While that sounds daunting, there are still serious buyers out there, and they’re more educated and ready to buy than ever before.
To see exactly how these shifts are playing out, we surveyed 1,000 global sales pros for HubSpot’s 2025 State of Sales Report. And, I didn’t just look at the numbers. I also caught up with several sales experts to hear how these trends are showing up in their day-to-day work.
The results are clear: While the economy is putting pressure on sales teams, AI and new strategies are helping them stay resilient — and in many cases, even thrive.
Sales Benchmarks
Before we dig into the key themes that are leading, transforming, and impacting sales metrics, here are some sales benchmarks to help you get a sense of how your business stacks up in 2025:
- Sales goals: 59.9% of sales teams are on track to meet or surpass their revenue targets.
- Win rates: 91% report win rates are stable or improving.
- Deal sizes: 93% say average deal sizes are holding steady or growing.
- Lead quality: 68% report that lead quality has improved year over year.
- Team growth: Nearly half of leaders (45%) expect their teams to expand this year, while just 3% expect them to shrink.
- Budgets: Only 9% of respondents say sourcing budget has been difficult; 42% call it “easy” and 49% say it’s neutral.
Together, these numbers show that while macroeconomic uncertainty is still on everyone’s mind, sales teams are holding steady and in many cases improving — across the metrics that matter most.
Top State of Sales Findings and Trends
Trend 1: Sales success is defined by revenue outcomes (not ops efficiency).
Unsurprisingly, sales pros are laser-focused on outcomes. In fact, 42% say annual recurring revenue (ARR) is the most important success metric.
Rounding out the top success benchmarks:
- Average profit margin — 30%
- Conversion rate — 29%
- Win rate — 28%
- Average revenue per user — 27%
- Quota attainment — 26%
- Sales cycle length — 22%
- Average deal size — 20%
What’s most striking is what doesn’t make the list.
Fewer than 5% of respondents said they prioritize pipeline coverage, lead scoring, or sales linearity. That marks a clear shift away from measuring activity for activity’s sake and toward bottom-line impact.
Dylan Wickliffe, VP of Growth at media junction, agrees.
“Leads have gotten better, thanks to stronger partner channels and a clearer ICP [ideal customer profile]. I’ve gone from chasing every possible deal to focusing on fewer, higher-value opportunities, putting more energy into strategic conversations instead of volume-based outreach,” Wickliffe says.
This trend signals a maturity in how sales organizations define success. Outcomes are a bigger focus than activity.
Trend 2: Value is the key to sales success.
Sales today is all about proving value. The top two deal-killers come down to perception of value: no product fit (37%) and poor value for money (35%).
Yet, it’s clear sales teams have managed to adapt to these maturing buyer expectations, with 60% reporting they are meeting or exceeding their sales goals.
Some of those shifts include:
- Offering expanded self-serve tools like free trials, pricing pages, and customer stories (40%) to meet customer expectations.
- Focusing on solution-based selling (35%).
- Waiting to attempt upsells until right after delivering value to ensure clients are receptive (37%).
And if you’re wondering about the other top upsell drivers, understanding customer goals (42%) and providing consistent value (39%) round out the top three.
Our experts concur that value is mission-critical in 2025. M. Shannon Hernandez, founder and CEO of Joyful Business Revolution, says, “Referrals and relationships are gold. In a crowded market, nothing cuts through like delivering value that gets people talking.”
Hernandez shares that messaging is an important part of showing that value, noting that when it’s spot on, it results in “a leaner pipeline, higher deal quality, and sales conversations that move faster because prospects already see themselves in the offer.”
And while value remains the ultimate differentiator, sales reps are also leaning on new tools — especially AI — to deliver it more consistently.
Trend 3: AI is a mainstay of the sales rep’s tool belt.
So, what else feels different this year? AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore. Last year, everyone was asking if it would change sales. Now, the conversation is all about how we use it to work smarter, move faster, and build stronger connections with buyers.
AI isn’t hype. It’s here, and it’s producing results. Where last year the conversation was about how AI was gaining traction, this year, it’s clear that people are using it to focus their time more effectively.
In fact, only 8% of the sales reps we surveyed reported not using AI at all. Here’s what else they say:
- 37% of reps use AI tools, more than any other sales tool category.
- AI was rated the highest ROI tool (31%).
- 84% say AI saves time and optimizes processes.
- 83% say it personalizes prospect interactions.
- 82% say it surfaces better insights from data.
But how people are using it is fascinating. Everyone I spoke with uses it slightly differently.
For example, Hernandez reports using AI to cut admin: “Instead of spending 2 hours consolidating notes into a proposal, AI now captures the key details live during my calls, which has cut my post-call time by 80%.”
On the other hand, Wickliffe calls AI his “silent sales partner,” noting that his AI tools handle research, prep, scoping, and follow-up so he can focus almost entirely on closing.
Trend 4: AI helps buyers research, but humans still close deals.
With AI tools like ChatGPT, buyers are better informed than ever. 74% of sales pros believe AI is making it easier for buyers to research products.
As a result, the seller’s role is evolving from pitching to confidence building:
- 36% say their primary job is helping buyers feel confident in decisions.
- 33% say it’s navigating internal buy-in.
Matt Hall, founder of Common People, sees this playing out with buyers spending more time to ensure they make the right decision.
“The buying cycle is a bit slower … buyers are spending more time exploring options,” Hall says.
Kali Tucker, owner of The Waterworks, sees two primary factors in B2C sales trends this year.
“Everyone wants that good deal, but they also want a real human connection,” she says.
She has also noticed a change in how research affects the sale: “People are making buying decisions in advance of physically coming into the showroom. Our role really becomes about building that relationship and connecting the dots to a deal.”
Trend 5: Social media has permeated the entire sales journey.
Social selling has become the channel of choice. While awareness is important, response, lead quality, and revenue are factors that play a significant role in its success for salespeople.
- 42% say social media delivers the highest cold outreach response rate (vs. 26% via email and 23% on the phone).
- 35% say social media is their top source of high-quality leads (up slightly from last year).
- 45% rate social media “very effective” at driving sales. That’s higher than in-person meetings (44%) or video calls (35%).
Some of the experts I spoke with agree that social media is a valuable sales channel.
“One LinkedIn post about a client’s messaging shift led to a DM, then a $33K engagement. That’s the power of thought leader positioning and a cohesive messaging strategy that shows prospects the results they want — before they ever reach out,” shares Hernandez.
Wickliffe adds, “Posting behind-the-scenes insights on LinkedIn has turned into an unexpected lead magnet, sparking conversations that move directly into the pipeline. People like people. Me posting about what I know about and what I’m passionate about drives business and also drives referrals.”
But not everyone agreed.
For one, Tucker had a different take. “We’ve found lead quality declining from paid social, but our greatest success has come from collaborations with other local businesses with ancillary products and services to our own. The resulting real, unfiltered behind-the-scenes content helps people get to know us as people, creates better visibility—and in turn, creates more personal connections before people ever connect with our sales teams.”
Hall agreed with Tucker. For her, social selling hasn’t been a big priority this year.
“Without human connection, the value of social platforms seems to be limited to entertainment or dopamine dependency — values that seem unsustainable in the long term. Those who can maintain real human connection right now seem to be doing okay,” Tucker says.
What does all of this mean?
If you can use social media to help your customers feel connected with your brand or sales reps, you’ll have a leg up on those who focus on it just for awareness.
Trend 6: Macroeconomic anxiety is real — but so is adaptability.
It’s impossible to have a conversation about any kind of sales without addressing the economic elephant in the room. Most of the biggest sales concerns relate directly to perceived economic instability:
- Recession concerns — 74%
- Inflation — 75%
- Interest rates — 70%
- Supply chain issues — 69%
- Tariffs/trade — 69%
What’s striking is how high these numbers remain across the board, a reminder that economic anxiety is both global and persistent.
Yet the story doesn’t end there. Resilience is the bigger story:
- 60% of sales pros report they’re on track to meet or exceed sales goals.
- 67% say they’re very or extremely adaptable.
- 76% say they understand how macro trends affect their industry.
- 79% say their org communicates those impacts effectively.
This also illustrates the importance of value (Trend #2) and how companies that deliver on value are well-positioned to thrive in the future.
And, that brings me directly to the next trend.
Trend 7: Despite turbulence, momentum & budgets remain strong.
Here’s the surprising twist: even with those economic fears, core sales metrics are holding steady — and in many cases, improving.
Key success benchmarks are holding steady or improving:
- 91% say win rates and close rates stayed flat or improved.
- 93% say average deal size grew or stayed consistent.
- 68% say lead quality improved.
When it comes to team investment, the picture is equally encouraging:
- 45% of leaders expect the number of reps per manager to grow this year.
- 52% expect team size to hold steady.
- Only 3% anticipate team size shrinking.
As for budgets, just 9% say sourcing budget is harder this year. The majority say budget sourcing is either easy (42%) or neither easy nor hard (49%).
Other Trends to Watch
While the seven core trends define the big shifts in sales for 2025, the data also revealed several smaller but equally telling patterns.
These don’t warrant full sections on their own, but together they paint a sharper picture of how sales teams are adapting, thriving, and preparing for the future.
1. Teams are redefining sales culture as a differentiator.
Sales success isn’t just about metrics or budgets. The 2025 data shows how culture plays a huge role in longevity, morale, and the bottom line.
Top motivators include:
- Trust in leadership — 30%
- Healthy competition — 30%
- Career development — 28%
On the flip side, toxic competition (28%) and lack of collaboration (29%) can sink performance. Leaders who double down on culture will have a clear edge.
2. Social may have a leg up on email for prospecting.
Email, live events, and outreach by phone aren’t going anywhere. However, social outreach now outranks email for response rates (42% vs. 26%), showing a clear shift in where buyers engage.
Sales teams that still rely primarily on cold email may be missing the channels where buyers are most active
3. Promotional experiments are here.
Promotions aren’t limited to discounts anymore. Companies are experimenting with activities like social media challenges (28%), contests (24%), and even giveaways to generate leads and drive engagement.
Yes, everyone loves a deal, but as margins get tighter, there are new ways to create a buzz.
4. Free tools and trials drive strong conversion rates.
Buyers want to evaluate value independently before they engage with reps, which means that free options continue to prove their worth in pipeline creation.
Nearly 38% of sales leaders say free tools convert best, outpacing free widgets (27%) and free content (25%). Buyers want a taste of real value, not just gated PDFs.
5. Enablement content is getting smarter.
Generic collateral and content are losing ground. With AI making it easier to get answers, the kinds of content that move deals forward most effectively include market research (35%) and product demos (32%).
6. Emotional intelligence sets good salespeople apart.
While tools and tactics evolve, the human element is still decisive. Reps report that understanding customer goals (42%), providing consistent value (39%), and building trust (30%) are the top drivers of repeat sales and upsells — all core aspects of emotional intelligence.
This reinforces what many leaders already know: Empathy, active listening, and genuine relationship-building separate good salespeople from great ones.
“Empathy is the number one thing I look for in my sales team,” says Tucker. “You need to listen to the client, and understand what they want, and what they’re not saying. When you can, you can tie the offer directly to their motivators, and that is the win right there.”
Hernandez echoes this, “The sales edge will go to leaders who build trust systems, or processes that keep founders and their sales teams in a prospect’s world for months or years without going cold.”
8. These traits will set high-performing salespeople apart.
We dug deeper into research on high- and low-performing salespeople to identify the traits and tactics that set them apart. While specific data points might change as AI and efficiency processes mature, these soft skills aren’t going anywhere.
Most notably, here’s what high-performing salespeople are doing this year.
Building Trust and Rapport
Of respondents, 40% said that establishing trust and rapport is the single most effective upsell/cross-sell strategy. This suggests that relationship-building and emotional intelligence remain critical differentiators, even in a year dominated by AI and automation.
Providing Consistent Value for the Long-Term
Close behind, 39% pointed to providing consistent value. That means top sellers aren’t just “checking in.” They’re proactively offering insights, tools, and recommendations that make customers’ lives easier.
Clear Communication, Sales Goals, and Team Alignment
Of sales leaders, 27% cited improving alignment between sales reps and sales leadership as a top goal. To translate this: high performers stand out when they communicate well upward and across teams, ensuring that strategy doesn’t get lost in execution.
Prioritizing a Coaching and Mentorship Mindset
Of sales leaders, 30% list supporting reps as a primary goal, which is notable given the importance of both receiving and giving feedback. High-performing individuals lean into coaching, mentorship, and peer-to-peer learning to accelerate success.
Sales in 2025 is about finding your balance.
We can safely say that AI adoption is no longer up for debate. It’s the starting line. The real differentiator now is how sales teams use AI to work smarter, reclaim time, and sharpen decisions.
Still, efficiency alone won’t define the next era of sales. Emotional intelligence, trust, collaboration, and culture matter just as much, if not more. Buyers may come to the table more informed, but they still rely on salespeople to give them confidence, clarity, and connection.
So, what’s the real story this year? It’s that even in the face of global economic pressures, sales pros aren’t pulling back. They’re adapting, hitting targets, and doubling down on growth.
