The 2023 State of
Sales Productivity Report
We analyzed activity from more than one million users at more than 400 Mindtickle customers to demonstrate how winning teams ensure reps are always ready to close more deals.
The 2023 State of
We analyzed activity from more than one million users at 400 companies using Mindtickle to
help you understand how winning teams ensure reps are always ready to close more deals.
help you understand how winning teams ensure reps are always ready to close more deals.
400+
Companies
1M+
Users
143K+
Monthly mobile users
190+
Countries
300K+
Calls recorded
The State of Sales Enablement
The blueprint for running successful readiness programs in uncertain economic conditions
Based on our 2022-2023 Enablement Outlook Report, we found that the majority of sellers (74%) are achieving 70% or less of their quota.
This quota attainment reality will only get more difficult in the coming year. So let’s look at what leading sales enablement organizations are doing to address it though personalized yet scalable solutions.
This quota attainment reality will only get more difficult in the coming year. So let’s look at what leading sales enablement organizations are doing to address it though personalized yet scalable solutions.
It starts with solid, scalable program planning
Here are some key insights into how winning revenue organizations set themselves up for success when planning enablement.
Reinforce with ongoing training
3-4 weeks
Average time to launch a new program
We saw a year-over-year reduction in time to launch programs from 6 weeks last year, likely due to the additional options for quick-to-deploy and pre-built content like program templates and ready-to-deploy programs.
7 hours
Average time to launch a new program with ready-to-deploy programs
58 days
Average amount of time for sellers to complete an onboarding program
40 days
Average amount of time for sellers at commercial companies to complete an onboarding program
2X
Sellers revisit a module more than twice when it includes a quiz. Need we say more?
There’s a 2X engagement in instructor-led training when gamified live challenges are used.
5
Average number of recorded role-plays submitted by seller per year
6+
Top-performing companies have sellers do six or more role-plays per year
12
Spaced challenges per year
3
Maximum number of attempts
3-4
Questions per challenge
3
Days between challenges
State of Sales Content
Organizations spend countless hours producing content: slide decks, one-pagers, competitive battlecards, case studies, templates, and much more. In fact, according to Forrester, the average sales rep has 1400 pieces of content to choose from at their organization.
What can organizations do to ensure the effort put into creating content translates into value during customer conversations?
We took a look:
Interactions with content per rep per week
3.5
in 2021
7.5
in 2022
That’s a 2x+ increase in content utilization since our 2022 report.
Upward trend in content usage
Take action to increase the quality and engagement of your best content
- Be patient. It can take time for sellers to get used to the content tools and resources at their disposal. But over time and with the right incentives, you should see improvement.
- Consider leveraging digital sales rooms, not just as a driver of customer engagement, but as a driver of adoption and content use internally
- Use your content analytics to identify sellers who are utilizing content the most and least often. Seek insights from both groups to drive targeted adoption efforts.
- Explore increasing your overall investment and prioritization of content development and management in response to increases in utilization and ROI.
Content can take many forms.
Consider what types of content you might be overlooking in your content strategy.
Product information/datasheets
Pricing sheets
Sales decks
Competitive intelligence
Industry data, news, and reports
Product demos
Sell sheets
Case studies/customer stories
Content templates
Win/loss analysis
One noteworthy shift from last year’s data is an increase in the frequency of geo- and language-related attribute categories. This aligns with an overall trend toward the importance of localization in content.
Internal/external
Asset types
Geogroups/regions
Languages
Products/services
File types
Industries/verticals
Competitors
Customer personas
User roles
We compared the top 10% of sales organizations in terms of overall engagement to the rest of the field. Our insights can help you increase the quality of your content.
State of Conversations
For enablement and revenue operations teams, conversation intelligence ensures processes are being followed, talk tracks are being adopted, and reps are actually applying what they’re learning in the field.
How are the best sales organizations leveraging conversation intelligence to drive results? We analyzed tens of thousands of sales calls and meetings to find out. Take a look to see how you stack up.
Sales call cadence, velocity, and sentiment
36
minutes+
The average length of a sales call that is recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with Mindtickle.
38
minutes+
The average length of a discovery call
38%
+
Average customer talk time.
39%
+
Average customer talk time in discovery stages.
57%
+
The amount of customer talk time in top reps’ discovery calls.
Pro tip:
Expect a lot of resistance moving into the deep end of the recession in 2023 — and equip your reps to handle it. Be sure you’re spending time on enablement topics that help reps build confidence, such as objection handling, and also help reps respond with empathy to customers expressing frustration
State of Coaching
Every second of interaction with a buyer counts. Effective sales coaching can ensure managers empower sales reps with the resources and skills they need to leave a lasting impression.
Top manager coaching frequency
Continuous and ongoing coaching cadences correlate to a higher degree of rep success in the field.
8
The average number of sellers under a single manager
3
The average number of manager-led coaching sessions per rep per month
11
The average number of formal coaching sessions managers of top-performing reps complete per rep per month
- 41% say it’s to ensure reps refine and improve their sales skills
- 22% say it’s to build confidence and encourage skill development
- 12% say it’s to provide consistent practices & expectations across the sales team
- 25% say it’s to Increase revenue
Top coaching obstacles
Front-line managers face barriers that stand in the way of effective coaching.
32%
The number of reps they manage
19%
Not wanting to distract sellers from their job
15%
No formal coaching process
12%
Unsure how to measure coaching success
10%
Reluctance by sales reps to be coached
7%
Lack of coach the coaches training
5%
Lack of technology
State of Sales Competencies Insights
How do you attach revenue results to enablement and readiness? First, put pen to paper and define your ideal state.
The Ideal Rep Profile™ (IRP) helps sales organizations define and benchmark top competencies reps must possess to be successful in the field.
Ideal Rep Profile
Practice
The knowledge a rep must have
Skills
The ways reps should act in the field
Interactions
How a rep actually performs in the field
How IRP by role has changed
With a swing in the market comes a change in the wind for what customers are prioritizing in their IRP :
| Roles | Top 3 most used competencies for these roles |
|---|---|
| Account Executive |
1Sales discovery skills 2Value articulation 3Objection handling |
| Business Development Representative |
1Lead qualification 2Objection handling 3Email personalization |
| Channel Sales |
1Product knowledge 2Value articulation 3Objection handling |
| Customer Success |
1Communication skills 2Renewal/Upsell 3Resolving customer issues |
| Sales Engineers |
1Use case knowledge 2Articulating business knowledge 3Product knowledge |
We recommend that at least half of your included skills be standard selling skills and the remaining skills can be more specific to your industry, or Ideal Customer Profile. Customers who followed our recommendation have found, on average, that 67% of their IRP has been consistently relevant and updates to their IRPs have been easier to keep maintain.
“ We really need a full picture of what makes an ideal rep within our organization because we can’t clone reps. You cannot clone your best of your best, but you can take some of the learnings from what has made them successful, extract that from them, and tie that into your IRP. ”
Nick Gregory
Exceed performance goals
Download the 2023 State of Sales Productivity Report now so you can help your organization exceed performance goals and create more top performers this year.
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