As we wrap up 2025, we wanted to share a recap of the top ideas, struggles, and themes that dominated our conversations this year.
We worked with brands navigating everything from AI integrations to new product rollouts, but no matter the initiative, we kept seeing the same truths rise to the surface:
1. Most teams are going back to the basics
This year, we saw a renewed focus on fundamentals. Not because teams were regressing, but because they finally recognized that the next big growth move wasn’t another big launch. It was more about getting the most out of what they currently had.
That started with coaching. More coaching and better-quality conversations. Companies are being reminded how important their frontline managers are but also recognizing that they have lost some structure around rep development. They want structured sessions that are real, consistent, and opportunity to gain feedback.
We also saw urgency around onboarding. Companies can’t afford to let reps take six months to ramp. They want reps who are confident and productive much faster. Sales leaders are spending time to review their onboarding, their sales processes, and their tools to make sure they are lined up to make new hires successful.
And above all, conversion became the metric most teams were focused on. Every opportunity matters. With budgets tight and demand softening in some markets, companies need to make the most of the conversations they have. For some companies, this means more effectively handling leads early in the process. We see so many categories driving digital leads but lacking the internal processes to turn those into sales at a high rate. For other companies, it comes down to better consultative sales discussions and positioning value. Basics!
2. Clarity beats hustle. Every time.
If 2023 and 2024 were the years of “do more,” 2025 became the year of “do what matters.”
Reps are overwhelmed. They’re being pulled in too many directions: chasing too many goals, juggling too many messages. And when everything’s a priority, nothing is. Sales leaders are increasingly looking to us to help them sort out all the noise they are pushing at reps and deliver more digestible plans.
That means setting clear expectations for each rep:
- What exactly are they responsible for selling?
- How much time should they spend on each initiative?
- Where are they supposed to focus right now?
When that clarity is missing, performance suffers. But when it’s present, execution improves almost immediately. Simplifying the experience for the person doing the selling results in greater focus and a better experience for the buyer.
3. AI is here—but not to take over
AI is dominating just about every news and social feed, and with good reason. The right tools can dramatically improve how salespeople prepare, follow up, and personalize their customer interactions. Used properly, these tools can help companies with many of the fundamentals referenced above.
But this is not going to happen overnight. The new technologies need to be integrated into the human processes, or you end up with a worse experience. For example, we are seeing AI decision engines providing recommended products and packaging to customers, but the salespeople are just reading scripts when presenting to customers. The tools need to empower salespeople to explain value and personalize it to customers, not just read it off a screen.
It is still rare for us to see AI tools completely replacing salespeople in the buying journey. But, as digital tools do more and more for the consumer, the role of the salesperson comes into clearer focus. What that means is any time a consumer needs to talk to a human, their expectations are going to be even higher for what that person can do for them.
Looking ahead
The most effective teams we worked with this year weren’t chasing shiny objects. They were focused, they asked better questions, and they put their energy into giving their salespeople the tools, clarity, and coaching they actually needed to perform.
Here’s to more of that in 2026!
