Executive Summary StaStatte oe of Salesf Sales 55 Technology is pushing customer 01 Sales Teams Fall Short of Rising Customer Expectations expectations to all-time highs, (See page 6) and sales organizations into As customers expect more personalized, consultative engagement, salespeople bear the brunt of the change. uncharted territory. Accountable Increasingly responsible for emerging customer success, but also overwhelmed by tasks, reps report spending a for quotas — but also for customer mere one-third of their time selling. Fifty-seven percent of sales reps expect to miss their quotas this year. success — salespeople have far greater mandates than before. 02 A Data-Driven Sales Playbook Emerges (See page 11) How are sales organizations coping? Soft skills, such as ability to listen and demonstrate attention to detail, are still critical to winning deals, but teams New data-driven approaches to are increasingly bolstering ingenuity with data-driven insights. In the process, traditional approaches to lead sales, increasingly underpinned by prioritization and forecasting are falling by the wayside. Twice as many teams primarily prioritize leads based on AI, are emerging in tandem with data analysis of propensity to buy than on intuition. big changes spanning customer engagement, staffing models, and 03 The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Takes Shape cross-functional collaboration. (See page 15) This report takes a closer look at Sales teams’ use of AI is nascent, but the majority of teams expect it will gain ground quickly for a variety of use cases. Despite industry rumblings that AI will displace sales jobs, those using AI continue to expand their teams. how the world of sales is changing. Sales leaders expect AI adoption to grow by 155% by 2020. Here’s an overview of our top research findings. Virtual Selling Hits a Tipping Point 04 (See page 20) As the pace of business accelerates and customers rely less on in-person meetings, reps are spending more time in front of a screen — and staffing models are pivoting toward inside roles. Time spent connecting virtually with customers has increased 3.2x more than time meeting customers in person. 05 Top Sales Teams Break from the Silo Mentality (See page 23) As customers demand more contextualization and personalization across their entire buying journeys, sales teams are taking a collaborative approach. To enable this, teams are embracing a free and open internal flow of customer data. Eighty-one percent of teams say a connected view of data across the customer journey is important. Salesforce Research