The start of the new year is the perfect time to reflect on the year that’s passed and set sales goals for the year ahead. As a CRO, you might have goals like:
- Improving sales performance
- Closing more deals
- Growing revenue
- Boosting customer retention
But jotting down these sales goals doesn’t mean you’ll achieve them. Instead, you must plan and decide what sales initiatives you’ll implement to support your sales objectives.
A sales initiative is a strategic program or effort that helps the sales team overcome challenges and achieve their goals for a specific time period. Depending on your sales strategy and goals, there are many different types of sales initiatives.
Which sales initiatives are the right ones to boost sales performance? To help you get started, we’ve curated a list of 11 top sales initiatives you should consider in 2025.
#1 Identify your sellers’ strengths and weaknesses
Today, most organizations invest in sales enablement and training programs to help prepare their sellers for success. In fact, per a recent Salesforce report, improving sales enablement and training is the top growth tactic for sales leaders.
Sales training and enablement programs must be personalized to each seller’s unique needs if they are to be effective. Yet, only 40% of C-level executives say they can identify a rep’s strengths and weaknesses for customized training.
One foundational sales initiative is to develop Ideal Rep Profiles (IRPs), which define the skills and competencies your sellers need for success. Remember: different sales roles should have different IRPs, each requiring unique skills and competencies.
Then, you can measure each seller against the appropriate IRP to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Doing so is foundational to providing them with the support they need to be successful.
#2 Deliver personalized training paths to each seller
Often, organizations blanket the entire sales team with the same sales training. Of course, every seller must take certain training. But this one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
When you take this approach, some sellers waste their time on irrelevant (but mandatory) training. This is time they could be used to engage buyers and close deals. On the other hand, you have sellers who aren’t getting the training they need to close skill gaps.
Make 2025 the year you adopt a different sales initiative: delivering training personalized to each seller’s needs. Once you’ve established your IRPS and used them to measure your sales reps, you can then deliver unique learning paths that help each seller improve their skills and performance.
#3 Use conversation intelligence to get insight on what’s happening in the field
Imagine this scenario. You have a seller who consistently completes all assigned training and sales enablement tasks and performs well on assessments. Yet, they’re still missing their numbers – by a lot.
You probe to understand where things are going south. But the seller struggles to articulate what’s happening on calls, and you don’t have the time to sit in on every call to see for yourself.
This year, consider incorporating a conversation intelligence tool into your sales strategy, which is a tool that records and analyzes every sales call. With this sales initiative, your sellers won’t have to worry about taking notes; they can focus on the call. And you can get insights into what’s happening in the field. Then, you can provide targeted sales coaching to help reps improve their skills and steer deals back on course.
#4 Tap into AI to improve seller productivity
Most sellers could close more deals if they had more time to sell. But often, they get bogged down with tasks that aren’t driving revenue. Recent research found that sellers spend 70% of their time on non-selling tasks.
A powerful sales initiative for 2025 is identifying ways to leverage artificial intelligence to simplify and streamline the tasks that are taking up much of your sellers’ time. For example, a seller can use AI to draft customer communications rather than starting from scratch every time. Or they can leverage a tool like Mindtickle Copilot to surface proven content for a specific sales situation quickly rather than sinking time into hunting down what they need.
By strategically (and responsibly) leveraging AI, your sellers will have more time to deliver tailored guidance and experiences that meet (and exceed) buyers’ expectations. That means they’ll start closing more deals and boosting sales acceleration.
#5 Measure the true impact of sales enablement
Research shows that 84% of organizations invest in sales enablement programs. Yet, many struggle to measure their impact.
This is a problem, as proving sales enablement ROI is key to keeping the resources you have and potentially scoring more. Furthermore, ongoing measurement is key to understanding what’s working and where there are opportunities to improve your programs to better support your sales strategy.
This year, it’s time to go beyond vanity metrics to truly understand how (and if) your sales enablement efforts impact seller productivity and performance. Your revenue enablement platform should make it easy to keep a pulse on all the key metrics you need to determine impact – all in one place. Then, you can identify opportunities to optimize programs – and maximize impact.
#6 Give sellers new opportunities to practice their skills with AI role-plays
Traditional role-plays are a great way for sellers to perfect their skills. However, typically, sellers have no choice but to wait for their sales manager to provide feedback on recorded role-plays, which can cause delays in skill improvement and deal progress.
This year, innovative revenue organizations will launch a new sales enablement initiative: AI role-plays. These AI-powered role-plays allow sellers to practice their skills with adaptive, realistic AI bots. Sellers can practice as much as they want in a risk-free environment. They can access real-time feedback, which they can use to hone their skills right away and increase their success in the field.
#7 Streamline your sales tech stack
Sales teams depend on the right tools and technology to engage buyers and close deals. But adding more tools isn’t always the right answer.
Recent data tells us about 64% of revenue organizations have 10 or more tools in their tech stacks. Yet, about seven in 10 sales reps are overwhelmed by the number of tools they’re expected to use. They’re spending too much time flipping between tools. Or, they’re simply not using them.
Now’s the time to examine your tech stack honestly. Examine each tool to determine whether sellers use it and whether it supports your sales strategy and goals.
In addition, look for opportunities to trade one-off tools for integrated solutions. For example, choose an integrated, all-in-one solution instead of having five separate sales enablement tools, each focused on a different pillar of enablement. That way, sellers can find everything they need in one central location. They’ll spend less time searching for what they need and more time engaging with buyers and closing deals.
#8 Implement a sales leadership training and coaching program
Many organizations invest time and resources into developing sales training and coaching programs for reps. But far fewer invest in similar programs for sales managers. And that’s a big problem.
Sales managers are responsible for motivating and leading their teams, but many lack the skills and resources to be successful.
One important sales initiative for 2025 is to implement a sales leadership training and coaching program. These programs should be focused on ensuring your sales managers have the skills and competencies needed to be effective leaders and coaches.
#9 Invest in just-in-time sales enablement
Scheduled training and sales enablement is important. But let’s face it: sellers have questions and needs that can pop up anytime, anywhere.
For example, a prospect might ask a product question that a seller doesn’t know the answer to. If the seller has to wait for an answer from a subject matter expert or dig around for answers, it can hold up the deal.
Consider investing in just-in-time sales enablement. This initiative allows sellers to easily access the information and answers they need whenever and wherever a need arises. Sellers don’t have to wait for a subject matter expert to get back to them, and they don’t have to dig through mountains of content. That means sellers can return to their buyers faster and increase sales acceleration.
#10 Conduct a sales content audit
Sales enablement content plays an important role in the B2B purchase journey. But it’s important to ensure your sales content continues to meet the needs of your buyers and sellers.
Conduct an audit of your sales content to determine whether each asset is being used and whether it’s positively impacting outcomes. Based on this sales enablement initiative, you may refresh certain content and eliminate other assets.
In addition, be sure to map your content to the buyer journey. You may uncover gaps and shed light on opportunities to create additional sales content to support your sellers and buyers.
#11 Centralize sales engagement
Let’s face it: B2B selling is complex. Buying committees are often large, and each stakeholder comes to the table with their preferences and expectations.
It can feel impossible for sellers to address the needs of the entire buying committee and keep everyone on the same page and timeline. This is especially true when most information and content sharing happens via email.
This year, equip your sellers with the right tools to centralize sales engagement. One example is a digital sales room, which serves as a single hub where all members of the buying and selling teams can communicate, share content, and work together on mutual action plans. This sales initiative can keep everyone aligned, making deals more likely to go through – faster.
Why adopt new sales initiatives this year?
Every revenue leader wants to close more deals and grow revenue in the year ahead. But it’s not as simple as telling your sellers to work harder.
B2B selling isn’t easy. Modern B2B buyers have high expectations. They expect personalized, relevant solutions, guidance, and experiences throughout the purchase journey. Multiply that across an entire buying committee, and things can get complicated fast.
Furthermore, we’re seeing a big shift in the way B2B buyers want to engage with businesses. According to Gartner, 75% prefer a rep-free sales experience.
And in today’s economic environment, many businesses face reduced budgets. B2B buyers must work harder than ever to articulate value.
This year, sales leaders must adopt initiatives that ensure their sellers are properly equipped to engage with buyers and deliver tailored advice, experiences, and solutions. Only then will those sellers be able to close more deals and contribute to revenue growth,
Of course, it is important to choose the right sales initiatives that align with your goals and priorities. For example, if you’ve developed a go-to-market strategy for a new product offering, you must choose sales initiatives that align with this strategy.
Set yourself up for success with the right sales initiatives
B2B selling has never been easy. But it’s getting even more complicated. Now, more than ever, sales leaders must roll out sales initiatives that help ensure their sellers are equipped to overcome challenges and emerge successful.
Mindtickle is an award-winning revenue enablement platform that empowers winning organizations to create, deliver, and measure sales initiatives like tailored training, coaching, sales content, AI role-plays, digital sales rooms, and more. With Mindtickle, you can create an entire team of top performers who are always ready to crush quota.
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In 2025, take your sales initiatives to the next level. See how Mindtickle can support your goals with tailored solutions.
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By Poornima Mohandas
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