7th Edition State of Sales Report: 3 Growth Trends for Startups and SMBs
Caught between high customer expectations and limited time, small teams are reinventing their sales with AI agents — find out how.
Key Takeaways
For small businesses and startups, the “do more with less” mantra has officially hit a breaking point. According to the latest edition of the State of Sales Report, sales reps are currently spending a staggering 60% of their time on non-selling tasks — think manual data entry, lead research, and constant tool-switching.
However, the highest-performing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) aren’t just working harder; they’re working smarter by leaning into three major shifts in the sales landscape. We wanted to dig deeper into what this could mean for a startup founder or entrepreneur like yourself. Here are three key takeaways from the latest State of Sales Report, brought to you by Salesforce research, that are worthwhile to learn.
What’s the State of Sales Report and why does it matter for SMBs?
The State of Sales Reports are comprehensive research studies by Salesforce that survey thousands of sales professionals worldwide to uncover the most impactful trends, challenges, and opportunities in the industry. There are seven editions, and they’re designed to surface relevant trends in sales for business leaders and professionals of all industries.
For businesses, this report serves as a strategic roadmap, providing data-backed insights into how high-performing teams are activating new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and evolving sales to fuel growth and improve efficiency in an ever-changing market.
In this edition, you’ll learn:
- Why 94% of sales leaders say agents are essential to growth
- What 84% of teams are doing to maximize the impact of AI
- Why 51% of sales leaders say tech silos hinder their AI efforts
Takeaway #1: AI agents are now “extra” sales team members
Every lead matters, regardless if you’re a startup or not, but limited headcount often means smaller opportunities fall through the cracks. Enter AI agents. Unlike basic chatbots, these agents can work untouched leads, research prospects, and handle repetitive follow-ups autonomously.
The stat: 94% of sales leaders who use agents now consider them essential to their growth.
The win for SMBs: AI agents allow your human reps to focus on high-value closing conversations while the “digital teammate” ensures no lead is left behind. This shift enables small teams to scale their operational capacity significantly without the overhead of additional headcount.
To see immediate results, start by deploying an AI agent to tackle a single, high-volume time-sink, such as manual data entry or lead scrubbing. By automating these repetitive tasks, your existing team can handle a much larger volume of prospects and maintain consistent customer engagement as the business grows.
Takeaway #2: Sales success starts with tech consolidation
Many startups like yourself may fall into the “app trap” — buying a different tool for every problem until their tech stack is bloated and disconnected. According to the report, high-performing sales teams are 1.3x more likely to move toward an all-in-one business platform.
The problem: Sales teams are currently juggling an average of eight different tools.
The solution: By unifying your sales on a single platform, you improve your data hygiene. Better data leads to better AI outcomes and a clearer view of your customer journey. For you, the key to quick wins with AI agents is to prioritize the biggest time-wasters for your small teams.
A highly actionable first step is to integrate an AI agent into your existing business management or customer relationship management (CRM) tool to automatically handle lead scoring and initial follow-up emails. This frees up your team to focus on qualified, high-intent leads, dramatically increasing your sales capacity without adding headcount.
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Takeaway #3: Usage-based pricing is the leading revenue model
The report shared that customers want to pay for what they actually use, which is no surprise. Sellers are finding that usage-based or consumption-based pricing makes it significantly easier to show an immediate return on investment (ROI) and retain customers.
The trend: 76% of sales leaders say the usage-based pricing model is more important to their customers than it was just a year ago.
The move: Offering flexible pricing can be a major competitive advantage against legacy players stuck in rigid, multi-year contracts. A CRM makes this transition seamless by automating complex billing cycles and ensuring that every customer interaction is tied to their actual usage data. This creates a transparent relationship where customers feel they’re paying for value, while your team gains the data-driven insights needed to optimize pricing and boost long-term retention.
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It’s time to scale your startup with the right sales tools
The question is, are you using the right sales tools? Scaling business doesn’t have to mean adding complexity. To stay ahead of these trends, you should focus on:
Simplifying to amplify: 84% of teams without an all-in-one platform plan to consolidate their tech stack this year. It goes without saying at this point, but try bringing your tools together in an all-in-one solution, and bonus: power it with AI.
Joining sales communities: High-performers are 3.2x more likely than underperformers to participate in external sales communities to share best practices and stay updated on AI. Try the Salesblazers, the world’s largest community of sales professionals, where you’ll get access to networking and exclusive events.
Get smart sales tools: Salesforce offers an extensive suite of AI-powered sales tools, anchored by Agentforce 360. These solutions are designed to automate time-consuming administrative tasks, allowing sales reps to focus on high-value selling.
Examples include Salesforce Suites and Sales Cloud for generating personalized sales emails and meeting summaries — and advanced AI agents that nurture leads 24/7, automate quoting, and use features like Lead & Opportunity Scoring to prioritize the most promising opportunities.
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Get the State of Sales report and start selling big time
The report makes it clear: the future of high-performing sales for startups and SMBs hinges on embracing AI agents, simplifying bloated tech stacks, and adopting flexible pricing models. These shifts move beyond simple efficiency — they’re necessary strategies for competing with larger organizations.
Download the full report today to explore the data and detailed recommendations that can help your team transition from doing more with less, to selling big time.
AI supported the writers and editors who created this article.
What is the State of Sales Report?
The State of Sales Report is a comprehensive research study by Salesforce that surveys thousands of sales professionals worldwide to uncover the most impactful trends, challenges, and opportunities in sales.
What is the main challenge sales reps are currently facing?
One of the main challenges is that sales reps are currently spending a staggering 60% of their time on non-selling tasks, such as manual data entry, lead research, and constant tool-switching, among others.
How do AI agents help small businesses scale?
AI sales agents can work autonomously 24/7 to prospect, qualify leads, and book meetings on your behalf. This enables small teams to significantly scale their operational capacity without the overhead of additional headcount.
What is the “app trap” and how is consolidation the solution?
The “app trap” is when startups buy a different tool for every problem until their tech stack becomes bloated and disconnected. High-performing sales teams are solving this by moving toward an all-in-one business platform, which improves data hygiene and leads to better AI outcomes.
What is the significance of the usage-based pricing model?
A usage-based pricing model is more important to customers currently because people want to pay for what they use. Offering flexible pricing plans helps sellers retain customers.
