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.

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.

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.

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
SOPR

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.
SOPR IE

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
Role Plays

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.
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.
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-couchbase.jpg

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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