In sales, only one thing is certain: nothing is ever certain. According to our most recent State of Sales report, 72% of sales professionals do not expect to meet their annual quota. Why? Constant obstacles include inflation, lingering health concerns, and supply chain breakdowns.

The good news: Sellers are advancing by maximizing efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing sales rep productivity. Here are ten sales statistics from our State of Sales report that illustrate how sellers are adapting to the current market conditions.

1. 70% of sales leaders say their company now takes fewer risks than it did prior to the pandemic.

Companies must still meet their objectives despite economic uncertainty. Instead of relying on higher-risk strategies and tactics, sales leaders are shifting their focus to what is proven to be effective. In fact, 55% of sales leaders say they are prioritizing low-risk projects with modest growth guarantees. In turbulent times, sure bets are preferable to larger but riskier gains.

2. Sales representatives spend only 28% of their week selling, a decrease from 35% in 2018.

Too much manual labor burdens representatives. Sellers want to sell, but they spend more than two-thirds of their time on administrative duties, broken processes, tool management, and administrative tasks such as data entry and lead management. This paves the way for a hurried sales process and less time to meet quota.

3. Sixty-six percent of sales representatives say they are drowning in tools.

As stated previously, tool juggling is one of the reasons sales representatives do not spend enough time selling. In order to close deals, sales teams use 10 tools on average. Many of these have a place in the sales process, but they can be expensive, cause reps to experience click overload, and prevent them from connecting with prospects and customers who advance deals.

4. Within the next 12 months, 94% of sales organizations intend to consolidate their technology stack.

In an effort to combat technology overload, sales organizations are attempting to streamline their stack. But the path forward does not consist solely of abandoning technology. It involves optimizing essential tools and eliminating unnecessary or redundant ones. Only 37% of sellers strongly agree that their company utilizes its CRM to its fullest potential.

George Carrera III, Senior Manager of Systems Technology at Mitsubishi Elevators, emphasizes the significance of both consolidation and optimization: "As sales teams seek new avenues for efficiency, limitless technical solutions are frequently viewed as silver bullets. But you must analyze your process to determine what is truly required, maximize the tools you must retain, and eliminate legacy tools that are ineffective."

5. 97% of sales leaders and sales operations professionals say that AI gives sales representatives more time to sell.

In addition to consolidating their technology stacks to increase efficiency, sales organizations are eager to eliminate the manual tasks that plague sales representatives' workdays. In conjunction with automation, artificial intelligence (AI) eliminates mundane tasks such as updating deal records and scoring leads, allowing sellers to focus on conversations with buyers. This is not merely a theoretical productivity enhancer. According to our report, high-performing representatives are 1.9 times more likely to use AI.

6. Ninety percent of sales representatives on high-performing teams say their leadership encourages them to prioritize long-term customer relationships over quick wins.

In the face of uncertainty, sales leaders seek reliable revenue streams. As a result, they are prioritizing customer relationships over quick deals, allowing sales representatives to build solid connections that foster customer loyalty and lead to cross-sells, upsells, and renewals (read: predictable revenue).

To strengthen these relationships, sales representatives act as more than transactional salespeople. In fact, 82% of sales representatives report that their company enables them to act as trusted advisors to buyers, assisting them in resolving complex issues and addressing nuanced needs.

"Prospects need ways to demonstrate the value of a purchase, and they are partnering with sellers to focus on measurable outcomes," stated Alexine Mudawar, Strategic Account Executive at Alyce.

7. 81 % of sales representatives believe team selling aids in closing deals.

Another change to which sellers must adapt is the increasingly discerning buyer. Over 80% of sales representatives report that buyers are conducting more research prior to initiating contact, requiring sellers to pool resources and knowledge to answer questions that go beyond basic product functionality.

The bad news is that cross-functional alignment requires improvement. The majority of salespeople agree that team selling helps them close deals, but say it's difficult to get everyone in sync. This will be a top priority for sales leaders, who believe that cross-functional alignment is the most effective strategy for driving growth.

8. Eighty-five percent of sales leaders say it's difficult to obtain budget for headcount.

Sales leaders are increasingly challenged by tight budgets. Teams are required to meet revenue goals without additional personnel or resources, resulting in frustration and at times turnover.

Therefore, it is essential to ensure that every representative has the necessary resources and support to be an A-player. Leaders are prioritizing employee experience and engagement by providing regular one-on-one coaching, boosting tool training, emphasizing work-life balance, and enhancing benefits.

9. Eighty-one percent of sales representatives say their manager provides them with valuable coaching.

This is excellent news. The issue is that one-on-one coaching occurs infrequently; only 26% of sales professionals report that it occurs weekly. When managers do meet with sales representatives, they likely have a lot to cover. Perhaps too much.

Enablement technology that automatically highlights high-impact areas for rep coaching is one possible solution. This is a large area of opportunity, as only 53% of sales leaders report employing such coaching solutions.

10. Only 28% of sales professionals anticipate meeting or exceeding their quota in the coming year, but sales organizations are providing assistance.

With so much economic uncertainty worldwide, sales professionals worry about meeting their revenue goals. However, not all is gloom and doom. 75% of sales professionals are confident in their organization's ability to train reps to navigate the new selling landscape, despite facing very real financial challenges.