This is part one of my summary of Salesforce's State of Sales report; a 2024 Olympics edition for a fun read.
Sales teams are proving to be as resilient and adaptable as Olympic athletes. The latest Salesforce State of Sales report shows that nearly 80% of sales teams are seeing medal-worthy increases in revenue and customer acquisition over the past year. Optimism is running high, with 82% of sales pros feeling confident about their company’s growth strategy for the next 12 months.
The Secret Training Regimen: Partner Selling
A big reason for this winning streak? Partner selling. Almost 90% of sales teams are teaming up with third-parties to boost sales without adding more staff. This strategy is paying off, with 84% of sales pros saying partner sales have had a bigger impact on revenue than last year. Even teams not currently using partner sales are planning to jump on the bandwagon, with over half looking to start within the next year.
The Marathon Strategy: Recurring Revenue
Just like Olympic athletes rely on consistent training, sales teams are focusing on recurring revenue streams like subscriptions and usage-based pricing instead of one-off sprints. Over 90% of sales teams use multiple revenue sources, with 42% naming recurring sales as their top earner. Upsells and cross-sells are also key, highlighting the importance of keeping existing customers happy.
The Hurdles: Facing New Challenges
But it’s not all gold medals and victory laps. Sales teams are dealing with changing customer needs and higher expectations. Buyers want lower costs, better understanding, and more value, leading to longer sales cycles and more scrutiny of deals. Competition is also getting tougher, with 57% of sales reps saying it’s harder than last year. As a result, many reps are struggling to hit their quotas, with 67% not expecting to meet their targets this year.
The Winning Technique: Personalization and Productivity
To clear these hurdles, personalization in sales is crucial. A whopping 86% of business buyers are more likely to buy when they feel their goals are understood, but 59% think most reps don’t get it. Cherilynn Castleman from CGI suggests that great reps listen closely and use technology to engage prospects in a meaningful way - sounds like something Team USA Basketball assistant coach Erik Spoelstra would say!
Despite advances in technology, productivity remains a challenge. Sales reps spend only 30% of their time actually selling, with the rest spent on administrative tasks and meetings. Automating some of these tasks could free up more time for selling and boost productivity.
The Finish Line: Looking Ahead
Sales teams have done an amazing job adapting and growing, but to keep the momentum going, they’ll need to tackle new challenges head-on. Emphasizing personalized engagement and using technology to improve productivity will be key to continuing their success. Will it be enough to capture gold?
This is part one of a four-part series. Please visit our blog page or subscribe to our mailing list for future series.
By Anthony Trinh. Anthony is the Founder and Principal Salesforce Consultant at Efforceless.
About Efforceless
Efforceless helps business leaders scale their teams. Founded only by seasoned current and former Shopify, Google and Salesforce employees, we combine Revenue Operations with a polished Salesforce implementation, and as a result, our clients have the smartest Salesforce team working for them at less than the cost of one Salesforce hire. For more information about Efforceless’ Salesforce consulting services and solutions, visit: www.efforceless.com
About Salesforce
Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com