, back-to-back calls, constant context switching and the pressure to "finish strong" all pile up at once.
Burnout doesn't usually show up as people quitting. It shows up as rushed discovery, shallow demos, missed buying signals and weak follow-ups.
Santa wouldn't ask reps to just "push through." He would redesign the system so they don't have to carry everything in their heads.
Less manual analysis. Less remembering what to say next. Less self-coaching after six hours of meetings.
When cognitive load drops, selling quality naturally rises.
He'd Standardise What "Good" Actually Looks Like
The elves do not get to freestyle toymaking.
Yet many sales teams allow every rep to run demos their own way, handle objections however they feel is right and start from zero on every call.
Top-performing teams don't rely on individual expertise alone. They identify what works and make it repeatable in a way that doesn't become monotonous.
Santa would turn your best reps into systems:
- Clear playbooks
- Benchmarks everyone understands and can follow
- Coaching cues
When "good" is clearly defined, average reps improve faster and top reps become scalable.
He'd Use Data, Not Hope to Plan January
"Let's hope Q1 is better" isn't a strategy.
Mr Claus plans ahead.
December is the best time to spot coaching gaps, work on weaknesses and process leaks while there's still time to fix them. Teams that wait until January are already behind.
The strongest sales teams don't panic at the start of the year. They prepare.
The Takeaway
If Santa ran your sales team, he wouldn't shout louder or push harder.
He would coach earlier. Reduce mental load. Turn data into direction. Build systems that make reps better automatically.
That mindset is exactly why modern teams are moving toward tools that bring up coaching moments, standardise what great selling looks like and give reps support during real conversations, not weeks later.
That's the problem Manja.ai is built to solve. If you'd like to see it in action, request a demo today at https://app.manja.ai/request-demo/ and see how Manja.ai can help your sales team thrive.
Maybe this December isn't about selling harder, just selling smarter.