Why automation alone no longer works – and what actually delivers results

Results Sales Efficiency Report 2025

A few years ago, Sales was simple.

You had a list, you made calls, you built relationships, and deals happened.

Then came automation, promising more efficiency, more reach, and ultimately, more sales. Fast-forward to today, and what do we have? Tech stacks that resemble Frankenstein’s monster, a CRM full of unresponsive leads, and sales teams stretched thin chasing the wrong prospects.

The reality??Automation without strategy is just noise.?The best companies don’t just automate; they build?scalable, relevant, and personalized?sales engines. Without that, you’re stuck with bloated tools, disconnected workflows, and a conversion rate that refuses to budge.

The Problem: Automation without strategy is useless

Automation on its own doesn’t cut it any more. The best companies know it’s about strategy, relevance, and personalisation — not just throwing tools at the problem. Otherwise, your funnel stays inefficient, and your conversion rate stalls.

Sales teams are drowning in tools, automation, and AI-powered solutions, yet closing deals feels harder than ever. Why? Because automation without strategy is like throwing darts in the dark. Without that, you’re left with bloated tech stacks, inefficient funnels, and a CRM full of dead contacts.

The biggest challenges today

When we look into our study results, we found the following mentions of the biggest challenges in Sales:

• Automation silos: Too many tools, no seamless customer journey.
• Lack of hyper-personalization: Generic emails don’t convert.
• Inefficient funnels: Leads drop off due to poor follow-ups.
• CRM as a data graveyard: Tons of data, little action.
• AI used wrong: Spamming, not engaging.
• No clear ICP: If you don’t know your audience, you’re selling to the wrong people.
• Poor lead prioritization: Wasting time on the wrong leads.
• Sales & product misalignment: If sales doesn’t know the product vision, they sell the wrong thing.
• Customer acquisition costs skyrocketing: You need a data-driven approach to keep it sustainable.

But let's dive deeper into the six pillars of scalable. That's the resuslt of our pre-study and research project together with HubSpot for Startups, ARRtist, SalesPlaybook, Craftview, SessionVC and Swisspreneur. We found the following six pillars of a scalable, efficient sales process.

The six pillars of a scalable, efficient sales process

1. Connect (Avg. Score: 56%)

Every great sales strategy starts with clarity. If you don’t know exactly?who you’re selling to, you’re just guessing—and guessing is expensive. Most companies think they have an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), but in reality, they target too broadly or rely on outdated assumptions. This leads to wasted efforts, bloated pipelines, and frustrated sales teams chasing the wrong people. The companies that win are those that?build precise, data-driven target lists?and combine?inbound and outbound strategies?for maximum reach and efficiency. Inbound alone is too passive. Outbound alone is too aggressive. The magic happens when the two work together.

If you don’t know who you’re selling to, everything else falls apart.?Connect?is about defining your?Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?and building a precise, data-driven target account list. Without this, you’re just guessing.

Think of this as your foundation. If you don’t know who you’re selling to, you’re already off track. Connecting is about defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and building a list of high-value target accounts.

What’s happening? Most companies still rely on old-school sales tactics (61%), but they’re expensive and inefficient.

What works best? Companies combining inbound and outbound (58%) get the best results. Pure inbound (46%) or outbound (41%) alone aren’t cutting it.

Key Takeaway: Mix inbound and outbound to build a scalable, predictable pipeline.

2. Engage (Avg. Score: 40%)

Generating leads is one thing. Keeping them engaged is another. Many companies struggle with nurturing because they lack trust-building and personalisation.

Generating leads is one thing—keeping them engaged is another. Too often, leads drop off because they’re left in limbo. Sales reps send one or two emails and then move on, assuming a lack of response means no interest. But the reality? Most leads just?aren’t ready yet. Engagement is about?consistently staying in their world—whether that’s through thought leadership, automated but relevant follow-ups, or personalized touchpoints across LinkedIn, email, and beyond. The best companies?don’t spam—they nurture. They make sure their leads remember them?at the right time?and feel like the next step is obvious.

What’s the issue? Lead nurturing is weak, and most companies rely on manual follow-ups (110%) or basic email sequences (101%).

What’s working? LinkedIn and newsletters outperform trade shows and cold outreach.

Key Takeaway: Automate engagement, but do it with personalisation. Follow up consistently with relevant, value-driven content.

3. Grow (Avg. Score: 28%)

Your pipeline is full—but are you focusing on the right leads? Growth is about data-driven prioritisation, so your sales team isn’t wasting time on bad-fit prospects.

A full pipeline means nothing if your sales team is wasting time on the wrong leads. Growth doesn’t come from just?getting more leads—it comes from?prioritizing the right ones. The truth? Most sales teams still qualify leads manually, relying on gut feeling rather than hard data. That’s why deals stall, sales cycles drag, and revenue targets are missed. The best teams use AI and intent data to?identify real buying signals. They know which prospects are in-market, who’s actively researching their solution, and where to focus their efforts. Sales isn’t just about effort—it’s about?precision.

What’s happening? Most teams still qualify leads manually (99%).

Big missed opportunity? Only 41% use intent data, and 19% don’t track lead signals at all.

Key Takeaway: Use AI to prioritize leads based on behavior and intent. Focus on the ones that are actually ready to buy.

4. People (Avg. Score: 48%)

Even with the best tools, sales is a people game. If your team isn’t aligned, trained, and following structured processes, things fall apart fast.

Having top talent in sales is great, but?even the best salespeople fail without a system. The truth is, most sales teams lack structured playbooks and consistent training. Every rep works differently, leading to unpredictable results. Great companies don’t leave things to chance — they build?repeatable, scalable processes?that?any competent sales rep can follow. Playbooks, structured qualification frameworks (like BANT, MEDDIC), and continuous coaching create consistency. With a process in place, performance doesn’t depend on individual rockstars — it becomes predictable and scalable.

What’s the issue? Most teams lack structured closing strategies.

What’s working? Companies with well-defined buyer personas (75%) and positioning (68%) perform better—but execution still lags.

What’s missing? Few teams use structured sales methodologies (19%) or buyer journey mapping (29%).

Key Takeaway: Implement clear sales playbooks and ongoing coaching to improve consistency and closing rates.

5. Technology (Avg. Score: 44%)

Your CRM should be your sales engine, not just a contact database. But most companies aren’t using it to its full potential.

Most companies use their CRM?as a glorified spreadsheet—just a place to store contacts and deals. But a CRM should be the?engine of your sales operation. If your CRM isn’t surfacing insights, tracking deal momentum, and helping reps know exactly what to do next, it’s failing you. The best companies use their CRM to?automate workflows, track buying signals, and analyse sales trends in real time. They integrate AI to predict which deals need attention and automate repetitive tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling. If your CRM isn’t making your sales team smarter, it’s just another tool adding to the clutter.

What’s happening? CRMs are underutilized, mostly used for basic contact management (112%) and deal tracking (96%).

Where’s the gap? Only 62% use CRM for KPI reporting and 30% for buyer journey mapping.

Key Takeaway: Leverage your CRM for insights and automation, not just storage. Use it to track, optimize, and accelerate sales processes.

6. Process (Avg. Score: 37%)

Your sales process is what keeps everything running smoothly. Without automation and AI, it’s impossible to scale efficiently.

Your sales process is your?scalability bottleneck. If you’re relying on manual workflows, you’re always going to be?reactive instead of proactive. The companies scaling fastest are those that?integrate AI, automation, and data-driven processes. AI isn’t just for chatbots—it can?analyse conversations, suggest next steps, personalize messaging, and prioritize outreach. Sales teams that integrate AI aren’t replacing their reps; they’re making them?faster, smarter, and more effective. The key is not to use AI as a spam machine, but as a tool to make human interactions?more relevant and impactful.

What’s the issue? AI adoption is low, but the potential for efficiency gains is huge.

What’s working?

• Personalized messaging & content recommendations (53%)
• Data enrichment from third-party providers (52%)
• AI-driven conversation analysis and follow-ups (51%)

What’s underused? Social media sentiment monitoring (21%) and AI-powered customer service bots (29%).

Key Takeaway: AI isn’t just a trend—it’s a way to streamline sales. Use it strategically to optimize workflows and increase efficiency.

Key insights for tech founders & product teams:

At the end of the day, sales isn’t about?more?automation,?more?leads, or?more?outreach. It’s about?precision, alignment, and relevance.

The companies winning today aren’t throwing more reps at the problem. They’re?refining their strategy, aligning sales with product, and using automation the right way.

If you want sales to be?predictable, scalable, and efficient, you need to stop thinking in tools and start thinking in systems. The best companies don’t just automate—they create a seamless, scalable process that consistently delivers results.

? Combine inbound and outbound for predictable growth.

? Use AI for lead scoring and prioritization to maximize efficiency.

? Prioritize personalized, automated outreach to improve conversion.

? Stop using CRM as a digital notebook—make it a sales engine.

? Standardise sales processes to improve scalability and deal closures.

? Stop building automation silos. Individual automation fixes don’t solve the bigger issue—build a holistic strategy.

If you want sales to be predictable, scalable, and efficient, you need to stop thinking in tools and start thinking in systems. The best companies don’t just automate; they align sales, product, and tech to build strategies that actually work.