If you dropped a pin at any point in my career, I’d be saying the same thing: “Something is changing that I’m trying to navigate through.” The way I navigate is by educating myself, digging into sales statistics like the ones below. That’s because sales is a battle of facts — not rhetoric — and the winners are the ones who understand the field so deeply they can say to their customers, “I’ve got you,” and mean it.

Read on to discover the most important sales statistics that reveal how the greatest teams are pushing forward. The data shows there are many bright spots to be found, but a nuanced picture emerges when we look more closely. Yes, revenue is up, but reps are struggling to meet quota. AI is yielding benefits, but data concerns remain. Employee retention is high, but fragile and dependent on high pay. 

Sales statistics about revenue growth

In the previous State of Sales report, conducted during the pandemic, 82% of sales professionals said they had to quickly adapt to new ways of selling in the face of economic headwinds. Today, that hard work has paid off. Sales are growing this year, partly thanks to recurring revenue and partner sales.

Growth is on the rise

1. 79% of sales leaders and managers say revenue increased over the past year.

2. 78% of sales leaders and managers say new customer acquisition increased over the past year.

3. 82% of sales leaders and managers feel confident about their company’s 12-month growth strategy

4. The top 3 tactics for growth among sales leaders: Improving sales enablement and training, targeting new markets, and improving use of tools and technologies.

One-off sales take a back seat to recurring revenue

5. Over 90% of sales teams use more than one revenue source.

6. 42% of sales leaders and managers say recurring sales is their top revenue source.

7. Sales leaders and managers say one-off sales is their third top revenue source, after recurring sales, upsells, and cross-sells.

Within 12 months, nearly every company expects to use partner sales

8. 83% of sales pros say partner selling has a bigger impact on revenue than a year ago.

9. 89% of sales teams currently use partner sales.

10. Of those sales teams who don’t use partner sales, 58% expect to within a year.

Sales statistics about challenges

Changing customer expectations is the number one challenge today. Increasing marketplace competition is adding to the squeeze. Meanwhile, buyers are demanding more personalization than before. But even as sellers are asked to deliver more value, they get trapped in non-selling tasks.

Sellers feel the pressure

11. 67% of sales reps don’t expect to meet their quota this year, and 84% missed it last year.

12. 53% of sales pros say it’s harder to sell than a year ago.

Changing customer expectations and marketplace competition are coming in hot

13. Sales leaders and managers say their top challenge is changing customer needs and expectations (for example, demanding lower costs, deeper understanding, and greater value).

14. 57% of sales leaders and managers say competition has increased since last year.

15. Similarly, macroeconomic conditions and inflation still pose a major challenge but is decreasing, with 27% of sales leaders and managers saying it’s a challenge compared to 39% in 2022.

16. 78% of business buyers say their company is more careful about spending money than before.*

17. 76% of business buyers say their company extracts maximum value from every purchase.*

*This data comes from the Salesforce State of the Connected Customer report.

Buyers demand personalization*

18. 86% of business buyers are more likely to buy if companies understand their goals.

19. But 59% say most sales reps don’t take the time to understand them.

20. 84% of business buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors.

21. But 73% say most sales interactions feel transactional.

*The data in this section comes from from the Salesforce State of the Connected Customer report.

Sales reps still have productivity woes

22. Reps spend 70% of their time on nonselling tasks — a figure that is virtually unchanged from the 2022 State of Sales report, when reps spent 72% of their time on nonselling tasks.

23. The tasks that take the most time to complete are meeting customer budget needs, personalizing communication, and building a strong personal relationships.

Sales statistics about data and AI

Four in five sales teams use AI today. As adoption becomes widespread, sales teams are experiencing powerful benefits like accelerated growth and productivity gains. But data concerns like trust and training gaps are preventing teams from making the most out of AI, and many sales pros fear they’re missing out.

Sales teams are benefiting from AI, but obstacles remain

29. 81% of sales teams are investing in AI. Of those, about half are experimenting with AI and the other half have fully implemented it.

30. 83% of sales teams with AI saw revenue growth in the past year — versus 66% of teams without AI.

31. The top 3 areas that AI is improving are sales data quality and accuracy, understanding customer needs, and personalization for customers.

32. AI-using sales teams are 1.4x more likely to say headcount increased over the past year

33. 33% of sales ops pros using AI say they have insufficient budget, headcount, and training on how to use it.

34. Among teams currently using AI, sales ops pros say the top tactic to prepare is to consolidate tools and tech stacks.

The focus turns to building a foundation of trustworthy data

35. 98% of sales leaders say trustworthy data is more important in times of change.*

36. 94% of sales leaders say their organization should be getting more value from their data.*

37. 78% of sales leaders say they’re concerned about missing out on generative AI.*

38. Only 35% of sales professionals completely trust the accuracy of their organization’s data.

39. 73% of sales pros say generative AI introduces new security risks.**

40. 49% of sales pros say they’re not sure how to safely use generative AI at work.**

41. 39% of sales pros say accurate forecasting is hindered by poor data quality.**

42. Among sales pros who don’t trust their organization’s data, 38% say the reason is incompleteness, 37% say it’s because it’s stored in multiple formats, and 37% say it’s because it’s not regularly updated.**

*This data comes from the Salesforce Trends in Data and Analytics for Sales report.

**This data comes from the Salesforce Trends in Generative AI for Sales report.

Sales statistics about enablement and training

Sales teams are improving their training programs for direct sellers and partners alike, a key strategy for delivering more value to customers. Most reps say their company’s enablement programs prepare them to meet quota, rating these activities as the most impactful: support materials, product-specific training, and one-on-one coaching. 

Enablement is the top tactic for growth

24. The number one growth tactic for sales leaders and managers is improving sales enablement and training.

25. The top enablement activity is sales strategy reviews, which 53% of sales teams use. The least popular activity is one-on-one meetings with managers, which only 32% have regularly. 

Enablement helps reps meet quota, but isn’t perfect 

26. 76% of reps say their enablement prepares them to make quota.

27. But only 29% of reps say they are completely satisfied with enablement materials.

Enablement gets a lift from AI

28. Among sales teams who use AI for enablement, 70% offer real-time selling guidance, 67% offer customized enablement for individual reps, and 47% offer call coaching. 

Sales statistics about the employee experience

While employee retention has grown overall, it remains fragile. Sales pros say the top reason they’d consider changing jobs is a lack of career advancement opportunities, and the second top reason is uncompetitive pay or benefits. 

43. 76% of reps say leadership makes employee satisfaction a priority at their company.

44. Sales teams report an 18% average turnover over the last 12 months — down from 25% in 2022. 

45. 81% of sales professionals say their pay has increased over the past year.

46. 82% of sales reps saying they understand which metrics affect their pay. 

47. 71% of sales leaders and managers say overall budget is up.

48. 63% of sales leaders and managers say employee headcount is up.

49. 64% of sales professionals say they would leave if offered a similar job elsewhere with better pay.

50. The top reasons why sales reps are considering leaving their current job are lack of career advancement, lack of clarity from leadership, and uncompetitive pay.

Join the conversation

All of these sales statistics came from conversations with sales professionals like you. Even through the challenges and the change, the sales community is always there — a constant — to plug into. Come connect with other sellers on the new Salesblazer Community on Slack, a place to ask a question you’re stuck on, share a new insight, and seek out opportunities to grow your career.