The data is fine. The picture it creates isn't.

When revenue targets slip, the first question is almost always about the numbers — which ones are wrong, which reports to trust, which tool is failing. That's the right instinct. It leads to the wrong diagnosis.

Most of the sales problems Jo works on are clarity problems. An ICP definition that looked precise until it was operationalized in the CRM. A requirement that got translated into system configuration by someone approximating — and the approximation became the standard. A handoff between sales and marketing where both sides are working from different mental models of what a qualified lead actually is.

These don't look like communication failures. They look like system failures. But the system was built to spec. The spec just wasn't clear enough.

Closing that gap means going back to where the definition broke down, getting the right people looking at the same picture, and rebuilding from there. The technical fix that follows is usually straightforward. It's the clarity work that was missing.

If your team is doing everything right and the output still doesn't reflect it — that's worth looking at.