As we’re nearing the end of 2024, it’s time we look back at what’s been happening in the sales/CS space and prep for what’s ahead. Yet, it’s often hard to see the bigger picture when we’re all dealing with our own challenges and priorities.
To identify the most prominent trends in the industry, we’ve analyzed the recent research findings to give you a quick summary of what 2024 looked like in revenue. Here are some of the most prominent trends as seen by Salesforce, HubSpot, Customer Success Collective, and Openprise.
79% of sales leaders say revenue increased over the past year. However, challenges persist, as three in four business buyers say their company extracts maximum value from every purchase. Sales cycles are getting longer which often leads to prospects backing out of deals. Moreover, reps only spend 30% of their time selling during an average week. With all of these making sales more difficult, most reps are struggling to hit quota.
It comes as no surprise that most businesses see greater revenue by selling to existing customers than to new ones. Namely, upselling drives 21% of company revenue on average. With upsells being typically handled by the CS team (as reported by 49.1% of respondents), CS teams are no longer considered cost centers. They are increasingly measured on upsell revenue, expansion MRR/ARR, and cross-sell revenue, even though 63.6% of them don’t get any commission for that.
RevOps function is a norm, present in some form in 67.5% of B2B companies, typically supporting the entire Go-To-Market team. Yet, 55.3% of CS teams have a dedicated CS Ops function3. With the growing reliance on tech, the role of sales ops typically leading the change becomes more important. And so is the role of enablement as three in four reps say their company’s enablement programs prepare them to meet quota.
To better understand customer needs and relieve their reps from manual tasks, four in five sales teams have been experimenting with or have fully implemented AI. And it works: 83% of sales teams with AI saw revenue growth in the past year — compared to 66% of teams without AI, while also saving two hours per day on average. More sales teams are also doubling down on enablement by offering self-service tools and content to buyers to help guide their purchase decisions and communicate value more clearly.
Now, let’s dig deeper into the personal stories and first-hand insights shared by the leading LinkedIn voices in sales and CS over the past 12 months. We’ve curated the top posts that resonated the most
Just like in 2023, the future of SDRs remains a hot topic, with many questioning if automation and AI will lead to the role’s decline. Despite all the talk, the SDR role isn’t going anywhere — it’s evolving to become more efficient requiring skilled effort applied across the whole sales cycle.
“From 2019 to 2022, the number of SDRs grew 2.5x. In the last 18 months, it's down 12%. The market has undoubtedly shifted. But I don't see the SDR role totally dying. My prediction is we'll see more experienced people doing the "SDR role".” - Michael Hanson
Even AI SDRs don’t seem to threaten the role. In fact, many still are quite skeptical about the AI SDRs trend.
Some of the most effective tactics are still the ones that don’t scale, so many organizations are forced to rethink their priorities and embrace the new way of things. So, whatever you prefer to call the “new outbound”, it does have a future and it looks promising.
“Sorry to tell you but inbound-led outbound, signal-led outbound, allbound, AMB, ABX, Outbound 2.0 is all just good outbound. It didn’t need a new name.” - Harry Sims
The biggest challenge in sales today is the shift from a “demand-positive” environment to one that is “demand-neutral” or even “demand-negative.” This evolution requires a new skill set to engage effectively with prospects, including the ones listed by Chris Orlob:
As a result of sellers relying on outdated tactics, many prospects report frustration with redundancy in their interactions. Sales processes need refinement to meet these changing dynamics, offering a more cohesive approach that minimizes friction.
“We've made it so hard, put up so many barriers, and have made sales cycles so much about "us" that I wonder how many deals we are losing running the process that's supposed to help us win.” - Mark Kosoglow
As buying behaviors evolve, it becomes increasingly important to invest in creating customer champions and focus on right-fit deals (even if it means disqualifying some of your prospects).
“I turned down a deal with a prospect who is excited and ready to buy our product. Why? They have a specific need we can't meet without one-off product development work that doesn't fit into our vision and roadmap. Sure, we could have built it. And it might not have even taken that long. But the reality is that their need doesn't fit into the value prop we're pursuing for our ideal customers.” - Jay Nathan
In 2024, sales is no longer about traditional relationship-building; buyers aren’t looking for new friendships — they’re seeking solutions that offer real, measurable business value. Yet, it’s more than the famed “value selling.”
“Most customers really want business value that makes their life better/easier. This isn’t the good old days where people want “human connection” and to have a beer. Is this someone who is smart, seems relatively trustworthy, knows my space and I believe can help me....this is what 90% buyers actually want.” - Jake Dunlap
Buyers are already functioning without the product, which means sellers need to create a compelling business case at each stage of the sales process. Or come up with a new stage in your sales process to accommodate that.
As a result, proper discovery becomes a must, offering an opportunity to get a deeper understanding of your customer’s business case and tailor your solution accordingly (even if it means realizing there’s no fit).
"I banned my AEs from doing demos on discovery calls. The result? Win rates went up more than 3x! The main reason I banned demos on discovery calls? They were feeding a scary amount of noise into the forecast!" - James Bissell
Effective demos no longer revolve around product features; instead, they focus on addressing the buyer’s unique needs, leaving room for a deeper, consultative conversation.
"The MORE I'm in solutions, the LESS I care about demos. This might be shocking to you because for most: solutions = demo. When solutions (aka presales) is actually about discovery, strategy, soft-selling, conversations. By the time you GET to the demo - the heavy lifting should be done. The customer insights should be extracted, the detective work - finished." - Sara Jones
This year, one metric to watch was GTM Efficiency, which reflected the industry's response to ongoing challenges. Companies achieving success prioritized sales enablement technology so people could focus on people and not waste their time on data entry.
At some point, the term "enablement" has become overused and often misapplied, diluting its meaning.
"Enablement as a function encompasses SO many different strategic and tactical components. Not only does it cause confusion and miscommunication to throw the word around so flippantly, but it does a serious disservice to everyone: Leaders, Enablement professionals, and the teams they support." - Stephanie Middaugh
The “Operations” function is being increasingly adopted across all revenue teams, not just sales, while some even suggest introducing a new role — the GTM or Growth Ops.
"Tomorrow's next hot GTM hire won't be an AE, SDR, demand gen person or content marketer.It'll be a GTM/growth ops owner. Someone who's more comfortable in Clay than they are in Salesforce. Someone who's favorite TLA is ICP rather than MQL." - Kyle Poyar
In an attempt to achieve GTM efficiency, the focus has shifted from simply filling the pipeline to optimizing the entire sales process. So, instead of simply trying to replicate top reps, sales teams prioritize building systems that deliver consistent results.
"'Let’s have everyone do what our top rep does!' Careful… Success isn't replication of a top rep. It's not creating a team of look alikes." - Christina Brady
Yet, sales leaders often struggle to implement methodologies successfully, which is crucial for scalable execution and sustainable growth.
It's also essential to reframe the role of activity metrics; sales isn’t about tallying attempts. Salespeople are ultimately paid to win, not just to stay active. High-quality, well-researched sales interactions are what truly make an impact.
"You’re not paid to sell. You’re paid to win. You’re not paid for your activities. You’re paid for the outcomes you achieve. There are no participation trophies in selling for meeting your various activity metrics." - Andy Paul
Customer Success (CS) is facing a real turning point. It’s no longer just about keeping customers happy, CS teams are now expected to deliver real business impact and even contribute directly to revenue (and demonstrate that to the management).
"Customer success is increasingly moving under Sales. CSMs that primarily focus on relationships and not renewals or upsells are having problems keeping and finding employment. My advice is still the same. Take the revenue. Also, create recurring services that will turn Customer success into a revenue center." - Jeff Kushmerek
After all, customer renewals don’t just happen on their own. Renewals are just as much a sale as the initial deal, often requiring buy-in and multithreading.
"A renewal is a sale. It's not automatic. This is why CS struggles to get buy-in. Others don't understand that everything we do, we are doing in pursuit of a sale. And it's not as easy a sale as you might think...Because we don't get to sell the dream anymore. The customer has seen the product - warts and all." - Rachel Provan
Unfortunately, a lack of good software leaves them wasting hours on basic prep instead of creating real value for the customers — which inevitably impacts output.
At the same time, more CS leaders start questioning traditional metrics, prioritizing usage, value, and retention scores. In 2024, CS is about helping customers achieve their goals and grow alongside your business.
"Here’s 1 brutal truth every Customer Success Pro needs to hear. Your job isn’t to keep customers happy. Your role is to ensure customers realize value." - Anika Zubair
Sales leadership is facing a crossroads where traditional metrics are pushing high performers to their breaking points. Instead of rewarding success, the focus on inflated activity metrics means that even exceptional performers risk punitive actions if they don’t meet arbitrary numbers.
"Stop treating knowledge professionals like factory workers.Specialized knowledge, building networks, and embracing tech innovation are more important growth levers than measuring activity inputs.This is especially true for strategic sellers.If you're leading sellers who have to engage with multiple executives at large companies and you're scrutinizing their "activity metrics,” I suggest you do an audit of your management style." - Brandon Fluharty
Setting realistic quotas shouldn't be a guessing game — it should be grounded in solid math and attainable (even if you have to make them more aggressive).
What’s expected from leaders is changing too as many CEOs are looking for a hands-on attitude in leadership hires, often prioritizing this over years of experience or college degrees.
"Noticing a major shift in what CEOs are looking for in CROs / VPs of Sales... ... Specifically, rolling up their sleeves by getting out into the field and engaging on deals has gone from a mostly nice-to-have to mostly need-to-have." - Jeremey Donovan
As we close out 2024, the sales and customer success landscape has seen remarkable shifts, marked by challenges and innovations. From embracing AI for efficiency to rethinking metrics and roles across revenue teams, the industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Businesses are prioritizing tangible value over traditional relationships, refining outbound strategies, and redefining customer success as a growth driver.
Looking ahead, the key to thriving in 2025 will be adopting a balanced approach — leveraging technology and data while maintaining the human touch. By focusing on outcomes, refining processes, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration, sales leaders can set the stage for sustainable growth.
So, here’s to a year of resilience, adaptability, and continued innovation!
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