B2B Sales Game w/ Leon Matschke · 2026-04-13 · 4 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
35 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Leon Matschke presents a systematic approach to diagnosing why team members fail to execute on directives. The model identifies five mutually exclusive categories: lack of clarity on the task itself, insufficient training on how to perform it, missing deadline communication, absent incentives, or external blockers preventing completion. For each failure mode, Matschke prescribes a specific remedy: communication for unclear tasks, training and playbooks for skill gaps, deadline assignment for timing issues, incentive structures for motivation problems, and blocker removal for operational obstacles. The framework doubles as a conflict-resolution tool for difficult conversations, allowing managers to systematically ask diagnostic questions rather than defaulting to blame. An SDR lacking leads despite having knowledge, skills, and deadlines exemplifies a blocker issue, not a performance failure. This model helps B2B sales leaders and operations managers distinguish between employee capability issues and systemic failures, turning confrontation into problem-solving.
The five reasons are: they didn't know what to do, didn't know how to do it, didn't know when to do it, had no motivation to do it, or something is blocking them from doing it.
You assign a specific deadline when telling them to do something - it's the manager's responsibility to communicate not just the task and how to do it, but when it needs to be done.
Not providing SDRs enough leads to call while expecting them to dial 100 new leads daily is a blocker - they know what, how, and when, and are motivated by pay, but can't execute due to lack of resources.
Ask diagnostic questions in sequence: did you know I wanted this, did you know how to do it, did you know when, are you missing an incentive, and is something blocking you - this identifies the exact cause without blame.
Give them a documented time period to improve, and if there's still no change, terminate the employee, since all obstacles and gaps have been addressed.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode presents a clear, logical taxonomy of non-compliance (know what/how/when, motivation, blockers) that is genuinely useful for operational managers, but the framework itself is relatively intuitive and the supporting insights are thin. The conversation reinforcement around the framework adds minimal new depth beyond the initial model presentation.
So either they didn't know what to do, they didn't know how to do it, they didn't know when to do it, they had no motivation to do it or something is blocking them from doing the thing.
If they don't have motivation to do it, then you need to give them incentives if possible.
The five-category model is a repackaging of standard organizational psychology (knowledge, skills, willingness, environment) that has circulated in management literature for decades. The application to tough conversations is practical but not novel, and the framing lacks contrarian or first-principles challenge to conventional management wisdom.
Either they didn't know what to do, they didn't know how to do it, they didn't know when to do it, they had no motivation to do it or something is blocking them from doing the thing.
This is also a great framework to have for tough conversations.
This is a solo monologue with no guest present, severely limiting the ability to assess guest caliber. Leon Matschke presents himself as an author/consultant on sales management, but without validation of his operational track record or seniority in the transcript, caliber cannot be meaningfully assessed.
Leon Matschke: And there are only five possible reasons that someone doesn't do something when you tell them to do it.
If they don't know how to do it, then you need to train them, which is part of your playbook. I explained the training section earlier.
The episode includes one concrete, relatable example (SDRs lacking lead lists) but otherwise relies on abstract framework description without naming real companies, citing data, providing timelines, or grounding claims in measurable outcomes. The framework is explained clearly but substantiated thinly.
An example for a blocker would be not giving your SDRs enough leads to call, but expecting them to call 100 new leads every day.
Did you know that I wanted you to do it by X time? So by today, by tomorrow, something like that.
This is a solo lecture with no host-guest dynamic, no questions, no follow-ups, and no challenge to assumptions. The absence of conversational craft entirely - no pushback, no exploration of edge cases, no real dialogue - results in a low score on this dimension by definition.
And there are only five possible reasons that someone doesn't do something when you tell them to do it. ⁓ So either they didn't know what to do...
You can combine this however you want. It has to be one of these five things.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
Get more B2B Sales Calls on a Performance Basis. 100% Done For You: Get Daily Sales & Lead Generation Strategies directly to your inbox: - If you’re new to this channel, my name is Leon Matschke (Hard-to-pronounce German Name, I know.) I am the Founder and CEO of Eminence Consulting. We’re based in Germany and work with clients in North America and Europe. Given that this is a YouTube Channel and everyone can claim anything, here’s some stuff I’ve done: Over the last 4 years, I: - Did over 50.000 Cold Calls, booking meetings with C-Levels at companies like Redbull, Lockheed Martin, Salesforce, Deloitte, McKinsey and many more.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Leon Matschke: And there are only five possible reasons that someone doesn't do something when you tell them to do it. ⁓ So either they didn't know what to do, they didn't know how to do it, they didn't know when to do it, they had no motivation to do it or something is blocking them from doing the thing. It has to be one of those things. If they know what to do.
and they know how to do it, but they don't know when to do it, then they won't do the thing, which means you told them to do something and they didn't do it. All right? You can combine this however you want. It has to be one of these five things.
And you fix these by, so if they don't know what to do, you communicate, so you just tell them what to do. If they don't know how to do it, then you need to train them, which is part of your playbook. I explained the training section earlier. If they don't know when to do it, then it's your fault because you didn't assign deadlines when telling them to do something.
So you told them what to do, but you didn't tell them when to do it. So you could have told them, do this and do it like this, but you never tell them when. And then tomorrow you ask, why didn't you do it? And then they're like, well, I didn't know you needed it by today.
That's an issue. If they don't have motivation to do it, then you need to give them incentives if possible. And if it's not these four things, then it's not their fault. There's some blocker in the way, which you need to remove.
That's your job as a manager so they can actually do their job. So an example for a blocker would be not giving your SDRs enough leads to call, but expecting them to call 100 new leads every day. That won't work because they know what to do. They know how to do it.
They know when to do it every day. They have the motivation because they get paid, but they can't do it because they don't have a list. Okay. That's an example for a blocker.
And this is also a great framework to have for tough conversations. And with tough, mean, like you tell them to do something and they don't do it. And now you need to confront them. which can be tough, but doing it like this will be very easy.
You just go through each step, step by step until you find the issue. So here's a framework you can use for tough conversations. First of all, you ask them, did you know that I wanted you to do the thing? Right?
If no, then you tell them and now they know. So that's great, right? If they did know, then you move on. All right, so you didn't know I wanted you to do the thing.
Did you know how to do it? If no, you explain how to do it and then they will go do it. If they know how to do it, then you move on to the next question. Great.
All right. Did you know that I wanted you to do it by X time? So by today, by tomorrow, something like that. If they didn't know, then you tell them, all right, I need it by then.
If they did know, you move on. All right, cool. So you know what, like you know that I wanted you to do it and you know how to do it and you know when to do it. So...
Are you like missing an incentive to do it? Because maybe they just don't get paid for it. So they see it as useless work because they don't see how it contributes to their main job. Either they don't see it or they actually don't get paid.
Either way you need to fix it. Now, if they do have an incentive or if they're not missing an incentive, you move on. Then you ask them, is something blocking you from doing the thing? If there is, you just remove it.
But if there's no thing blocking them, so they know that they should do it, they know how to do it, they know when to do it, they have an incentive, nothing's blocking them, that means they just didn't do it for some reason, which we can't have that. They're not doing their job. So you give them some time to fix it. Now you can decide yourself how much time you want to give them, a few weeks, I don't know.
And if there's still no improvement, so they still didn't do the thing, even though you told them, then you need to let them go. Simple as that. But you can use this framework to have any tough conversation when you tell someone to do something and they don't do it, you just go through these questions and you'll find out the exact reason, which makes it pretty easy. So this is the only thing you need to do to effectively manage people, provided you did all the previous steps right.
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