Sales Teams spend 75% of Their Effort to Internal Processes

Understanding Deal Stagnation and Strategic Solutions

A significant portion of sales teams' operational bandwidth, approximately 75%, is consumed by internal processes rather than direct revenue-generating activities.

This inefficiency manifests in prolonged approval workflows, alignment meetings, and administrative bottlenecks. Because these inefficiencies remain unmeasured, they persist unchallenged.

Sales teams may believe they are engaged in productive work, yet the reality is that much of their time is spent navigating organizational red tape rather than engaging customers or closing deals.

Factors Contributing to Sales Execution Bottlenecks

Sales leaders frequently cite sluggish deal velocity and unreliable forecasting as core challenges. However, a deeper examination of daily operations reveals that much of the delay stems from the following factors:

• Protracted legal reviews that introduce avoidable friction into the sales cycle, often delaying deal closures by days or even weeks
• Excessive forecasting calls that demand significant time without influencing deal outcomes, creating a cycle of redundancy with little added value
• Inefficient deal desk procedures requiring redundant communication and approvals, forcing teams to navigate complex decision making hierarchies
• Repetitive internal meetings where the primary objective is disseminating updates rather than advancing deals, often leading to information overload without real progress

These activities do not directly contribute to revenue generation. Instead, they create layers of administrative overhead that impede progress.

The more time spent on these tasks, the less time sales teams can allocate to high impact activities like customer engagement, product education, and deal negotiation.

The Impact of Internal Operational Drag

When sales teams allocate 75% of their effort to internal processes, only 25% remains for customer engagement. This imbalance weakens discovery efforts, disrupts negotiation cycles, and hinders relationship building. The repercussions include increased deal slippage, reduced conversion rates, and decreased forecasting accuracy.

Moreover, inefficient internal processes lead to higher stress and frustration among sales representatives. Many sales professionals cite excessive administrative work as a primary cause of burnout. The longer these inefficiencies persist, the more likely top talent is to disengage or seek opportunities elsewhere, further compounding the problem.

Addressing the Issue: Measurement and Automation

The initial step in addressing this inefficiency is quantifying the internal versus external effort distribution. Most teams lack visibility into this dynamic, which prevents meaningful improvements. Without clear data, decision makers are left relying on anecdotal evidence rather than actionable insights.

After measurement, automation emerges as the most effective remedy. Many internal tasks can be optimized through technology driven interventions:

• Preapproved legal templates can accelerate contract finalization, eliminating unnecessary back and forth communications.
• Real time deal tracking can reduce redundant forecasting discussions by providing up to date, data driven insights.
• AI enhanced deal desk workflows can streamline approval chains, automatically routing requests to the appropriate decision makers.
• Automated dashboards can replace time consuming internal update meetings, giving stakeholders real time visibility without additional disruptions.

The Outcome of Rebalancing Effort Allocation

If sales teams reversed this ratio, dedicating 75% of their time to customer facing activities, performance could scale exponentially. Increased customer engagement translates to higher close rates, improved forecasting precision, and overall revenue growth. Sales professionals would be empowered to focus on relationship building, solution selling, and revenue expansion rather than getting bogged down by unnecessary internal tasks.

Furthermore, organizations that invest in automation and workflow optimization gain a competitive advantage. By reducing friction in sales execution, they can accelerate deal velocity, improve operational efficiency, and create a more agile sales process.

Sales teams should prioritize selling, not internal bureaucracy. The data necessary for this transformation exists, and technology offers viable solutions for streamlining inefficiencies. The critical question is: Are you ready to eliminate waste and optimize deal execution? The sooner organizations recognize the extent of internal inefficiencies and act on them, the sooner they will see tangible improvements in sales performance and overall business outcomes.

By Mick Gosset - CEO of Jointflows