The top sales trends of 2025 & how to leverage them into next year [new data + expert tips]

Some of that change has made the job harder, but some of it has opened new doors if you know where to look.

I went through the latest sales data and spoke with some sales pros to see what’s shaping the industry as we know it. What stood out to me were the trends that directly affect how you spend your day — how you find prospects, how you earn their trust, and how you actually close. If you want to get ahead, here are the top trends shaping sales in 2026 and beyond.

HubSpot's 2025 Sales Trends Report

This in-depth report includes sections, covering:

• How buyers are becoming more self-informed
• How sales teams are using AI and automation
• Adapting to tighter budgets
• And more!

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Sales Trends to Watch in 2026

1. AI is becoming the backbone of modern selling.
2. Sales and marketing alignment is more important.
3. Buyers are more informed and supercharged by AI.
4. Salespeople are acting as consultants and relationship builders.
5. Multi-touch, multi-channel sales is the norm.
6. Customers want to try before they buy.
7. Existing customers are driving growth.
8. Personalization will remain a key driver of success.
9. Social selling dominates.
10. Sales culture remains a top priority.

1. AI is becoming the backbone of modern selling.

Over the past few years of our report, we’ve found that salespeople are swiftly adopting AI and clawing back hours of the day. Our 2026 report finds that AI is taking deep roots in all aspects of the sales process.

Only 8% of sellers said they don’t use AI. Even more telling: 31% ranked AI as their highest-ROI sales tool, ahead of CRMs, enablement platforms, and traditional outreach tools.

The impact is broad:

• 84% say AI helps optimize the sales process.
• 83% say it personalizes interactions with prospects.
• 80% say it improves communication.
• 84% say it saves them time.
• 82% say it helps them gain valuable insights from data.

Reps are putting AI to work on prospecting, lead qualification, and research, freeing up hours once spent combing through lists and redirecting them toward higher-value conversations.

Many also report that AI-backed prioritization has directly led to higher win rates in enterprise deals, where picking the right accounts is often the difference between hitting quota or missing it.

Still, there’s a caveat: human closing is more important than ever. While AI is making the front end of the sales process faster and smarter, buyers still want reassurance at the decision stage.

Dale Shephard, Founder of TrinityHawk and fractional CRO, walked me through how he’s thinking about AI.

“Gen AI is not at a place right now that can replace the feeling of a human touch and that somebody's taken time to build something,” Shephard says.

As an example, Shephard shares that he spent three and a half hours one morning responding to an RFQ in PowerPoint from someone he’s never met. It was his first cold, inbound lead.

“The number one thing I need to get across is that I understand the business, I understand the ask, and I understand why we're best placed to do that. And that can only come from me,” he said.

2. Sales and marketing alignment is more important.

This year’s data shows encouraging progress: the majority of salespeople said their sales and marketing teams are either very aligned (30%) or somewhat aligned (40%).

This is a meaningful increase from just a few years ago. Teams are learning how much alignment directly impacts lead quality: 73% of salespeople rate the leads they get from marketing as high or very high quality.

Cal Singh, Head of Marketing & Partnerships, Equipment Finance Canada, shares how he’s thinking about this from a marketing perspective.

“I do not pass anything over to sales unless it measures up to the same qualification standards sales use … Sales and I spend one meeting every week looking at one, shared dashboard… The results speak for themselves: lower CAC, better deal flow.”

Meanwhile, only a small percentage reported “not so much.” Those responses paint a clear picture of how costly misalignment can be. When sales and marketing are out of sync, the whole customer journey suffers.

Buyers now come to the table informed, skeptical, and expecting a personalized experience. If marketing isn’t delivering the right leads — or if sales isn’t equipped to pick up the baton with relevant conversations — prospects notice. And they move on.

3. Buyers are more informed and supercharged by AI.

Salespeople overwhelmingly agree that today’s buyers show up already knowing a lot. In our 2025 survey, the vast majority said their prospects are “very knowledgeable” by the time of first contact.

That shift isn’t new, but what’s fueling it now is AI. Buyers are using tools that surface product comparisons, pricing benchmarks, customer reviews, and even competitor insights in seconds. By the time they talk to a rep, they’re often further along in their decision process than ever before.

This means that, for sellers, the first call is no longer about explaining what the product does. It’s about clarifying nuances, answering advanced questions, and guiding prospects through the trade-offs.

Reps recognize this change: many say their most important role is now helping buyers feel confident (36%) and navigating internal buy-in (33%). The job is less about pitching features and more about acting as a trusted advisor who can validate and contextualize the research buyers have already done.

4. Salespeople are acting as consultants and relationship builders.

If there’s one theme that came through loud and clear in 2025, it’s this: buyers want trust. They want to believe in your product, and in you.

The data makes it clear:

• 37% of prospects back out because they don’t think the product is the right fit
• 35% say it’s not worth the price
• 30% say it’s because sellers haven’t established enough trust

The second priority is personalization. A majority of respondents pointed to personalization and behavioral segmentation as critical to winning deals. Buyers aren’t interested in generic sales pitches. Instead, they want to see exactly how a solution solves their problem, in their context.

And when deals stall, what buyers look for most is confidence. Our report found that 20% of sellers found that their most effective tactic was guiding hesitant clients along the journey.

In this case, sellers need to be able to offer reassurance, validation, and help buyers build the internal case for change.

To me, this means that a modern rep is less a pitch machine and more a consultant. If buyers are more informed (see point above!), what they need now is someone who can make sense of the noise, tailor solutions to their situation, and give them the confidence to move forward.

5. Multi-touch, multi-channel sales is the norm.

Half of B2B sellers say the average deal involves four to seven stakeholders, with another 26% reporting seven or more. The days of closing on the first call are long gone. In 2025, sales cycles are more complex, and buyers expect more meaningful engagement along the way.

Every deal now requires multiple touchpoints across multiple channels. Sellers are using a mix of email, social, phone, video, and in-person meetings to stay connected, and buyers expect a seamless experience across them all.

Shephard explained this nuance. “I do still think there is a place for picking up the phone,” he said. He explained that a recent prospect he spoke with was struggling with getting leads for a new product her company had launched. As a result, she got on a plane and went to meet some companies.

The result? She’s had an exponential number of meetings and introductions that she wouldn’t have ever had, Shephard explained. “That’s very much how I want to show up.”

The reps who stand out treat every interaction as a chance to add value, build trust, and personalize the journey. This certainly doesn’t mean bombarding prospects either. It means showing up consistently, with the right message, in the right place, until the deal is done.

HubSpot's 2025 Sales Trends Report

This in-depth report includes sections, covering:

• How buyers are becoming more self-informed
• How sales teams are using AI and automation
• Adapting to tighter budgets
• And more!

Download the Free Report Learn more Download the Free Report

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

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6. Customers want to try before they buy.

Buyers increasingly want proof of value before committing, and free offers have become the easiest way to deliver it. In 2025, salespeople said the most effective lead-conversion tools are:

• Free trials (52%)
• Free consultations (44%)
• Free tools (38%)

Freemium tiers, by contrast, are less effective — only 17% of sellers rated them highly. That suggests freemium works best when it’s tied to a clear upgrade path, not just a stripped-down version of the product.

The number of companies offering no free options at all continues to shrink. Just 9% of sellers said they don’t use any kind of free model, down from 15% the year before. In other words, buyers now expect to test-drive before they buy.

For sellers, the takeaway is clear: create an entry point that demonstrates value quickly. Whether it’s a trial, a consult, or a lightweight tool, the goal is to let prospects experience results before they sign on the dotted line.

7. Existing customers are driving growth.

Sellers told us the most effective upsell and cross-sell strategies all revolve around deepening relationships and delivering ongoing value.

• For upselling, 42% of salespeople said the key is building trust and rapport.
• For cross-selling, 35% pointed to personalization and segmentation.

The timing of expansion matters, too. The most effective moment to upsell? 37% of salespeople said it’s right after client goals are met when value has been proven and trust is at its peak.

Reps can’t think of customers as one-and-done. Growth comes from understanding goals, proving value, and acting like a long-term partner. Companies that prioritize existing accounts will not only retain more revenue but also uncover new opportunities hidden inside their customer base.

8. Personalization will remain a key driver of success.

Buyers don’t just want to know what your product does — they want to see how it solves their problem in their context. And in 2025, personalization has become one of the most powerful levers in sales.

According to our survey:

• 35% of sellers say personalization and behavioral segmentation are among their most effective sales strategies.

Jacob Karp, Strategic Sales Director at Schellman, tells me we’re seeing the end of volume prospecting tactics like long sequences to hundreds of people.

“Today, there are so many ways to easily get a hold of research about a company or person and use that to tailor your message to make sure it is timely and relevant,” he said. “When you couple that with signals and things that show propensity to buy and timing, you should be able to do LESS outreach but make it more poignant, concise, and focused to engage prospects.”

9. Social selling dominates.

Social media is the most effective sales channel across the board.

The numbers are clear:

• 42% of sales teams say social media outreach delivers the highest cold outreach response rate, far ahead of email (26%) and phone calls (23%).
• 35% rank social media marketing as their #1 source of high-quality leads, beating cold email (29%), email marketing (28%), and even paid ads.
• When it comes to driving actual sales, 45% rate social media as “very effective,” edging out in-person meetings (44%) and outperforming video calls (35%), phone calls (34%), and email (32%).

Karp has been an active LinkedIn user for more than 5 years and can speak to the effectiveness of social media.

“I’ve been posting on LinkedIn even before it was ‘cool,’ he said. It has been a helpful way to show that I am a normal human and not just a ‘salesperson.’ It allows me to show things about myself, how I work, my company, our services.”

Karp notes that he often gets inbound leads and requests from LinkedIn because he is one of the most visible people at the company on the platform.

“It has also allowed me to connect with thousands of people, so my network is large and I can use those connections to build relationships with people that help me validate my POV when prospecting or pass along messages on my behalf,” he added.

Karp says that being active on LinkedIn helps him humanize himself and build trust before outreach. The platform also makes it easy to find out if a prospect wants to chat or needs more information.

“In my opinion, social media is where the best conversations start, where trust is built, and where deals are increasingly closed. Sellers who know how to combine social proof, thought leadership, and direct outreach are turning LinkedIn and other platforms into their most powerful pipeline,” Karp says.

10. Sales culture remains a top priority.

Culture continues to be a make-or-break factor in sales performance, and this year’s data shows exactly what reps value most.

The top motivators are trust in leadership (30%), healthy competition (30%), and career development (28%). Together, they paint a picture of what modern salespeople want: psychological safety paired with opportunities to grow and compete.

On the flip side, the biggest cultural blockers are equally telling. Reps cited lack of collaboration (29%), toxic competition (28%), and low recognition (28%) as factors that undermine performance and retention.

Sales leaders are paying attention. Their top culture priorities for the year ahead mirror what reps are asking for:

• Building trust between reps (28%) and between reps and leadership (30%).
• Recognizing success with incentives (27%) and career growth opportunities (29%).
• Encouraging healthy competition (28%) without sliding into toxicity.

Keep track of the trends.

Sales in 2025 is shaped by AI on one side and increasingly informed buyers on the other. Reps are automating the manual work and spending more time where it matters most: the moments when a customer is weighing a decision.

This year’s data shows that what tips the scale isn’t more features or follow-ups, but the ability to create confidence and prove value at the right time. If you want to check out the full report, read more here.

HubSpot's 2025 Sales Trends Report

This in-depth report includes sections, covering:

• How buyers are becoming more self-informed
• How sales teams are using AI and automation
• Adapting to tighter budgets
• And more!

Download the Free Report Learn more Download the Free Report

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

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