The State of Sales: How to Thrive in 2025

Reports from our Ethical Sales community show that many of us are struggling to thrive in sales this year.

From where to focus our efforts on pipeline development, to cutting through the noise when undertaking cold outreach, there are many hurdles to overcome in 2025. 

Alongside all this, however, we’ve explored some compelling research and evidence that shows how top-performing salespeople are bucking the trend.

So what’s working? And what’s not?

Read on to discover the answers to these questions with the help of our latest research, plus three sales professionals with decades of experience. Oliver Knowles, Head of GTM at Scribeless, Dave Corlett, Business Director at Shaped By and Corinne Thomas, Agency Founder at Ethical Sales.

From personalisation to digital fatigue, mental health to basic sales psychology, read on to discover what’s working for salespeople this year – and what’s not.

Question: Are buyers suffering from digital fatigue?

There’s no doubt that inboxes are noisy at the moment. Our research shows that 72% of decision makers receive over 50 cold emails per day, with 81% flagged as spam. 

Automation and AI have led to mass email campaigns, but decreased response rates and engagement show buyers are switching off in their droves due to sheer volume. And with the average read time for an email being just under 9 seconds, it’s not surprising cold email response rates are dropping like a stone.

But email is a long way from being a dead source of outreach. In fact, recent research from the RAIN Group showed that 80% of buyers prefer being contacted by email, and 82% of buyers do accept sales meetings from salespeople who reach out.

This shows that buyers still want to hear from us – but in a way that feels personalised and relevant, rather than spammy and generic. This is backed up by a statistic from the same report that 59% of buyers say salespeople don’t take time to understand their goals. They want trusted advisors, but many salespeople just aren’t delivering on that front.

In this 3-minute video, Dave shares his tips on how to engage buyers on a personal level whilst intelligently using AI as a co-pilot to save time and efficiency: 

Answer: creative outreach and personalisation will help you to stand out from the crowd

The answer that comes through loud and clear is a need for creative outreach methods that are personalised to your audience. 

“[Because of automation], the bar for sales is pretty low at the moment, so it doesn’t take a lot to stand out from the cookie-cutter templates. Buyers want a bit of an experience and something different from the norm.” Oliver Knowles, Scribeless

We’ve broken this down into four top tips to bring creativity back into your outreach methods (and the final one may surprise you!):

1. Know your audience inside out and back to front 

This has to start with an exemplary understanding of your audience: their goals, their pain points. Understand who you serve, and why you care. Having a ‘conversation’ with an LLM like ChatGPT can be helpful for this, as is listening to what your community is talking about via social media and networking. 

Once you know your audience inside out and how your product/service can help them achieve their goals, this is a really solid start – and will go a long way to lifting you above the AI-driven noise.

2. Align with your marketing function for a seamless buying experience

A crucial part of creative outreach is building a closer link between marketing activities and sales campaigns. Having content pillars running throughout the year to support sales goals (such as webinars, podcasts and thought leadership pieces), all linked together with a solid marketing strategy, provides a reason to reach out to buyers that isn’t based on an immediate pitch. 

3. Don’t give up too early

Persistence is key, too. By taking the time to invest in your buyers’ challenges, you will automatically be elevated above all the salespeople who only get in touch once. Constantly offering value over time will build a reputation as someone who shows up and understands the challenges.

4. Pick up the phone or send a letter

It’s also interesting to note that the RAIN Group research showed that in a list of 15 prospecting techniques, 3 in the top 5 were phone calls. So perhaps it’s time to stop relying entirely on digital channels and get back into the groove of picking up the phone? 

And with direct mail also having become less popular in this online era, a physical piece of mail is another way to get attention.

Question: what are top performers doing differently?

The RAIN Group report showed that top sales performers are nearly 3x more successful in starting sales conversations, and have an average of 5 touchpoints for a sale, compared with a general average of 8.

And what is the secret to their success? The research shows it’s down to:

• Having a winner’s mindset
• Using a variety of contact methods and content
• Providing value and customising their messaging
• Being better at execution and more skilled in prospecting generally.

Oli Knowles, Head of GTM at Scribeless reflects on the strategies he has employed to become a top performer and the key skillsets he feels are necessary in today’s sales environment: 

Answer: Three key ways to become a top sales performer

In order to be a top performer, it’s clear that salespeople need to have a good handle on all elements of sales, from a solid understanding of the basics to the latest tools that enhance them.

1. Understand buyer psychology 

Let’s start with the basics – knowing what makes people tick. It’s all too easy to neglect this, but all the shiny tech in the world can’t replace a good knowledge of human psychology. It’s the foundation of sales and marketing.

So many salespeople try to skip learning this, relying instead on tech, so having a solid understanding of basic sales psychology will stand you in good stead.

Here are a couple of globally recognised books to get you started:

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is a foundational book in the field of psychology and marketing, written by Robert B. Cialdini. It explores the underlying reasons why people say “yes” and how individuals can ethically influence others using well-established psychological principles.

SPIN Selling is a consultative sales methodology developed by Neil Rackham after extensive research involving over 35,000 sales calls across 12 years. The approach is designed primarily for complex, high-value sales, where traditional sales techniques tend to fall short.

2. Work hard and smart

What else does a top performer need to do? Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts – it’s about putting the effort in, seeing what works, and refining what doesn’t.

“Two things are a constant in people who do well: working hard and working smart.” Dave Corlett, Shaped By

The hard part is putting the hours in honing your craft, making the calls, testing the emails. Developing a love of prospecting helps, as does not being afraid to fail while trying to find the right solutions.

Working smart comes from utilising tools available to enhance your strategy. According to the 2025 Salesforce State of Sales report, 81% of sales teams are using AI in some form, and 83% of sales teams using AI grew revenue with it, compared with 66% of teams without it. 

While we’re not advocating relying on AI for all areas of sales (as evidenced by digital fatigue), using it does seem to be playing a part in sales success, and a failure to upskill with tech will mean being left behind. Make tech part of your arsenal, without becoming completely reliant on it. 

Don’t forget to harness the power of LinkedIn, too. It’s easy to forget what a game changer this platform is – an open directory showing exactly who works where in what role. Developing a personal brand and unique voice on LinkedIn, as well as being consistent in posting and engaging, can elevate your sales game.

Question: How can we look after ourselves to thrive and not just survive?

The latest Sales Health Alliance report found that 70% of salespeople are struggling with their mental health, with 3 in 5 feeling that they’re underperforming as a result. 

There’s also not enough support when things do get tough – only 32% of people surveyed said their workplace had systems in place to help.

Answer: Put yourself first

As we’ve discussed before, looking after your mental health is a crucial part of sales success. 

Eating well, exercising, and breathing/mindfulness techniques can all help to boost your mental health. So can remembering that you don’t have to be chained to your desk or phone. Break the day up by going for a walk and listening to a sales podcast, for example – it’s still work, but it’s in a different space, which will help your brain relax more. 

Finding a buddy at work to share ideas and vent when things get tough is always helpful. Reach out to people and have those heart-to-heart conversations about how you really feel. That’s what our community of salespeople do in our Ethical Sales Academy. 

Learn how to spot your own signs of burnout, and slow down when they do appear. Remember, too, that how you feel today is probably not how you’ll feel in a week, or a month. Things will change.

“Sales is an honourable task. Not many people want to do it, and even among those who do, not many can do it well. Hold your head up and don’t beat yourself up. It’s a hard slog, but we should be honoured to create revenue for business and ourselves and our family.” – Oliver Knowles

A final point: health and wellbeing is also more important than any role. While this can sometimes be easier said than done, staying in a company that causes stress isn’t worth it, and you owe them nothing. Find a company that sets you up for success, and supports all aspects of this challenging but amazing job.

Want more sales insights like these?

If you’d like more sales and business development insights like this to elevate your sales success in 2025 and beyond, join the Ethical Sales Academy for monthly masterclasses, training and more. Your first 30 days are completely free!