How Teams Win Championships: Sales, Trust, and Success with Mattia Bruzzi
- Joey Brodsky
- Sep 14
- 3 min read
The GTM Kickback! #42 – Mattia Bruzzi
Released: October 11, 2021
Sales is often misunderstood—by customers, by colleagues, and sometimes even by salespeople themselves. It’s not about slick talk, magic powers, or wining and dining prospects. It’s about people, trust, and teamwork.
On this episode of The GTM Kickback!, I sat down with Mattia Bruzzi—technology executive, natural sales leader, and co-author of Teams Win Championships. Mattia joined us from Madrid to share his journey, his philosophy on sales as a “people sport,” and why team success always outshines the lone-wolf myth.
Breaking the Misconceptions of Sales
Mattia admits he never thought he’d end up in sales. Yet after 20+ years selling technology into financial services, he not only loves the profession—he’s written a book about it.
He’s seen firsthand the misconceptions:
That salespeople have it easy—just dinners, flights, and commissions.
That reps will “sell anything at any cost.”
That a few “magic” rainmakers carry entire companies.
The reality, he argues, couldn’t be further from the truth. Sales is demanding, structured, and deeply human. It requires empathy, organization, and respect for colleagues and customers alike.
“Sales is a people sport—not a job. It requires precision, empathy, and teamwork.”
Why Sales Is Like a Sport
For Mattia, sales resembles competitive athletics:
Training matters. Like athletes, reps must practice, measure, and improve.
Teamwork wins. Lone wolves lose; well-coordinated teams deliver.
Passion is essential. Without belief in what you’re selling, customers won’t buy in either.
He emphasizes that transparency and measurement—now easier than ever with CRMs and analytics—are not threats but opportunities. They create accountability and highlight where reps can learn and grow.
Three Core Qualities of a Great Salesperson
From his decades of experience, Mattia distills the DNA of great sales talent into three traits:
Background & Credibility – A strong foundation in the problem space builds trust.
Spirit & Passion – Enthusiasm is contagious and drives authentic conversations.
Empathy & Collaboration – The ability to understand colleagues and customers alike.
These qualities matter more than fancy resumes or short-term numbers. They’re what sustain long-term performance and relationships.
Teams Win Championships: The Book
During the pandemic, Mattia and five other co-authors met weekly for over a year to write Teams Win Championships. The goal: challenge the myth of the lone-wolf seller and emphasize the collective effort required in modern sales.
Key themes from the book include:
The “We” over the “I.” Success comes from coordinated execution across sales, marketing, product, services, and support.
Trust and Communication. Clear, empathetic communication creates smoother collaboration and stronger customer experiences.
Self-Reflection. The book offers benchmarks for reps and leaders to evaluate their own practices and improve.
Importantly, all proceeds from the book go to nonprofit organizations chosen by the authors—another example of giving back to the community.
Mattia’s Advice for Leaders
To infuse these principles into your own sales organization, Mattia recommends:
Build trust first—within teams and with customers.
Focus on clarity of communication. Speak in terms of what colleagues and customers need, not just what you want.
Encourage self-assessment. Pause the “spinning wheel” of activity to reflect on whether your team is aligned with its values and goals.
“When you think as a giver, even tactically, good things happen. Passion and trust ignite positive cycles.”
Final Thoughts
Sales is not a solo act—it’s a championship sport. Mattia Bruzzi’s perspective reminds us that great sales organizations win not because of lone stars, but because of trust, teamwork, and shared passion.
If you’re ready to rethink sales as a team sport, grab a copy of Teams Win Championships on Amazon and start building the culture that helps teams truly win together.
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