State of Sales Report: Salesforce

SECOND ANNUAL State of Sales Insights and trends from over 3,100 global sales trailblazers

About This Report State of Sales 2 Breakdown of Sales Performance Levels High-performing sales teams represent 20% of the overall survey population. Sales professionals surveyed include B2C, B2B, and B2B2C teams. Moderate performers have somewhat increased or maintained YoY revenue growth 71% Underperformers High performers have significantly increased have negative YoY revenue growth YoY revenue growth 20% 9% Salesforce Research

Executive Summary State of Sales 4 What trends define the new era of 01 Rethinking Success: Customer Experience Is Now the Top Sales Benchmark selling? Technology-empowered and (See page 9) information-savvy customers now In today’s connected marketplace, informed customers have more power to dictate which expect sales reps to be intuitive, businesses lead — and which fall behind. As a result, sales teams are pivoting to focus on customer- knowledgeable, fast, and personal. centricity. This shift is influencing sales teams to think differently about how they quantify success. The new blueprint of sales replaces Customer experience/success is ranked as the top type of KPI used to measure success. product pitches with tailored 02 A New Sales Blueprint: Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive customer solutions, reshapes (See page 12) traditional success metrics to prioritize Sales teams must reimagine the traditional sales approach in order to keep up with customer customer experience, and overhauls preferences for instant, tailored, and always-on sales. Leading teams are better at understanding business-as-usual processes with and anticipating their customers’ needs with collaboration, strong partner ecosystems, cross- innovative technology adoption. As channel interactions, and immediate engagement. High performers are 2.9x more likely than underperformers to strongly agree their company is available to customers anytime. companies ready for the intelligent marketplace of the future, successful 03 The Productivity Gap: Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training sales teams are arming their reps with (See page 17) smarter selling capabilities. Facing increased customer demands, sales teams can no longer afford to be hindered by time-consuming and manual administrative tasks. Top teams are bullish on This report takes a deeper look into technology that will help them close the productivity gaps, while others continue to lag how the role of sales is changing and behind. Among sales teams that cite ineffective internal processes as their top challenge, excessive administrative tasks was the top cause. what defines success in the Age of the Customer. Here is an overview of 04 Smarter Selling: Intelligent Sales Takes Off top findings from our research. (See page 22) Intelligent technologies with the ability to automate, simplify, and ultimately transform the sales process are no longer confined to wish lists — they’re here now. In fact, triple-digit growth is expected in areas such as predictive intelligence (118%), lead-to-cash process automation (115%), and artificial intelligence (139%) in the next three years. SalesforSalesforcce Re Researesearchch

State of Sales Introduction 5 Sales Teams Shift to Match the Connected Customer Mindset The road maps for the marketplace are Sales’ Influence on Business Strategy Execution Continues to Grow changing — customers are now in the driver’s seat of business success and Sales is becoming a more powerful, strategic voice within companies. Seventy-three percent of sales disruption. As seamless customer experience professionals say the attention paid to sales has increased over the past five years. becomes the North Star for companies across industries, the way businesses Percentage of Sales Teams Who Say the Role of Sales Has Increased operate is fundamentally changing. Significantly or Somewhat in the Following Ways Over the Past Five Years For sales, this means greater mindshare Attention paid to sales within and control over the business strategy companies 73% as an increased ownership of the customer experience is needed from every Influence of sales within part of the business. Sales departments companies 69% are now positioned to be the testing grounds for advanced technologies of the future, such as automation and Empowerment of sales within intelligence, to meet customers on their companies 65% turf. Leading sales teams empower reps with these cutting-edge capabilities to usher in the Age of the Customer. 89%of high-performing sales professionals say that empowerment of sales has increased over the past five years — 2.1x more so than underperformers. SalesforSalesforcce Re Researesearchch

Introduction State of Sales 6 Sales Teams Shift to Match the Connected Customer Mindset Technologies like mobile, social, and the Connected Customers Demand a Smarter Sales Experience* Internet of Things have enabled customers to be connected and in control. Sixty-one Customers want sales reps who are personal consultants. Seventy-nine percent of business percent of consumers — and 76% of business buyers say it is absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a buyers — say they feel significantly more trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — who adds value to their business. empowered than they did five years ago, according to Salesforce Research’s “State of Percentage of Business Buyers Who Say It’s Absolutely Critical the Connected Customer” report. To keep or Very Important to Interact with a Salesperson Who... pace and meet increasingly sophisticated customer expectations, the traditional sales Is focused on helping achieve their company’s process must evolve to be smarter, faster, needs, not just making a quick sale 83% and more intuitive. Today’s customers seek personalized and Is available when their company needs them 82% seamless engagement with the brands they choose to do business with, and they Doesn’t try to sell them products they expect their sales reps to learn, understand, don’t need 80% and anticipate their needs — like personal consultants. Otherwise, these customers Understands their company’s preferences can and will revoke their loyalty with the click or needs 79% of a button. In fact, 7 out of 10 consumers — and 82% of business buyers — agree that Is a trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — technology has made it easier to take their who adds value to their business 79% business elsewhere.* SALES LEADER perspective “The more we understand what’s motivating our customers at a personal level, the better we’ll be able to partner with them to reach their desired outcomes.” — WALTER ROGERS, CEO, CCI GLOBAL HOLDINGS ** * “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016. Salesforce Research ** Taken from Quotable’s “7 Steps to Building a Customer-Obsessed Culture in Your Sales Organization”

Introduction State of Sales 7 Sales Teams Shift to Match the Connected Customer Mindset The changing customer climate is proving Customer Expectations Race to the Top of Sales Challenges difficult for sales teams to acclimate to — new technologies, roles, and processes Meeting customer expectations is listed as the top overarching challenge to a sales that extend beyond the confines of organization’s process. Of the sales teams that cite it as a top challenge, the growing the sales organization are needed to sophistication of customer needs is listed as the top reason. Here are the top six reasons, ranked. truly succeed in this new age. Today, sales reps — and other parties they Ranked Reasons Why Meeting Customer Expectations Is a Top Challenge for Sales Teams* increasingly collaborate with — must be proficient not only at selling products or Customers expect the same services but also at understanding and Customer needs have level of service in every anticipating customer needs. Otherwise, grown more sophisticated interaction companies will forfeit loyalty 1 4 (e.g., speaking with sales or customer service) to competitors that do. There is a stark cultural and structural shift that sales organizations need to undergo in order to exceed customer Customer motivations have Customers expect sales to expectations and avoid disruption. In 2shifted from price to value 5 be available 24/7 fact, the top two process challenges sales organizations face are meeting customer expectations and dealing with competitive concerns. Customers have become more Customers expect sales to experienced with competitive, be a trusted advisor (e.g., go 3disciplined bidding 6 beyond a sales rep role to be consultative to customers) * This chart is a partial list. For the complete list, see page 38. Data reported is out of a base of respondents who selected “Meeting Customer Expectations” Salesforce Research as the top overarching challenge in their sales process.

Introduction State of Sales 8 Sales Teams Shift to Match the Connected Customer Mindset High-performing sales teams in this Sales Innovation Goes Hand-in-Hand with Revenue Growth report are those that cite a significant increase in YoY revenue growth. These Top teams are able to significantly grow their revenue because their entire company is aligned on top teams lead the pack by aggressively how to empower sales teams to meet customer demands. Eighty-seven percent of high-performing innovating and pivoting toward the sales teams say their company is aligned on how to empower sales to exceed goals. customer. High-performing sales Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Say Their High Performers vs. teams are 2.8x more likely than Company Completely or Mostly Aligned on the Following Underperformers underpeformers to say their sales organizations have become much 87% 2.4x more focused on personalizing How to empower 55% more likely to customer interactions over the past sales to exceed goals be completely 35% or mostly aligned 12—18 months and 2.9x more likely than underperformers to say the same about providing customers with a 85% 2.1x consistent experience. Changing customer 60% more likely to expectations be completely 41% or mostly aligned These teams thrive in companies that understand the importance of arming reps with advanced and intelligent 2.4x technologies. This approach empowers 84% Resources needed 59% more likely to top teams to collect and understand to engage customers be completely customer data across departments, cut 35% or mostly aligned down on process time, deliver instant and proactive experiences, and create personalized interactions — ultimately Importance of 83% 2.1x resulting in higher revenue growth. cross-team collaboration 58% more likely to (sales, marketing, service) be completely 40% or mostly aligned High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Salesforce Research

State of Sales 01Rethinking Success 9 Customer Experience Is Now the Top Sales Benchmark Skeptics of the new sales paradigm Sales Teams Shift Priorities to the Customer Relationship need look no further than the shifting Sales teams are becoming more customer focused — six out of the top eight objectives over objectives of sales teams across industries, the next 12—18 months are customer-centric. geographies, and sizes. Although bread- and-butter priorities such as customer Percentage of Sales Teams Who Rate the Following as One acquisition and hiring more reps aren’t of Their Most Important Sales Objectives Over the Next 12—18 Months* going away any time soon, evolving objectives reflect the pivot to a customer- Grow number of leads/new customers 56% first mindset. These newly elevated aspirations include increasing retention Increase customer retention through through deeper relationships (51%), deeper relationships 51% becoming trusted advisors to customers (39%), and providing customers with a Become a trusted advisor to customers (i.e., go more personalized experience (37%). beyond a sales rep to be consultative to customers) 39% Sales teams are adapting to their Provide customers with a customers’ behaviors by emphasizing the more personalized experience 37% customer experience and focusing on enabling personalized consultants rather Increase average order size (e.g., upsell/cross-sell) 36% than traditional product or service reps. Increase face time with customers 35% Improve customer and sales data quality/accuracy 33% Improve use of sales technology 33% Customer-related sales objectives Other sales objectives Salesforce Research * This chart is a partial list. For the complete list, see page 41.

01Rethinking Success State of Sales 11 Customer Experience Is Now the Top Sales Benchmark There is a stark mindset shift in sales, as Many Sales Organizations Struggle to Track Customer Experience evident by customer experience becoming the standard bearer for success. With Though customer experience has become the marker for sales success, it’s difficult to track without this pivot comes the added challenge the right technology and tools. For those who didn’t list customer experience or success as one of to not just deliver, but also track the their top three types of KPIs used to measure success, “not easy to track” was the top reason. customer experience. While most sales Ranked Reasons Why Sales Teams Haven’t Prioritized Customer Experience/Success KPIs* teams understand the relevance of customer success and the impact it has on their business, many lack the resources necessary to effectively measure progress. 1 Not easy to track Sales teams that lack the necessary tools — such as analytics — to understand the level of customer satisfaction, what those customers need, and how to take action, 2 Lack required tools/software to track are already behind in the connected era. Top teams are empowered with the right tools to track and improve engagement. For 3 Not tied to performance rating/bonus example, high performers are 2.4x more likely than underperformers to rate their team’s analytics and insights capabilities as outstanding or very good. 4 Not relevant across the business 5 Not useful * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who did not select “Customer Experience/Success” as a top three KPI type used by their sales organization to measure success. SalesforSalesforcce Re Researesearchch

02A New Blueprint State of Sales 13 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive True collaborative selling is only possible High-Performing Sales Teams Master a Single View of the Customer with a single view of the customer across Top teams are 2.1x more likely than underperformers to be outstanding or very good at having a all organizations. Digital transformation single view of the customer. now allows established companies to connect their disparate systems of engagement, while successful startups are Percentage of Sales Teams Who Are Outstanding or Very Good at built from the ground up with the single Providing a Single View of the Customer view in mind. Sixty-eight percent of sales professionals say it is absolutely critical High performers or very important to have a single view of the customer across departments/ Moderate performers roles. Yet, only 17% of sales teams rate their single view of the customer capabilities as outstanding. Underperformers Top teams prioritize access to customer 79% data across the entire organization. High Performers vs. These companies are better equipped to Underperformers quickly understand, socialize, and act on customer data at any given touchpoint 2.1x — such as preferences determined by a more likely to be outstanding marketing nurture campaign, shopping or very good at providing behaviors gathered by an e-commerce a single view of the customer website, or future needs expressed on 37% a service call. 55% Salesforce Research

02A New Blueprint State of Sales 14 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive Collaborative selling isn’t just about Successful Connected Selling Extends to the Partner Ecosystem working together internally, it’s now also Creating a connected sales experience for the customer extends beyond internal collaboration. about building and bolstering a supportive Top teams also prioritize partner relationships — 76% of high-performing sales teams rate their partner ecosystem. A truly connected sales partner and customer/prospect collaboration capabilities as outstanding or very good. process includes many different facets — 75% of sale professionals agree Percentage of Sales Teams Who Are Outstanding or Very Good at Partner and their company connects customers, Customer/Prospect Collaboration employees, partners, and products. High performers The right partners can help companies discover hidden opportunities they Moderate performers wouldn’t be able to access on their own, while still delivering a seamless, branded experience. For example, if a hotel chain Underperformers partners with an airline and rental car agency, they can ensure that customers are recognized across their journey and High Performers vs. that their trip is smooth from the time 76% Underperformers they depart to the time they return. Similarly, unique preferences learned 2.1x by these partners can be leveraged by more likely to be outstanding sales reps to tailor their pitches with or very good at partner and personalized recommendations. customer/prospect collaboration 35% 55% Salesforce Research

02A New Blueprint State of Sales 15 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive While communicating across partner Sales Seeks to Drive Personalization at Scale experiences and on every channel is a key component of success — on average, sales Despite technology innovation expectations, customers still look for human connections. As a result, teams rate six channels as absolutely sales teams are finding the most success when they blend personal interactions with technologies critical/very important for connecting with that scale. In-person remains sales’ top communication channel for connecting with customers. customers — nothing yet eclipses the impact of a human conversation. While many may Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Say It’s Absolutely Critical or Very Important to imagine a world where technology replaces Connect with Customers Using the Following Communication Channels* reps entirely, data shows that the desire for one-to-one human connection is still more powerful than technology innovation for its In person 87% own sake. Two-thirds of consumers, and 72% of business buyers say they are likely to switch Phone brands if they’re treated like a number instead 83% of an individual.** Email 78% Knowledge bases (e.g., FAQs, library Spotlight of information to search for and find answers from a company’s website) 54% Top Teams Scale Engagement with New Channels Self-service channels enable customers to engage on Online forums their terms and seek human interaction when needed. 45% Online Communities Knowledge Bases Social media High Performers vs. Underperformers 44% Online communities (e.g., interacting 2.7x 1.9x with other customers) 43% more likely to say absolutely critical or very important Mobile app, including the ability to contact sales, service, support, etc. 42% * This chart is a partial list. For the complete list, see page 45. Salesforce Research ** “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016

02A New Blueprint State of Sales 16 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive Beyond having a presence across Leading Sales Teams Rise to New Anytime, Anywhere Expectations multiple channels and prioritizing human Successful teams exceed customer demands for instant interactions wherever they engage. High interactions, sales teams must overhaul performers are 2.9x more likely than underperformers to strongly agree their company is available business-as-usual processes to adapt to customers at any time. to customers’ real-time expectations. Modern-day customers live in a culture of immediacy in which mobile has Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Strongly Agree with Each Statement High Performers vs. completely altered the definition of about Their Company Underperformers “timely” interactions. Sixty-four percent of consumers say they expect companies to 55% 3.8x interact with them in real time, and 80% My company engages 30% more likely to say a company responding immediately proactively with customers 14% strongly agree when they reach out for help influences their loyalty.* However, only 29% of sales 49% teams are currently providing a mobile My company is available to 3.2x app to their salespeople. customers on any channel they 22% more likely to choose to connect with us on 15% strongly agree Sales teams can no longer afford lag time between customers’ initiating contact and 48% 2.9x the company responding. Top-performing My company is available to 24% customers at any time more likely to teams meet customers where they are, at 17% strongly agree the exact moment — or even before — they are needed. High performers are 3.8x High performers Moderate performers Underperformers more likely than underperformers to strongly agree their company reaches out to customers proactively. * “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016 SalesforSalesforcce Re Researesearchch

State of Sales 03The Productivity Gap 17 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training While sales departments move to innovate Inefficient Processes Hinder Sales Teams and become more customer-centric, the Decreased productivity impacts the success of not only sales, but also the entire company. Among day-to-day sales process is still plagued teams who cite ineffective internal processes as their top challenge, they point to excessive by time-consuming administrative administrative tasks as the primary cause. tasks, siloed customer information, and outdated management systems. If sales Percentage of Sales Teams Who Say the Following Are Reasons Why Ineffective Internal reps aren’t armed with capabilities at Processes Is Their Sales Challenge* least as sophisticated as those of their customers, they risk continually falling Excessive administrative tasks short of customer demands. (i.e., not enough time to sell) 45% Technologies like analytics, mobile, Lack of time for face-to-face selling 22% and automation can go a long way to improving a sales rep’s daily productivity. Limited insight into issues until Analytics tracks and interprets actionable it’s too late/lack of timely insight customer data. Mobile sales apps allow into the sales process 21% reps to look at those insights instantly Lack of alignment with marketing as well as act on the information from (e.g., poor leads, ineffective content) 19% anywhere. Automation provides relief from human error, manual data entry, and cumbersome processes. It takes too long to respond to customer inquiries 18% SALES LEADER perspective “Sales productivity is one of the reasons why Zillow is as successful as it is today. And a lot of the sales efficiency came as a result of putting better sales tools and information at the fingertips of salespeople.” — TONY SMALL, VP AND GM, PREMIER AGENT, ZILLOW ** * This chart is a partial list. For the complete list, see page 47. Data reported is out of a base of respondents who selected “Ineffective Internal Processes” as the top overarching challenge in their sales process. ** Taken from Quotable’s “How to Boost Sales and Productivity by 275% with Zillow’s Tony Small” Salesforce Research

03Spotlight State of Sales 18 A Day in the Life of a Sales Rep Much of the success of the entire sales Sales Reps Aren’t Spending Most of Their Time Selling organization rests on the productivity and While half of sales reps report relationship building as their favorite activity,* most are too bogged efficiency of its reps. Reps are the primary down by day-to-day tasks to engage with customers as much as they’d like. On average, sales reps enablers of the customers’ experience spend 64% of their time on non-selling tasks. in the sales process. These employees are on the ground engaging customers, and facilitating new deals. However, Percentage of Time in an Average Week Sales Reps Spend on the Following Tasks** according to Quotable’s “Day in the Life of a Salesperson” report, while half of sales 12% 25% reps say that relationship building is their favorite activity,* the data shows that most Connecting with clients Administrative tasks of their time is still spent on non-selling or prospects virtually tasks such as manually entering data, calendering, and account maintenance. 24% Connecting with clients or prospects in person 36% 64% Selling Non-Selling 16% Service tasks 7% Down time 7% Traveling 6% 4% Internal company meetings Training * Taken from “A Day in the Life of a Salesperson” by Quotable, a Salesforce publication. Salesforce Research ** Data reported is out of a base of respondents in a sales rep or self-employed/consultant role.

03The Productivity Gap State of Sales 19 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training Mobile technology is a critically important Sales Teams Adopt a Mobile Mindset* element of the modern sales toolkit. It Mobile not only allows reps to meet the new real-time mandate, it also enables anywhere, anytime enables sales organizations to lean into selling and collaboration among reps. the culture of immediacy and meet customers where they are. Over the past Percentage of Sales Teams Who Use Mobile Apps in Their Sales Process in the Following Ways** 12—18 months, 70% of sales teams have become more focused on providing To connect with customers on the go 53% customers with real-time response and feedback as a result of changing To support selling in customer-facing situations 49% customer expectations. When reps have To get notifications/alerts on important customer/sales data, analytics, and automation in their information 46% hands, they can interact with customers, collaborate, and close deals from To collaborate with team members on the go 44% anywhere, at any time. Top teams are already mastering mobile. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Cite a Major Benefit from Using a Mobile Sales App Successful sales teams have a robust Access to data from anywhere 66% mobile strategy in place and are able to arm their reps with apps that allow Selling from anywhere 60% guided selling, real-time visibility into analytics, and instant collaboration. Real-time communications with customers 59% High-performing sales teams are 3.5x more likely than underperformers to Real-time communications with team members 55% rate their mobile sales capabilities as outstanding or very good. Faster selling 53% SALES LEADER perspective “A mobile selling environment is far more than putting a cell phone in the hands of every member of your team. It’s about understanding and embracing a completely new way of doing business.” — COLLEEN FRANCIS, OWNER, ENGAGE SELLING SOLUTIONS *** * Data reported is out of a base of respondents whose sales organization uses a mobile sales app. Salesforce Research ** This chart is a partial list. For the complete list, see page 48. *** Taken from Quotable’s “Want to Increase Sales Productivity? Adopt Mobile Selling”

03The Productivity Gap State of Sales 20 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training When leveraged correctly and proper Sales Reps Experience Increased Efficiency with Analytics processes are established, analytics Analytics is a powerful tool for sales teams. Seventy-six percent say it has improved their ability to can be transformative, especially in provide customers with a consistent experience, while 70% say the same about sales velocity. areas such as lead quality or providing visibility to managers. The ability to Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Say Using Sales Analytics Has Significantly or Somewhat interpret customer and operational Improved the Following* data — as well as act on the insights — opens the door to a more efficient, Ability to provide customers with a accurate, and personalized process. consistent experience across every channel High performers are 2.4x more (e.g., in store, online, email, mobile) 76% likely than underperformers to rate their team’s analytics capabilities as Sales velocity 70% outstanding or very good. 79% Close rates 70% of sales teams currently use or are planning to Time spent per lead use sales analytics technology. 67% * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who use sales analytics. Salesforce Research

03The Productivity Gap State of Sales 21 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training Without buy-in and extensive education Training Is Core to a Successful Sales Process for sales reps, companies will fall short on realizing the potential of even the most Successful sales teams understand how rapidly the marketplace is changing and the importance advanced technologies. of training is during this critical shift. Eighty-percent of high-performing sales teams rate their sales training process as outstanding or very good. Top teams understand training is imperative Percentage of Sales Teams Who Are Outstanding to effectively empower sales reps with or Very Good at Sales Training Processes/Effectiveness productivity-enhancing technologies and ultimately better engage with customers. High performers Informed teams perform better, and training must be built into the evolving strategies as organizations take a more holistic, Moderate performers collaborative, and intelligence-driven approach to the sales process. Underperformers 80% High Performers vs. Underperformers 2.5x more likely to be outstanding or very good at sales training processes/effectiveness 33% 51% Salesforce Research

State of Sales 04Smarter Selling 22 Intelligent Sales Takes Off Intelligent technologies open the gates Major Growth Expected for Sales Intelligence and Automation to a smarter, more efficient sales process. Sales teams are making a shift toward intelligent technologies to streamline processes. Triple-digit Forward-thinking teams are already growth for smarter capabilities like predictive intelligence and guided selling. Artificial intelligence is planning how to use these technologies the top growth area for sales teams — 139% plan to use it in the next three years. for a leg up in the Age of the Customer. For instance, high-performing sales Sales Teams’ Anticipated Growth in Usage of the Following teams are 2.3x more likely than Intelligent Selling Capabilities Over the Next Three Years underperforming teams to currently Artificial intelligence to automatically use guided selling. recommend products to customers based on their preferences 139% Although current adoption is nascent Deep learning to classify, predict, and (see page 54 for the current adoption react to patterns within data 122% rates), smart technology adoption is on Predictive intelligence (e.g., lead scoring, everybody’s roadmap. In the next one predictive forecasting, etc.) 118% to three years, sales teams will embrace an entirely new, smarter sales process Automated lead-to-cash process 115% powered by automation and intelligence. Soon, product recommendations, Marketing automation 110% lead scoring, email response, and even Guided selling and coaching (i.e., adaptive day-to-day administrative tasks will be intelligence on next best activity) 98% effortlessly and autonomously integrated so that sales reps can focus on delivering Next-step analysis to anticipate customer needs and prioritize tasks 96% the best customer experience. Email sentiment analysis (i.e., whether email is good or bad for the opportunity) 96% Sales automation 83% Configure, price, and quoting (CPQ) 72% Salesforce Research

04Smarter Selling State of Sales 23 Intelligent Sales Takes Off While current adoption may still be low, Successful Teams Work to Master the New Intelligent Process the select forward-thinking teams that Top teams are adept at implementing a smarter, faster sales process. For example, high-performing have already integrated automation and sales teams are 2.8x more likely to be outstanding or very good at predictive intelligence. intelligence into their process are seeing drastic results. Mastery of these next- generation capabilities is setting the high Percentage of Sales Teams Who Are Outstanding High Performers vs. performers apart from the laggards. or Very Good in the Following Areas Underperformers Configure, price, quote (CPQ) processes; Configure, price, quote (CPQ) process (e.g., process automation; and predictive configure complicated product offerings, price 75% 2.3x intelligence give top teams the them in the correct way, and create fast /accurate 49% more likely to quotes based on that information) be outstanding advantage by creating a streamlined 33% or very good process with the added ability to be proactive in their workflows. As more teams become bullish on smarter tech, Predictive intelligence (e.g., using data to 70% 2.8x the sales industry will experience an recommend next steps, help make insightful 42% more likely to decisions, and alert sales to relevant insights) be outstanding entirely new way of selling — predictive. 25% or very good Process automation (e.g., technology used 70% 2.7x to automate sales-related tasks like data entry, 44% more likely to report generation, etc.) be outstanding 26% or very good High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Salesforce Research

04Smarter Selling State of Sales 25 Intelligent Sales Takes Off The future competitive advantage for sales Top Teams Experience Broad Impact with Intelligence teams will be intelligent capabilities like AI. High-performing teams are 3.4x more When done right, intelligent capabilities lead to profound sales success. For example, high- likely than underperforming teams to use performing sales teams are 10.5x more likely than underperformers to experience a major positive artificial intelligence (AI) currently. impact on forecast accuracy when using intelligent capabilities. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Have Experienced a Major Positive Impact High Performers vs. Intelligence isn’t only a forward-looking Across the Following from Using Intelligent Selling Capabilities* Underperformers concept. It’s already upending the traditional sales process and transforming it for the better. 54% 2.2x Today, smart tools prevent sales reps from 31% more likely to being bogged down by inefficient processes, Customer/prospect nurturing 24% experience a major positive impact manual data entry, or repetitive tasks and direct their energy toward what matters. 54% 2.6x 29% more likely to Productivity of sales reps 20% experience a major Leading teams are experiencing substantial positive impact improvements with intelligence across a wide breadth of areas such as prospect nurturing, 49% 10.5x forecast accuracy, and pipeline generation. 25% more likely to Forecast accuracy experience a major 5% positive impact 48% 3.5x 26% more likely to Predictive selling experience a major 14% positive impact 43% 3.8x 23% more likely to Deal close rate experience a major 11% positive impact 40% 3.9x Pipeline generation 17% more likely to experience a major 10% positive impact High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Salesforce Research * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who use intelligent selling capabilities.

Last Look State of Sales 26 Keys to Success for Modern-Day Sales Teams | Start Tracking Customer Experience 01 Though quota-related metrics are not going away, business success increasingly hinges on the customer. 02| Adopt the New Sales Blueprint Customers are in control of the marketplace, and today’s A new sales approach is required to lead in the top sales teams effectively prioritize and track the Age of the Customer. Top teams are pivoting their customer experience. Analytics is a beneficial tool for mindsets and strategies toward the customer. Cross- understanding and measuring customer sentiment. collaboration, strong partner ecosystems, self-service channels, human interaction, and rising to meet new anytime, anywhere expectations, are all part of this new blueprint for success. 03| Minimize Inefficient Processes Despite the heightened importance of customer 04| Take the Leap into Smarter Selling interaction, sales reps still aren’t spending most of their Future tech like guided selling, predictive intelligence, time selling. Without a streamlined process, sales reps and artificial intelligence is now within reach. are slowed down by administrative tasks such as manual Technology innovation has made it possible for sales data entry and email management. Tools like mobile, teams to begin experiencing a world of proactive and analytics, and automation can drastically improve the smarter selling. Intelligent sales is the future, and those traditional sales process. who are getting a head start are seeing results in every corner of their sales process. SalesforSalesforcce Re Researesearchch

State of Sales 27 Country Profiles

State of Sales Country Profile 28 United States (903 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 73% 71% 63% Customer Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1experience/success 2Sales process 3Account management across departments/roles (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., lead-to-cash time, (e.g., sales performance Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer satisfaction, customer customer response time, versus account plan, account loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) profitability, account growth sentiment analysis) rates) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 36% 35% 27% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Customer/prospect nurturing Productivity of sales reps Predictive selling Increase customer Provide customers Grow number of leads/ retention through with a more Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3personalized experience Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 125% 120% 114% Deep learning to classify, predict, Artificial intelligence to Predictive intelligence of sales professionals say their company is using or and react to patterns within data automatically recommend (e.g., lead scoring, predictive (i.e., more accurately recommend products to customers based forecasting, etc.) 56% planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. products to your customers) on their preferences Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To support selling To get notifications/alerts To connect with in customer-facing on important customer/ Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1customers on the go 2situations 3sales information Past 12—18 Months 53% 52% 50% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 84% 84% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Anticipating Being customer needs proactive 69% 67% 61% Access data from anywhere Selling from anywhere Real-time communications with customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 29 Canada (325 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 75% 70% 64% Customer experience/ Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1success 2Sales process 3Account management across departments/roles (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., lead-to-cash time, (e.g., sales performance Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer satisfaction, customer customer response time, versus account plan, account loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) profitability, account growth sentiment analysis) rates) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 30% 26% 26% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Productivity of sales reps Customer/prospect nurturing Predictive selling Increase customer Grow number of leads/ retention through Become a trusted Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3advisor to customers Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 173% 137% 120% Artificial intelligence to Deep learning to classify, predict, Predictive intelligence of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend and react to patterns within data (e.g., lead scoring, predictive products to customers based (i.e., more accurately recommend forecasting, etc.) 61% planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. on their preferences products to your customers) Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To get notifications/alerts To connect with on important customer/ To collaborate with team Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1customers on the go 2sales information 3members on the go Past 12—18 Months 65% 56% 55% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 80% 79% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Anticipating Being customer needs proactive 64% 64% 62% Access data from anywhere Selling from anywhere Real-time communications with customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 30 France (325 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 77% 70% 65% Customer experience/ Organizational Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1success 2performance 3Sales process across departments/roles (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., amount of new/recurring (e.g., lead-to-cash time, Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer satisfaction, customer revenue versus targets) customer response time, loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) sentiment analysis) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 37% 34% 33% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Predictive selling Productivity of sales reps Deal close rate Increase customer Provide customers with Grow number of leads/ retention through a more personalized Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3experience Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 142% 139% 134% Automated lead-to-cash process Marketing automation Artificial intelligence to of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend 76%planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. products to customers based on their preferences Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To get notifications/alerts To connect with To search and on important customer/ Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1customers on the go 2access files 3sales information Past 12—18 Months 51% 50% 50% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 84% 78% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Anticipating Being customer needs proactive 71% 66% 65% Access data from anywhere Real-time communications with Selling from anywhere customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 31 Germany (326 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process Representative 81% 76% 71% (individual) performance/ Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1Sales process 2productivity 3Account management across departments/roles (e.g., lead-to-cash time, (e.g., calls made, proposals sent, (e.g., sales performance Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer response time, converted leads, onboarding versus account plan, account customer interactions) time) profitability, account growth rates) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 52% 44% 43% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Customer/prospect nurturing Predictive selling Productivity of sales reps Increase customer retention through Increase face time Grow number of leads/ Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1deeper relationships 2with customers 3new customers Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 216% 206% 174% Artificial intelligence to Predictive intelligence Automated lead-to-cash process of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend (e.g., lead scoring, predictive 72%planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. products to customers based forecasting, etc.) on their preferences Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To get notifications/alerts on important customer/ To connect with To access analytics Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1sales information 2customers on the go 3dashboards or reports Past 12—18 Months 48% 47% 47% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 71% 70% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Being Anticipating proactive customer needs 69% 65% 63% Access data from anywhere Real-time communications with Real-time communications with team members customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 32 Netherlands (325 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 87% 79% 77% Customer experience/ Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1Guided selling 2success 3Sales process across departments/roles (e.g., opportunity ranking by (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., lead-to-cash time, Benefits of Intelligent Selling potential value, sales activity customer satisfaction, customer customer response time, effectiveness) loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) sentiment analysis) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 49% 47% 47% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Customer/prospect nurturing Productivity of sales reps Forecast accuracy Increase customer Grow number of leads/ retention through Become a trusted Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3advisor to customers Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 101% 83% 79% Artificial intelligence to Deep learning to classify, predict, Predictive intelligence of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend and react to patterns within data (e.g., lead scoring, predictive products to customers based (i.e., more accurately recommend forecasting, etc.) 68%planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. on their preferences products to your customers) Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To get notifications/alerts on important customer/ To prioritize and To create and Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1sales information 2manage emails 3assign tasks Past 12—18 Months 40% 38% 38% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 88% 87% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Anticipating Being customer needs proactive 68% 68% 55% Access data from anywhere Real-time communications with Selling from anywhere customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 33 United Kingdom/Ireland (329 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 75% 73% 65% Customer experience/ Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1success 2Sales process 3Account management across departments/roles (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., lead-to-cash time, (e.g., sales performance Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer satisfaction, customer customer response time, versus account plan, account loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) profitability, account growth sentiment analysis) rates) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 34% 32% 31% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Customer/prospect nurturing Productivity of sales reps Predictive selling Increase customer Grow number of leads/ retention through Increase average Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3order size Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 148% 144% 140% Artificial intelligence to Automated lead-to-cash process Next-step analysis that allows of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend sales, service, and marketing 52%planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. products to customers based teams to anticipate customer on their preferences needs and prioritize tasks Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To support selling in To connect with customer-facing To search and Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1customers on the go 2situations 3access files Past 12—18 Months 56% 56% 42% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 80% 78% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Being Anticipating proactive customer needs 69% 65% 59% Access data from anywhere Real-time communications with Selling from anywhere team members Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 34 Japan (325 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process Representative 44% 32% 29% (individual) performance/ Organizational Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1productivity 2performance 3Sales process across departments/roles (e.g., calls made, proposals sent, (e.g., amount of new/recurring (e.g., lead-to-cash time, Benefits of Intelligent Selling converted leads, onboarding revenue versus targets) customer response time, time) customer interactions) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 29% 24% 17% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Customer/prospect nurturing Productivity of sales reps Predictive selling Increase customer retention through Grow number of leads/ Increase face time Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1deeper relationships 2new customers 3with customers Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 350% 217% 208% Artificial intelligence to Marketing automation Deep learning to classify, predict, of sales professionals say their company is using or automatically recommend and react to patterns within data products to customers based on (i.e., more accurately recommend 36%planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. their preferences products to your customers) Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To support selling in customer-facing To connect with To collaborate with team Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1situations 2customers on the go 3members on the go Past 12—18 Months 59% 54% 45% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 47% 39% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Anticipating Being customer needs proactive 44% 35% 35% Access data from anywhere Real-time communications with Faster selling customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales Country Profile 35 Australia/New Zealand (315 Sales Professionals) Top of Mind for Sales Professionals Cross-Team Collaboration Top Types of KPIs Percentage Who Rate the Following as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Sales Process 73% 66% 60% Customer experience/ Collaborating across departments Having a single customer view Collaborative selling 1success 2Sales process 3Account management across departments/roles (e.g., Net Promoter Scores [NPS], (e.g., lead-to-cash time, (e.g., sales performance Benefits of Intelligent Selling customer satisfaction, customer customer response time, versus account plan, account loyalty, renewal rate/churn rate, customer interactions) profitability, account growth sentiment analysis) rates) Percentage Experiencing a Major Positive Impact on the Following 28% 26% 26% Top Sales Objectives Over Next 12—18 Months Productivity of sales reps Customer/prospect nurturing Deal close rate Increase customer Provide customers with Grow number of leads/ retention through a more personalized Anticipated Growth in Intelligent Sales Tech Use 1new customers 2deeper relationships 3experience Growth in Use Expected Across the Following Technologies Over the Next Three Years Mobile’s Impact on the Sales Process 147% 135% 125% Email sentiment analysis Automated lead-to-cash process Marketing automation of sales professionals say their company is using or (i.e., have a system read an email and provide an analysis of whether 47% planning to use mobile apps in the next two years. or not the email is good or bad for the opportunity) Top Mobile App Use Cases Predictive Selling Comes into Focus To support selling in To connect with customer-facing To collaborate with team Percentage Who Have Become Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following Over the 1customers on the go 2situations 3members on the go Past 12—18 Months 67% 56% 52% Top Mobile Selling Benefits 80% 77% Percentage Experiencing a Major Benefit Across the Following Being Anticipating proactive customer needs 64% 64% 58% Access data from anywhere Selling from anywhere Real-time communications with customers Salesforce Research

State of Sales 36 Appendices

Appendix State of Sales 37 Sales Teams Shift to Match the New Customer Mindset Top performers are significantly more likely than underperformersto say the role of sales has increased over the past five years. Here we see the percentage of sales teams who say the role of sales has increased significantly or somewhat over the past five years. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Say the Role of Sales Has Increased Significantly High Performers vs. or Somewhat in the Following Ways Over the Past Five Years by Performance Underperformers 91% 1.8x 66% more likely to report an Influence of sales within companies increase over the past 49% five years 89% 2.1x 62% more likely to report an Empowerment of sales within companies increase over the past 42% five years 91% 1.6x 69% more likely to report an Attention paid to sales within companies increase over the past 59% five years High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Percentage of Sales Teams Who Say the Role of Sales Has Increased Significantly or Somewhat in the Following Ways Over the Past Five Years by Business Type Influence of sales within companies Empowerment of sales within companies Attention paid to sales within companies 75% 72% 77% 67% 62% 72% 63% 57% 67% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 38 Sales Teams Shift to Match the New Customer Mindset Sales teams struggle to meet customer expectations due to customers’ needs becoming more sophisticated. Here we see the reasons why the top challenge sales teams face is trying to meet customer expectations. Ranked Reasons Why Meeting Customer Expectations Is a Top Challenge for Sales Teams* Customer needs have Customers expect sales to Customers are less loyal because grown more sophisticated be available 24/7 they’re wary of being locked into 1 5 9 a vendor Customers expect sales to Customer motivations have be a trusted advisor Customers expect interactions to 2shifted from price to value 6 (i.e., go beyond a sales rep role 10happen in real time to be consultative to customers) Customers have become more Customers want a more Customers expect to be able experienced with competitive, personalized experience to interact with us via their 3disciplined bidding 7 11mobile device Customers expect the same level Customers expect a consistent of service in every interaction experience (e.g., personalization, (e.g., speaking with sales or timely response) 4 8 across every customer service) channel (e.g., mobile, social) * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who selected “Meeting Customer Expectations” as the top overarching challenge in their sales process. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 39 Sales Teams Shift to Match the New Customer Mindset Ranked Reasons Why Meeting Customer Expectations Is a Top Challenge for Sales Teams by Performance and Business Type* High Performers Moderate Performers Underperformers B2B2C B2C B2B 1 Customer needs have 1 1 1 1 1 1 grown more sophisticated 2 Customer motivations have 3 3 4 4 2 7 shifted from price to value 3 Customers have become more experienced 6 2 6 3 8 6 with competitive, disciplined bidding 4 Customers expect the same level of service 7 4 2 7 4 3 every time we interact with them 5 Customers expect us to be available 24/7 1 6 10 2 6 9 6 Customers expect us to be a trusted advisor 8 4 5 9 7 2 7 Customers want a more 5 7 8 6 3 10 personalized experience 8 Customers expect a consistent 3 9 9 5 5 8 experience across every channel 9 Customers are less loyal because they’re 9 8 3 8 9 5 wary of being locked into a vendor 10 Customers expect interactions 9 9 7 10 10 4 to happen in real time 11 Customers expect to be able to interact 11 11 11 11 11 11 with us via their mobile device * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who selected “Meeting Customer Expectations” Salesforce Research as the top overarching challenge in their sales process.

Appendix State of Sales 40 Sales Teams Shift to Match the New Customer Mindset Sales teams are focused on alignment around changing customer expectations. Here we see the percentage of sales teams who say their company has achieved alignment. Percentage of Sales Professionals Say Their Company Is Completely or Mostly Aligned on the Following by Business Type 67% 67% Changing customer expectations 54% 66% 63% Resources needed to engage customers 53% 65% Importance of cross-team collaboration 63% (sales, marketing, service) 53% 64% 61% How to empower sales to exceed goals 50% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 41 Customer Experience Is Now the Top Sales Benchmark Growing the number of leads/new customers is the leading sales objective for sales professionals. Here we see the most important sales objectives, ranked by sales professionals, over the next 12—18 months. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Rate the Following as One of Their Most High Moderate Underperformers Performers Performers Important Sales Objectives Over the Next 12—18 Months Grow number of leads/new customers 56% 52% 57% 60% Increase customer retention through deeper relationships 51% 45% 52% 54% Become a trusted advisor to customers 39% 38% 39% 41% Provide customers with a more personalized experience 37% 37% 38% 35% Increase average order size 36% 33% 36% 40% Increase face time with customers 35% 34% 34% 38% Improve customer and sales data quality/accuracy 33% 34% 33% 29% Improve use of sales technology 33% 31% 34% 25% Improve margins/reduce discounting 31% 24% 32% 41% Reduce sales cycle time 25% 22% 25% 28% Improve team selling through better enterprise collaboration 23% 31% 22% 20% Increase existing account penetration* 22% 23% 22% 21% Improve forecasting accuracy 22% 21% 23% 18% Provide educational resources 16% 22% 15% 12% Hire more sales reps 16% 22% 14% 15% Move to lower-cost sales channels 16% 18% 15% 16% Reduce new rep ramp-up time 9% 14% 8% 8% * Asked if in B2B or B2B2C sales. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 42 Customer Experience Is Now the Top Sales Benchmark Underperforming sales teams struggle to get required tools/software to prioritize customer experience KPIs. Here we see the reasons sales teams give for not making customer experience KPIs a priority. Ranked Reasons Why Sales Teams Haven’t Prioritized Customer Experience/Success KPIs by Performance* High Performers Moderate Performers Underperformers 1 Not easy to track Not easy to track Lack required tools/software to track 2 Lack required Lack required Not easy to track tools/software to track tools/software to track 3 Not tied to performance Not tied to performance Not tied to performance rating/bonus rating/bonus rating/bonus 4 Not relevant across the Not relevant across Not relevant across business the business the business 5 Not useful Not useful Not useful * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who did not select “Customer Experience/ Success” as a top three KPI type used by their sales organization to measure success. Salesforce Research

State of Sales Appendix 43 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive Top performers say it’s very important to collaborate with other departments within their organization. Here we see the percentage of sales teams who say each selling technique is absolutely critical or very important to their overall sales process by performance and business type. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Rate the Following Selling Techniques as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Overall Sales Process by Performance 86% Collaborating across departments 71% (e.g., sales, service, marketing) 63% 79% Collaborative selling (i.e., integrating other departments 59% such as marketing, service, etc., in the selling process) 52% High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Percentage of Sales Teams Who Rate the Following Selling Techniques as Absolutely Critical or Very Important to Their Overall Sales Process by Business Type 76% Collaborating across departments 73% (e.g., sales, service, marketing) 68% 66% Collaborative selling (i.e., integrating other departments 61% such as marketing, service, etc. in the selling process) 56% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 44 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive Almost two-thirds of B2B2C companies rate their ability to have a single view of the customer and to collaborate with partners and customers/prospects as very good. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who rate their team’s capabilities as outstanding or very good by business type. Percentage Who Rate Their Sales Team’s Capabilities in the Following Areas as Outstanding or Very Good by Business Type Single view of the customer 63% (i.e., view, act, and report across systems, channels, 60% departments, interaction history, purchased items, etc.) 48% Partner and customer/prospect collaboration 62% (i.e., the ability to share customer/prospect data 57% with your sales and/or support partners, in-context) 48% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 45 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive Top performers are 9.2x more likely than underperformers to rate interactive voice assistants as a very important communication channel. Here we see how sales professionals rate the importance of each communication channel. Percentage of Sales Professionals Rating Each Communication Channel as Absolutely Critical or Very Important High Moderate Underperformers for Connecting with Customers Performers Performers In person 87% 91% 86% 87% Phone 83% 89% 81% 83% Email 78% 85% 76% 73% Knowledge bases 54% 75% 51% 39% Online forms 45% 68% 40% 27% Social media 44% 67% 40% 27% Online communities 43% 69% 37% 25% Mobile app, including the ability to contact sales, service, support, etc. 42% 67% 36% 32% Online chat/live support 38% 64% 33% 18% Text/SMS 36% 55% 31% 26% Customer-facing messenger apps 33% 60% 28% 17% Internal-facing messenger apps 30% 55% 25% 15% Interactive voice assistants 22% 49% 16% 5% Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 46 Sales Becomes More Connected and Proactive With the constant change in the marketplace, sales teams struggle to be where their customers are, from omni- channel interactions to proactively engaging customers. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals that strongly agree with each statement about their company by business type. Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Strongly Agree with Each Statement about Their Company by Business Type 35% 37% My company engages proactively with customers 26% 29% My company is available to customers on any channel 28% they choose to connect with us on 21% 30% 31% My company is available to customers anytime 22% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 47 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training Excessive administrative tasks are impeding sales professionals from achieving the highest results. Here we see the overarching challenges sales teams encounter in their sales process. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Say the Following Are Reasons High Moderate Underperformers Why Ineffective Internal Processes Is Their Top Sales Challenge* Performers Performers Excessive administrative tasks 45% 45% 45% 46% Lacking time for face-to-face selling 22% 22% 22% 25% Limited insight into issues/timely insight into sales process 21% 17% 22% 21% Lacking alignment with marketing 19% 13% 19% 28% It takes too long to respond to customer inquiries 18% 17% 18% 18% Complicated order management 18% 20% 19% 11% Lacking indirect channel/direct sales team collaboration 18% 17% 17% 26% Sales cycle is too long 17% 15% 18% 18% Lacking single view of customer across departments/roles 16% 15% 16% 19% Lacking alignment with customer service 16% 14% 16% 19% Reporting errors from manual data entry 15% 20% 16% 4% Difficulty knowing how to take action on data 15% 19% 15% 9% Poor lead quality 14% 13% 14% 18% Lacking required resources to close deals 12% 18% 10% 18% Complicated/long quote-to-cash process 12% 11% 12% 11% Errors in quote/discounting process 11% 14% 11% 4% Sales reps engage too late in the sales cycle 10% 10% 11% 9% * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who selected “Ineffective Internal Processes” as the t op overarching challenge in their sales process. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 48 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training The primary way sales professionals use mobile apps is to connect with customers on the go. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who use mobile apps as part of their sales process for the following activities by performance level. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Use Mobile Apps as Part of Their Sales Process for the Following Activities* High Moderate Underperformers Performers Performers Connect with customers on the go 53% 44% 57% 50% Support selling in customer-facing situations 49% 45% 50% 52% Notifications/alerts on important customer/sales information 46% 46% 47% 38% Collaborate with team members on the go 44% 40% 46% 41% Search and access files 43% 40% 45% 34% Calendar management 40% 38% 42% 28% Prioritize and manage emails 36% 38% 35% 29% Access analytics dashboards or reports 35% 37% 33% 34% Take notes 34% 37% 32% 33% Prospecting 32% 32% 33% 19% Create and assign tasks 32% 37% 30% 24% Pipeline/opportunity management 30% 32% 29% 31% Capture and translate customer meeting dialogue to notes 27% 31% 25% 28% * Data reported is out of a base of respondents whose sales organization uses a mobile sales app. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 49 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training The primary way sales professionals use mobile apps is to connect with customers on the go. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who use mobile apps as part of their sales process for the following activities by business type. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Use Mobile Apps as Part of Their Sales Process for the Following Activities* B2B2C B2C B2B Connect with customers on the go 53% 56% 48% 53% Support selling in customer-facing situations 49% 51% 46% 48% Notifications/alerts on important customer/sales information 46% 49% 46% 39% Collaborate with team members on the go 44% 46% 37% 48% Search and access files 43% 48% 37% 39% Calendar management 40% 42% 38% 38% Prioritize and manage emails 36% 40% 32% 30% Access analytics dashboards or reports 35% 39% 29% 34% Take notes 34% 38% 27% 34% Prospecting 32% 37% 27% 29% Create and assign tasks 32% 33% 31% 30% Pipeline/opportunity management 30% 31% 26% 34% Capture and translate customer meeting dialogue to notes 27% 32% 24% 20% * Data reported is out of a base of respondents whose sales organization uses a mobile sales app. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 50 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training Top teams are 2.3x more likely than underperformers to say they have benefited from real-time communication from team members through adoption of mobile app selling capabilities. Here we see the percentage who rate each of the following as a major benefit of adopting mobile app sales capabilities by performance. Percentage Sales Teams Who Have Experienced a Major Benefit Across the Following High Performers vs. from Adopting Mobile App Selling Capabilities by Performance* Underperformers 75% 1.6x 64% more likely to experience a Access to data from anywhere 47% major benefit 70% 1.8x 57% Real-time communications with customers more likely to experience a 40% major benefit 73% 2x 56% more likely to experience a Selling from anywhere 36% major benefit 65% 2.1x 50% more likely to experience a Faster selling 31% major benefit 63% 2.3x 54% more likely to experience a Real-time communications with team members 28% major benefit High performers Moderate performers Underperformers * Data reported is out of a base of respondents whose sales organization uses a mobile sales app. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 51 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training B2B2C companies are experiencing major benefits from adoption of mobile app selling capabilities. Here we see the percentage who rate each of the following as a major benefit of adopting mobile app sales capabilities by business type. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Have Experienced a Major Benefit from Adopting Mobile App Selling Capabilities by Business Type* 72% 60% Access to data from anywhere 61% 66% 55% Real-time communications with customers 52% 66% 58% Selling from anywhere 46% 61% 49% Faster selling 42% 59% Real-time communications with team members 51% 52% B2B2C B2C B2B * Data reported is out of a base of respondents whose sales organization uses a mobile sales app. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 52 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training Top performers are at least 1.6x more likely than underperformers to see positive results from sales analytics. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who say analytics has improved their sales efficiency. Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Say Using Sales Analytics Has Significantly High Performers vs. or Somewhat Improved the Following by Performance* Underperformers Ability to provide customers with a consistent experience 88% 1.6x (e.g., personalization, timely response, etc.) 74% more likely to rate across every channel (e.g., in store, online, email, mobile) as significantly or 56% somewhat improved 88% 1.8x 67% more likely to rate Sales velocity 48% as significantly or somewhat improved 88% 2x 68% more likely to rate Close rates as significantly or 45% somewhat improved 87% 1.7x 63% more likely to rate Time spent per lead as significantly or 50% somewhat improved High performers Moderate performers Underperformers * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who use sales analytics. Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 53 Top Sales Teams Turn to Tech and Training With rapid change in the marketplace, sales training allows teams to be more agile and meet the customer at every turn. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who rate their sales team’s capabilities as outstanding or very good in the following areas by business type. Percentage of Sales Professionals Who Rate Their Sales Team’s Capabilities as Outstanding or Very Good in the Following Areas by Business Type Total 55% 62% 58% Sales training processes/effectiveness 42% 53% Configure, price, quote (CPQ) process (i.e., configure complicated 59% product offerings, price them correctly, and create fast and 48% accurate quotes based on that information) 48% 46% 51% Predictive intelligence (i.e., using data to recommend next steps, 46% help make insightful decisions, and alert sales to relevant insights) 37% 48% 52% Process automation (i.e., technology used to automate 48% sales-related tasks like data entry, report generation, etc.) 40% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 54 Intelligent Sales Takes Off Although adoption has been slow, across performance levels, strong growth is expected for the following intelligent selling capabilities over the next three years. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who use each intelligent selling capability by performance. Currently Using Anticipated Growth Percentage of Sales Teams Who Use Each Intelligent Over Next Three Years Selling Capability Total Next-step analysis that allows sales, service, and marketing 33% 21% 30% 51% 100% 108% 70% teams to anticipate customer needs and prioritize tasks Deep learning to classify, predict, and react to patterns within data 27% 15% 25% 43% 145% 134% 94% (i.e., more accurately recommend products to your customers) Email sentiment analysis (i.e., have a system read an email and provide an 26% 15%21% 45% 100% 113% 66% analysis of whether or not the email is good or bad for the opportunity) Artificial intelligence to automatically recommend 22% 11% 18% 37% 158% 155% 108% products to customers based on their preferences 30% 24%27% 43% 88% 129% 99% Predictive intelligence (e.g., lead scoring, predictive forecasting, etc.) 28% 17% 23% 49% 104% 143% 68% Automated lead-to-cash process 30% 21% 27% 44% 100% 121% 87% Marketing automation Guided selling and coaching (i.e., adaptive intelligence that uses contextual 32% 22% 28% 50% 100% 112% 70% data to provide recommendations for next best sales task, activity, or offer) 36% 25% 33% 49% 83% 87% 71% Sales automation 41% 37%39% 50% 48% 76% 70% Configure, price, and quoting (CPQ) High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 55 Intelligent Sales Takes Off Sales teams are shifting their focus squarely on the customer. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who, over the past 12—18 months, say they have been more focused on anticipating customer needs and being proactive. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Have Shifted Their Focus Over the Past 12—18 Months to High Performers vs. Be Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following by Performance Underperformers 91% 1.4x 76% more likely to be much Anticipating customer needs more or somewhat 64% more focused on 92% 1.5x 74% more likely to be much Being proactive more or somewhat 63% more focused on High performers Moderate performers Underperformers Percentage of Sales Teams Who Have Shifted Their Focus Over the Past 12—18 Months to Be Much More or Somewhat More Focused on the Following by Business Type 80% 80% Anticipating customer needs 70% 80% 78% Being proactive 69% B2B2C B2C B2B Salesforce Research

Appendix State of Sales 56 Intelligent Sales Takes Off Customer/prospect nurturing and sales rep productivity are experiencing the most positive impact from the use of intelligent selling capabilities. Here we see the percentage of sales professionals who say they have experienced a major positive impact from using intelligent selling capabilities. Percentage of Sales Teams Who Have Experienced a Major Positive Impact Across the Following from Using Intelligent Selling Capabilities by Business Type* 38% 38% Customer/prospect nurturing 32% 38% 33% Productivity of sales reps 34% 35% Predictive selling 31% (i.e., identify an opportunity based on customer data) 26% 29% 27% Deal close rate 26% 32% 30% Forecast accuracy 27% 24% 23% Pipeline generation 22% B2B2C B2C B2B * Data reported is out of a base of respondents who use intelligent selling capabilities. Salesforce Research

State of Sales 57 Survey Demographics

Survey State of Sales 58 Demographics Company Type Country Generation Business-to-business 25% United States 28% Baby Boomers/Traditionalists (1900–1964) 28% Business-to-consumer 31% United Kingdom/Ireland 10% Gen Xers (1965–1980) 43% Business-to-business-to-consumer 44% Germany 10% Millennials (1981–2000) 29% Canada 10% France 10% Japan 10% Sales Primary Area of Focus Industry Netherlands 10% Australia/New Zealand 10% Inside sales/sales development 51% Consumer products and retail 29% Field sales 38% Manufacturing 12% Indirect channel sales 5% Professional services 9% Region Other 6% Engineering, construction, real estate 8% High tech 8% EMEA 41% Financial services 7% APAC 20% Hospitality, travel, transportation 5% NAM 39% Sales Team Size Healthcare and life sciences 4% Automotive 4% Less than 25 sales employees 34% Communications 3% Role 25 to 50 sales employees 15% Media 2% 51 to 250 sales employees 17% Public sector 2% Owner 14% 251 to 500 sales employees 10% Education 2% President or CEO 6% 501 to 1,000 sales employees 6% Energy 2% C-level executive (CIO, CTO, COO, CMO, etc.) 10% 1,001 to 2,000 sales employees 5% Agriculture and mining 2% Sales Vice President 4% More than 2,000 sales employees 12% Sales team leader (supervisor, manager, director, etc.) 31% Sales representative or specialist 15% Sales trainer, coach, or equivalent 1% Company Size Sales operations 9% Sales support 4% Small (1–100 employees) 38% Sales analyst, developer, IT, engineer, etc. 3% Medium (101–3,500 employees) 40% Sales coordinator, administrator, or assistant 1% Enterprise (3,501+ employees) 22% Self-employed or consultant 1% Salesforce Research

State of Sales Looking for additional tips and wisdom on how to sell better? 59 Try Quotable.com, a weekly online magazine featuring helpful, thought-provoking, and entertaining articles that benefit sales leaders, managers, and reps. "Customers not only expect you to know them, but to also proactively act on their behalf." Why You Need Technology to Make Concept Selling Work by Tony Owens | EVP, Enterprise Sales, Salesforce SUBSCRIBE NOW Salesforce Research

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