Like in any career path, Jonathan Buckle has had many aha moments during his tenured time in sales. There are common barriers that seem to reside in almost every organization, no matter how successful. When Jonathan stepped into his role as VP of Sales for the Americas at Mitel, he noticed a familiar situation: sales reps buried in outdated processes and tools they didn’t use—or couldn’t use effectively.
Instead of implementing more manual tasks into his team’s already strenuous workload or reinventing the wheel, Buckle focused on something deceptively simple. He stripped the sales motion down to its essentials, fostered a customer-centric culture, and layered in the right technology to accelerate results.
In a recent webinar with Kole Franklin of People.ai, Jonathan shared 5 tips he’s used to transform his sales team into an efficient revenue engine:
1. Sales Transformation Starts With Simplification
It doesn’t take much to overcomplicate the sales process. Instead of layering in more systems, Jonathan focused on fundamentals. Mitel broke down its sales methodology, clarified roles and expectations, and rebuilt from the ground up.
“We made everything explainable—without needing any explanation.”
Jonathan makes it a best practice to study his team’s strengths and keep a close eye on the market. This knowledge helps him amplify the team’s efforts throughout the sales process. For Jonathan, this approach is always evolving but it’s been a path to success for him and his team.
2. If It’s Not Adopted, It Doesn’t Matter
One of the biggest barriers that can easily be overlooked in a sales process is implementation. After a few failed platform rollouts at previous companies, Jonathan learned a hard-earned truth: no software can save you from lack of adoption.
“One of the most important aspects is—can the platform be implemented? If you can’t deploy it, it doesn’t matter how cool the software is.”
There is no value in a platform if it’s not being used, no matter how many bells and whistles it happens to have. The best way to prevent a waste of time and resources in this area? Create a robust implementation plan and ensure that it can be easily used before signing the contract.
3. AI Should Help Salespeople Sell—Not Write Reports
Jonathan’s team didn’t roll out AI to check a box. They paused their agile rollout once they saw what automation could do for actual deal execution.
“We realized the AI could complete parts of the plan for us—pulling in real signals from our CRM, meetings, emails. It wasn’t just about saving time. It made the plan smarter.”
Now, Mitel’s salesforce can access auto-generated summaries, information for missing personas, and data-backed cues to move deals forward—without manually entering data.
“My vision is zero-touch CRM. The more we let sellers focus on building relationships and listening to the customer, the better the experience for everyone.”
4. Better Data Leads to Better Forecasts
With a clearer go-to-market motion and AI capturing deal signals in the background, Mitel’s sales leaders can now spot risk early, qualify faster, and forecast further out.
“We’re doing a much better job of qualifying in—or out—early. It’s helping us improve our win rate and clean up our funnel.”
They’ve also shifted their forecasting focus away from just the current quarter. With visibility into engagement trends and deal velocity, the team is looking 2–3 quarters ahead with more confidence.
“Forecasting shouldn’t just be about this quarter. We’re finally getting the right signals earlier—and that’s a game changer.”
5. The Real ROI is a Better Customer Experience
Behind all of this is a simple but powerful driver, delivering a smoother experience to customers. With increased visibility, leaders can prevent gaps and stay on top of tasks that make the customer journey seamless.
“We are getting better at the experience we give our customers because we're not forgetting about things. We are very much on top of our projects and our opportunities.”
The consistency provided by AI drives efficiency and productivity. When sales teams can stay in sync, stay proactive, and stay focused on the customer—not the admin—the results take care of themselves.
Mitel’s transformation wasn’t about chasing shiny objects or overhauling everything at once. It was about creating clarity, rebuilding trust in the sales process, and then using AI to fuel what already worked. The result? A team that’s aligned, agile, and always one step ahead.
For even more insights, watch the full conversation on-demand.
Ready to get started on transforming your own sales process like Mitel? Reach out for a demo.