To find and win business consistently, you need the right mix of sales skills across the sales process, from filling the front-end of the pipeline to growing accounts. Too many sales teams have significant skill deficits preventing them from turning their potential for growth into reality. In our The Top-Performing Sales Organization study, we looked at the differences between Top Performers and The Rest across sales skills and knowledge needed to drive sales performance. The gaps in skills are eye-opening.

The ROI of Effective Sales Training: Making the Business Case

Mary Flaherty
March 5, 2025

As a sales enablement or learning & development (L&D) professional, you know that sales training is critical. But securing executive buy-in and budget for training requires more than just intuition—it demands a compelling business case backed by data.

B2B Sales: Definition, Skills, and Best Practices

Mike Schultz
February 19, 2025

What Is B2B Sales? B2B (business-to-business) sales refers to one business selling products, services, or solutions to another business. The dynamics of B2B sales tend to be more complicated than business-to-consumer (B2C) sales because they often involve higher dollar value solutions, longer sales cycles, and multiple decision makers.

Which Sales Skills Do You Need to Master? Find Out in 10 Minutes

Erica Schultz
February 12, 2025

Did you know that Top-Performing Sellers are 2.4x more likely to meet their sales goals? In a competitive sales environment, understanding and improving your selling skills can make the difference between hitting your targets and falling short. But how do you know which skills to focus on? That's where RAIN Group's free Selling Skills Self-Assessment comes in.

The 3 Key Drivers of Effective Sales Training

Mary Flaherty
January 29, 2025

Most sales training disappoints. That's not just an opinion—it's a sobering finding from our latest research. In fact, 67% of respondents rate their organization’s sales training and development as only moderately, slightly, or not at all effective at achieving strong sales performance and productivity.

25 Ways to Maximize Your Sales Enablement Budget in 2025

Erica Schultz
January 15, 2025

Sales enablement leaders are under more pressure than ever. You’re tasked with boosting seller performance, driving revenue growth, and delivering measurable results—all while working with tight budgets and limited resources. In 2025, doing more with less isn’t just a goal; it’s a survival strategy. But here’s the good news: constraints breed creativity. The right strategies can transform limited budgets into big wins, turning challenges into opportunities for innovation and efficiency.

Top 10 Sales Resources of 2024

Mary Flaherty
December 30, 2024

We saw three pivotal themes shape the sales landscape in 2024: the growing integration of AI, the ongoing drive to deliver measurable value, and the central role of continuous learning. These elements define how organizations adapt and thrive in today’s evolving market.

Happy Holidays from RAIN Group!

Erica Schultz
December 20, 2024

Going into 2025, we take the time to reflect on the joys and challenges of 2024. We are grateful for our friends, families, and clients—thank you for being a wonderful part of our year. From all of the humans and animals here at RAIN Group, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

114 Essential Sales Statistics to Improve Performance

Mary Flaherty
December 18, 2024

Gain valuable insights into successful sales practices with RAIN Group's collection of 114 sales statistics. The sales world is in constant flux. With longer buying cycles, the rise of AI, and the shift to virtual selling, it’s tougher than ever to know what’s working. As decision-making teams grow more complex, staying on top of these changes is crucial.

Your Value Proposition Positioning Statement: How to Craft and Communicate It

Mike Schultz
December 11, 2024

What Is a Value Proposition Positioning Statement? A value proposition positioning statement is a compelling, tangible description of how a company or individual will benefit from buying something specific or buying from you in general.

The State of Sales Training and Continuous Learning: Key Findings From New Research

Mary Flaherty
November 13, 2024

Effective sales training is widely acknowledged as a critical success factor for sales organizations. But how many companies are truly excelling in this area? And what distinguishes those with highly effective sales training and development from the rest? The answers may surprise you.

Planning Your Sales Training for 2025: A Step-by-Step Guide

Erica Schultz
October 30, 2024

There's no room for improvisation when it comes to sales training. In a recent study from the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research, only 33% of respondents rated their sales training as extremely or very effective, indicating a significant gap for most organizations.1 However, some organizations still get training right. These organizations build training to address specific needs and plan their logistics from start to finish.

How to Make Online Sales Training Engaging

Erica Schultz
September 25, 2024

In today's digital age, online learning has become an integral part of sales training and development. Modern learners, having grown up in an era dominated by digital technology, are accustomed to engaging with content online. They expect learning experiences to be interactive, accessible, and relevant. However, engaging sellers in a virtual environment can still be challenging. As an L&D professional, it's crucial to understand the key components of driving engagement and adoption in online training programs.

Mastering the Sales Cycle: Definition, Stages, and Tips

Erica Schultz
July 3, 2024

No two deals are ever quite the same, but every seller needs the same set of core skills to win sales. From the first outreach to closing a deal, each of these skills is necessary to move the sales cycle forward.

9 Principles of Selling to Senior Executives

Mike Schultz
April 24, 2024

TL;DR? Download the complimentary white paper and browse later. In complex sales, professionals are facing a set of evolving challenges that impact the effectiveness and efficiency of their sales processes. Our research at RAIN Group has identified key trends that are shaping the sales landscape, notably: 43% of sales leaders have reported an increase in the length of sales cycles. 85% are encountering challenges due to an increase in the number of decision makers involved in each deal.

24 Sales Tips to Refine Your Skillset

Andy Springer
March 20, 2024

Selling is about the whole experience from the first conversation to signing on the dotted line. One wrong move or poor interaction can drive buyers away. The best sellers strive to deliver value in each interaction, leaving the buyer wanting more and turning to them for advice. What’s more, the best sellers tend to have strong skills across the sale cycle.

Transforming Sales Enablement: Focus on Seller Behavior Change and Strategic Sales Alignment

Mary Flaherty
February 21, 2024

In the competitive arena of sales, the true game-changer is having a well-trained sales team whose behaviors result in the desired outcomes. Consider the case of a technology firm that revamps its sales strategy to focus on consultative selling. During training, a conversation planning tool is shared that helps reps prepare for needs discovery meetings.

Key Influences on Sales Motivation

Mike Schultz
January 31, 2024

For the best sales results, you need to have a highly motivated team bringing their A-game day in and day out. Often, it's up to sales managers to make sure their team maintains this positive and results-driven attitude.

The Nuts and Bolts of Running a Successful Sales Training Program

Mary Flaherty
January 24, 2024

If you're part of a sales enablement team, you know the pressure that comes with shaping a sales force into a team of top performers. To facilitate this transformation, a well-thought-out sales training program is essential. And when it comes to the logistics of running a successful program, there are a lot of moving pieces you must attend to. Here's a helpful summary (and checklist) to ensure you launch a training program that isn't just good, but exceptional.

Top 10 Sales Resources of 2023

Mary Flaherty
December 20, 2023

2023 has seen sellers and sales organizations adapting to longer sales cycles and more deals lost to no decision. More than ever, sellers were challenged to be resilient while maintaining a tight focus on value, building relationships, and being responsive to buyers’ changing needs. Sales managers had to be proactive in supporting and coaching their teams. And sales enablement was tasked with ramping up new hires and boosting sales force productivity.

[Infographic] AI in the Sales Process: New Research Findings and Definition

Mary Flaherty
December 18, 2023

As AI technologies advance, becoming more sophisticated and intuitive, they’re reshaping the sales landscape: from AI-driven chatbots providing real-time support to predictive analytics revolutionizing lead generation. According to Gartner, within four years, 60% of the B2B seller’s work will be done using generative AI sales technologies. And McKinsey predicts that a fifth of the sales teams’ functions could be automated with AI. While estimates vary, the view shared is similar: AI sales technologies will have a revolutionary impact on sales.

Happy Holidays from RAIN Group!

Erica Schultz
December 18, 2023

As we approach the new year, we reflect on 2023 with gratitude for our friends, families, and clients. In a year marked by many challenges, you have filled us with joy, laughter, and hope. Thank you.

What Is Key Account Management? [+ Checklist]

Mike Schultz
November 22, 2023

Your team just won a new logo! Congratulations! This one has buzz. It’s modest to start, but there’s potential to sell into multiple buying centers, across geographies, and the new product your company is launching will help the customer simplify their processes, increase efficiencies, and reduce strain on their supply chain. But that’s all in the hands of the key account team now. What is key account management (KAM)? Key account management is a systematic approach to managing and growing a named set of an account manager’s most important customers to maximize mutual value and achieve mutually beneficial goals. The good news is that new business from key accounts is 60% to 70% more likely to close compared to the 5% to 20% likelihood of closing a deal with a new client.

Rethinking Self-Study for Sales Enablement

Mary Flaherty
October 11, 2023

Sales enablement teams regularly struggle to provide sellers with the skills and tools needed to get results like building pipelines, closing sales, growing accounts, and increasing win rates. It's a challenge to ensure sales training achieves desired outcomes, whether sales enablement is a team of one or many. Training programs must be developed, facilitators prepped, and programs delivered. Ongoing reinforcement and support must be supplied so learning sticks and sellers apply what they’ve learned to get results. And all this upskilling needs to be repeated when new sellers join the team.

Should You Focus On Short- or Long-Term Sales Training Outcomes?

Mary Flaherty
September 6, 2023

Sales training is an essential part of any successful sales enablement program. However, not all sales training initiatives are created equal. While some programs may produce short-term results, they often fail to deliver long-term success.

Sales Training and Enablement Metrics That Matter

Erica Schultz
June 21, 2023

Don’t be surprised to bump into discussions around metrics at any gathering of sales enablement professionals. Measuring the success of sales training and enablement initiatives is top of mind for these folks, and rightly so.

How to Analyze and Improve Sales Performance

Mike Schultz
April 12, 2023

People often ask us, “What should we do to drive sales success?” It’s a complicated question. You’ll need to consider the following factors, among many more: What to tackle When to tackle it What results the organization should be targeting Where you can get the biggest bang for your buck What it really takes to get those results

How to Build a Value Proposition in Sales

Mike Schultz
March 29, 2023

Ask 100 sellers at 100 companies why their customers buy from them, and you’re likely to hear 100 answers with the same underlying theme: the value we provide. Sellers describe their value to us in several ways: we get results. Our relationships are very close. They get from us what they’ve always wanted (but never gotten) from other companies. We bring innovative solutions to the table. And so on. Pretty obvious, right? To win sales you must maximize value.

Selling on Social Media: Tips and Strategies for Success

Mike Schultz
January 3, 2023

Once upon a time, there was a notion that social media was unnecessary for selling; it was a novelty and not a staple. At the time, some believed that enterprise-level decision makers couldn’t be reached on social platforms. Now, social media is a necessity to establish credibility with potential buyers.

Top 10 Sales Resources of 2022

Erica Schultz
December 19, 2022

It seems like the world of sales is moving at a breakneck pace. Between new digital tools, hybridized sales teams, and economic shifts, it can feel overwhelming to keep up with everything. And it can be tempting to try to be everywhere and do everything at once just to stay competitive.

Happy Holidays from RAIN Group!

Erica Schultz
December 18, 2022

As we enter the holiday season with the New Year right around the corner, it’s easy to think about next year and beyond—to a future lead by our children. And though they’re resilient, no one has felt the effects of the last few years more than our world’s kids. Limited, reduced, and eliminated resources means many are without the tools and support they need to thrive and grow into happy and healthy teens and adults.

What Is Sales Training?

Mike Schultz
October 26, 2022

Sales Training Defined  Sales training is the process of improving seller capabilities to drive behavior change and maximize sales success. Effective sales training should be viewed, designed, and executed as a change management initiative.

30 Sales Training Ideas for Top-Performing Teams

Mary Flaherty
September 28, 2022

For sellers, routine can be a blessing and a curse. It’s true that doing the same things day in and day out provides structure. It requires discipline, too. But it can also turn into a comfort zone in which many sellers stagnate. This is what makes recurring sales training programs so valuable. Yet even after the most engaging, resonant sales training programs, sellers tend to revert back to what they’re accustomed to doing. Which puts a heavy onus on sales managers.

Sales Training Topics to Drive Results

Mary Flaherty
August 17, 2022

TL;DR? Download the PDF and save it for later. If you’re responsible for designing or implementing sales training for your organization, you know the effectiveness of training varies greatly. It might not be implemented properly, land well with participants, be relevant to sellers’ daily work, or it might be forgotten completely in the days and weeks following the training. Sales training fails more often than it succeeds. But, for those who get it right, the payoffs are substantial.

58 Free Sales Tools to Make Selling Simple

Erica Schultz
May 25, 2022

Sales tools can help you standardize processes, improve your skillset, and make the best use of your time. We’ve compiled all our free tools to help you succeed—browse below for resources covering every topic of sales.

Sales Prospecting: Tips, Techniques, and Strategies

John Doerr
March 29, 2022

What Is Sales Prospecting? Prospecting is the first stage of the sales cycle in which sellers identify potential buyers. The goal of prospecting is to create interest and then convert that interest into a sales meeting.

66 Sales Tips to Stay Competitive

Erica Schultz
November 17, 2021

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a silver bullet that would make you more successful in your sales efforts? Or if there was one thing you could do to really boost your sales results? Here’s the bad news: there’s no silver bullet. Sales success takes hard work and commitment, along with skill and savvy. There’s no shortcut to success.

What Is Insight-Based Selling?

Mike Schultz
September 1, 2021

Insight selling is the process of creating and winning sales opportunities and driving change with ideas that matter. There are two applications of insight selling: interaction insight and opportunity insight.

6 Data-Backed Ways to Crush Your Sales Goals

Erica Schultz
March 3, 2021

In the past several years, so much has changed in the world of sales. Where should you begin? What’s going to make the biggest difference? What are others doing that's working today? To answer these questions, we looked across our sales research studies and pulled out 6 key ways Top Performers stand out compared to The Rest.

Unlocking Sales Training: Four Keys to Driving Behavioral Change

Haley Katsman
November 18, 2020

Most people who enter the discipline of sales training and enablement have an intrinsic motivator to help people. They are teachers, inspirers, coaches, and cheerleaders. But sometimes, even the most skilled trainers are faced with obstacles that are difficult to overcome. Training is inherently challenging. Research on The Forgetting Curve shows that within one week, people will have forgotten an average of 90% of the information presented. What's more, training is difficult to facilitate, reinforce, and measure. This reality contributes to more than 25% of salespeople reporting that their training has little or no effect.

4 Misconceptions of Making a Strong ROI Case

Dave Shaby
November 4, 2020

Emotions are powerful motivators of buying. Consider that, in 2019, total U.S. spending in the weight loss category was $72.7 billion according to marketresearch.com. That's a lot of money spent on products and services that help people eat well and exercise more.

How to Write a Proposal

John Doerr
February 26, 2020

"Can you send me a proposal?" Sellers love to hear these six words from buyers. Once you submit a proposal, you can move forward to the win. While a good proposal summarizes what you've already discussed and agreed to, a proposal is, at its core, a persuasive document that communicates to buyers why they should buy, and why they should buy from you.

Sales Training Best Practices: What World-Class Organizations Do

Dave Shaby
October 23, 2019

In most organizations, it’s easy to make the case that millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars in financial gain can be had through sales improvement. You can affect growth. You can affect competitiveness. You can affect stock price. These are common items on leadership top priority lists.

The Sales Training and Enablement Revolution

Mike Schultz
September 25, 2019

The cliché of clichés to open an article like this is to say change is afoot. So I won't open with "change is afoot." In the world of sales training and enablement, change is explosive. There's a revolution going on in training and sales enablement that organizations can no longer ignore.

54 Sales Quotes to Motivate and Inspire [SlideShare]

Erica Schultz
May 29, 2019

Want to succeed in sales? Need a little extra motivation? Looking for inspiration and best practices? You're in luck. We've compiled 54 of our favorite sales quotes from RAIN Group's best-selling books, research reports, white papers, and award-winning blog that will inspire you and your sales team to reach top performance.

Why Selling Is Not a Dirty Word

Jason Murray
December 6, 2018

I’m in sales and I’m really proud of it. I find that most full-time sellers, working for a great company or delivering a great product or service, usually are. However, when you move into the realm of seller-doers, it’s a whole different story.

Goal Setting Worksheet: A Powerful Tool for Setting and Reaching Goals

Mike Schultz
November 14, 2018

In our Goal Setting Worksheet, we outline a 5-step process that not only helps you set goals, but also gives you the best chance to reach them. Here we provide some goal setting examples, accompanied by visuals from the worksheet, to give you a sense of how to set goals and put actions in place to achieve them.

3 Key Considerations for More Accurate Sales Reports

Molly Clarke
October 10, 2018

If you've worked in sales for any length of time, you've likely heard the phrase, "Sales is a numbers game." It's true. A profitable sales organization relies on the careful analysis of success metrics, performance data, and sales reports. If your sales reports are incomplete, inaccurate, or just plain wrong, the outcome is simple: misguided and ineffective selling. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent reporting mistakes before they impact your sales team. Following are 3 factors to consider that will help you generate more accurate sales reports and execute a more profitable sales strategy.

6 Ways to Boost Sales in Your Organization

Mike Schultz
June 6, 2018

There is no magic way to achieve sales success. However, there is one significant concept that helps the companies and sellers who embrace it—those who make it part of the fabric of who they are and who their sales organization is—experience wildly successful sales results. If you want to boost sales and join their ranks, you must become a Value-Driving Sales Organization. Value-Driving Sales Organizations have significantly higher win rates and revenue growth, and lower undesired turnover. They not only win more at higher margins, but also retain top sales talent.

5 Tips for Developing Your Sales and Marketing Strategy

Lee Frederiksen
February 21, 2018

A proper sales and marketing strategy involves more than just running some ads and cold-calling a list of prospects. Developing the right strategy is a process that requires research to discover who your prime sales prospects are, what motivates their purchasing, and how your firm fits in the marketplace. The data your research provides is what will drive your sales and marketing strategy. With the right plan, growth and profitability are predictable and controllable. Effective sales and marketing requires talent, expertise, effort, and consistency. If that doesn't exist inside your organization, then it's important that you find an outside resource that can help you develop and implement your strategy.

Making the Business Case for Sales Training: New Research on Supporting Top Performance

Mike Schultz
May 24, 2017

Executives are always on a mission to prove Kirkpatrick Level 4 measurement of training: Results. Specifically, they want to know to what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training event and subsequent reinforcement. There is relatively little data on how sales training correlates to business performance and results. That is, until now.

4 Key Components of Sales Enablement

Mike Schultz
October 19, 2016

Sales enablement is one of the eight categories of the Sales Performance WheelSM that we study when analyzing what drives sales performance. This category focuses on the different ways in which supporting sellers to be most effective allows them to reach their full potential, thus improving the organization's sales performance.

The Secret to Selling Professional Services

Mike Schultz
November 11, 2015

Selling. What images come to mind when you see this word? Close your eyes and say the word out loud. How does it make you feel?

'How Much Does it Cost?' What to Say When It's Too Early to Determine

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Here's the situation: it's the first, maybe second, serious conversation with a prospect. You're asking questions, you're building great rapport, you're uncovering a slew of needs, and you're already seeing how you can help this prospect in 10 different ways. The conversation is going great. That is until the prospect says, "Wow, this all sounds good. So, what's something like this going to cost?"

Do You Make These 3 Proposal Mistakes?

John Doerr
November 11, 2015

I had a conversation recently with a client who was struggling with his sales efforts. The conversation went something like this: Me: How has your selling effort been going? Client: Unbelievable. I sent out four proposals last week and three more this week. Me: That's great. How many new deals have you closed?

Top 10 Lead Generation Challenges

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Challenges abound when it comes to generating leads for professional services firms: selecting the right tactics to generate quality leads, implementing lead generation activities consistently, breaking through the noise and getting the attention of busy decision makers, measuring and tracking what's working for you, and the list goes on.

Do You Make These 10 Lead Generation Mistakes?

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Leads, leads, leads. Once the referrals and the circle of family and friends aren't enough to keep your firm growing, it's all about the leads. Yet, when it comes to generating leads, consulting firms get it all wrong in 10 very common ways.

7 Keys to Leading Highly Effective Sales Conversations

Erica Schultz
November 5, 2015

Most people's sales conversations could be better. Not a little better, significantly better. I see too many sellers fall into the same traps: You talk too much, leaving the buyer with the impression that you don't understand their business, their industry, or their needs. You grill the buyer with questions, making them feel like they are a part of an interrogation. You talk too little, letting the buyer control the conversation.

How to Set Up the Best Sales Training

Bob Croston
January 29, 2014

I recently returned from an industry conference. The speakers were excellent and it was great to get away from my desk, connect with the attendees, and have the opportunity to step back and think big picture about what I need to be doing to drive success in my position. I returned with all sorts of notes, to-dos, and grand visions for change.

Thoughts on the Five Seller Profiles in The Challenger Sale

Mike Schultz
May 22, 2013

In this post we noted we often get questions about The Challenger Sale. Perhaps the most common question we get is, “What do you think of the five seller profiles?” The five seller profiles, as defined by the authors of The Challenger Sale in “Selling Is Not About Relationships,” a Harvard Business Review blog post, are as follows. We list them in order by what they found in their study to be least to most likely to be a top performer in sales.

7 Reasons Why Sales Training Fails

Mike Schultz
February 21, 2012

According to ES Research between 85% and 90% of sales training has no lasting impact after 120 days. At the same time, companies are spending billions of dollars on sales training each year. That’s billions of dollars being wasted on limited sales performance impact and only short-term boosts in sales at best. Training can be a disappointment right away when it just doesn’t go well, or it can be a disappointment months later when results don’t materialize. Regardless, sales training strikes out a lot. When it does, it’s usually because of common and predictable reasons. But if you can avoid these mistakes, you can set yourself up for a successful training initiative that leads to increased sales performance and long-term revenue growth. Here are 7 reasons why your sales training might be failing:

Not Hitting Your Sales Numbers? Do This One Thing Better

Mike Schultz
April 25, 2011

Are you giving yourself a chance of a bullseye? “Like a poor marksman you keep…missing…the target. Kaaahhhnnn!!!” - Admiral James T. Kirk There's one sales person I know that worked very hard, but he always seemed to be middle of the pack when it came to results. He had good skills and he was a good guy, but the results just weren’t there.

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