Most sales organizations don’t lack training.
They lack execution at scale.
Airgas is a great example.
Like many large, distributed sales teams, Airgas had invested heavily in world-class sales training over the years: Sandler, Challenger, Methods in Motion. The content wasn’t the problem. The people weren’t the problem.
The problem was what happened after the training.
Execution wasn’t consistent.
CRM adoption was uneven.
Pipelines were cluttered with deals that everyone knew weren’t real.
And forecasts? Leadership struggled to trust them.
In short: activity without clarity, and data without confidence.
That’s what led Airgas to Blind Zebra, and ultimately to implementing the Blind Zebra Sales Operating System (BZSOS).
The Real Challenge: Training Existed, but Execution Didn’t Scale
Airgas operates at massive scale:
- 1,400 locations
- 18,000 employees
- 3,500 sellers
- Nearly 500 sales leaders
With that level of complexity, relying on individual seller habits or regional preferences wasn’t sustainable.
As Tracy Pfeffer, VP of Commercial Operations, put it:
“We had a ton of different sales trainings, but we didn’t have anything focused on our leaders and how they coach or how the process actually gets executed.”
The challenges were familiar:
- Inconsistent execution across regions
- Low or inconsistent Salesforce adoption
- Stalled and outdated opportunities living forever in the CRM
- Limited visibility into real sales activity
- Forecasts leadership couldn’t fully trust
Airgas didn’t need more training.
They needed a system for how sales actually gets done.
The Shift: From Training Events to a Sales Operating System
That’s where BZSOS came in.
BZSOS isn’t software.
It’s not a sales methodology.
And it’s not another training program to sit on a shelf.
It’s a sales operating system: a structured, repeatable way to execute sales every day.
Instead of teaching sellers what to say, BZSOS focuses on:
- How opportunities are managed
- How time and effort are prioritized
- How next steps are created and scheduled
- How activity and progress become visible
Or as one Airgas leader said:
“It’s not asking people to do anything crazy. It’s bringing them back to the basics, but in a structured way.”
That structure turned execution into a daily habit, not a fluffy quarterly initiative.
Accountability Without Nagging
One of the most immediate changes Airgas noticed was how accountability shifted.
Before BZSOS, managers spent too much time:
- Chasing updates
- Asking if deals were “real”
- Pressuring sellers to clean up CRM
After BZSOS, the system did that work for them.
Instead of subjective conversations, leaders could clearly see:
- Are opportunities moving?
- Are next steps scheduled?
- Is the data current and accurate?
As Area VP Andy Somerville put it:
“I want the facts. And now we’re getting them.”
Accountability came from process visibility, not manager nagging.
CRM Adoption…Without Forcing It
One of Airgas’ original goals was improving Salesforce adoption. What surprised them was how it happened.
They didn’t force compliance. They didn’t threaten consequences.They simply made CRM usage a byproduct of execution.
Because BZSOS tools require:
- Clear next steps
- Scheduled follow-ups
- Defined opportunity movement
Due to this, Salesforce naturally became the source of truth.
The results were immediate:
- 95.5% of overdue Salesforce opportunities were cleaned up
- 228 future activities were scheduled and attached to live opportunities
The CRM went from a static reporting tool to a living system of real deals and real next steps.
Measurable Results That Actually Matter
As execution tightened, results followed.
Sales activity improved
- Face-to-face customer meetings nearly doubled
- Sellers spent more time with qualified prospects
- Activity became intentional, not just busy
Contract signings increased
- Product Sales Agreements increased by nearly 50%
New business growth improved
- Sellers stopped babysitting dead deals
- More time went toward finding and closing real opportunities
Pipeline quality improved
- Sellers evaluated deals objectively
- Hope was replaced with clarity
Forecasts became trustworthy
- Cleaner pipelines
- Better activity data
- Clear visibility across regions
Leadership could finally say, with confidence:
“We can trust what’s in Salesforce.”
Big Wins, Real Execution
The structure also helped sellers win bigger deals…faster!
One Airgas seller closed a 7-year agreement worth $541K annually by stacking BZSOS tools like:
- Mutual Timeline Agreement
- Q4 Deal Accelerator
Another seller summed it up perfectly:
“Plain, simple, short. Sent it over, followed it with a calendar invite, and it was accepted on the spot. I’d been beating around the bush for two months, and it was just that easy the whole time.”
Execution creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence.
A Cultural Shift You Can Feel
Beyond the metrics, something even more important changed: engagement.
- Veteran sellers embraced the system
- New hires ramped faster
- Managers coached better because they had real data
- Teams were genuinely excited to use it
“That’s something I haven’t seen before,” one leader said.
When salespeople feel supported by a system and not controlled by it, they simply perform better.
The Bottom Line
For Airgas, BZSOS delivered what training and software alone could not:
A system for executing sales at scale.
The impact:
- Nearly 2× more customer meetings
- Nearly 50% increase in contract signings
- Dramatically improved CRM data quality
- Stronger coaching conversations
- Forecasts leadership can finally trust
Or as VP Brenda Bobsein said:
“It’s not teaching people how to sell. It’s giving them a better way to do what they already do.”
Want This Level of Execution in Your Sales Organization?
If your team has:
- Great training but inconsistent execution
- A CRM full of outdated deals
- Forecasts leadership hesitates to trust
You don’t need another initiative.
You need a sales operating system.
BZSOS helps sales teams turn training into execution, activity into clarity, and data into confidence.
If Airgas can do this at scale, imagine what BZSOS could do for your company.
Let’s talk!👉 https://blind-zebra.com/contact
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