5 Secrets of Top-Performing Sales Teams in 2022 (And What Laggards Got Wrong)

In 2022, only 41% of sales professionals actually exceeded their quota targets, per HubSpot‘s Sales Strategy Survey. What did those top performers do differently? And what can we learn from the missteps of the bottom 18% who failed to meet their marks?

Based on our analysis, five key factors separated the winners from the also-rans. Let‘s break them down:

1. Tight-Knit Alignment Between Sales & Marketing

High-performing sales teams were 35% more likely to report having "very closely" aligned relationships with their marketing counterparts, compared to underperformers.

That close collaboration pays off in real revenue. Research from SiriusDecisions found that B2B organizations with strong alignment between sales and marketing achieve 24% faster revenue growth and 27% faster profit growth over a three-year period.

So what does best-in-class alignment entail? Some key practices:

  • Joint planning sessions to define ICP, target accounts, and key plays
  • Shared dashboards tracking lead volume, quality, and conversion rates
  • Marketing participation in sales meetings and ride-alongs
  • Collaborative process for creating sales content and messaging
  • Feedback loops to optimize lead scoring and routing

Forward-thinking teams are also leveraging technology to integrate their workflows. For example, HubSpot‘s Sales Hub seamlessly connects with Marketing Hub, enabling smooth handoffs and end-to-end visibility.

The takeaway? If sales and marketing still seem like they‘re on different planets in your org, you‘ve got your work cut out for you. Make 2023 the year you break down those silos for good.

2. Maximizing the Value of Your CRM

91% of individual contributors on high-performing sales teams ranked their CRM platform as "very important" to executing their sales process. In contrast, only 74% of reps on underperforming teams said the same.

But simply adopting a CRM isn‘t enough. You‘ve got to tap into its full potential to gain a real edge. Sadly, CSO Insights found that the majority of sales teams take advantage of less than 50% of their CRM‘s features and capabilities.

Elite teams use their CRM to:

  • Gain a 360-degree view of each prospect‘s engagement and purchase history
  • Identify leading indicators that predict deal success or failure
  • Automate data entry and tedious administrative tasks
  • Proactively surface coaching opportunities and step in to rescue at-risk deals
  • Condense disparate data sources into one source of truth

For example, using HubSpot‘s CRM, reps can auto-log all their email outreach and call activities, quickly find all interactions with a prospect in one place, and get notified when a promising buyer takes a high-value action like viewing pricing.

Want better adoption and ROI from your CRM? Streamline your processes around it, invest in training, and make it easy for reps to update data on the go. A well-oiled CRM machine is a beautiful thing.

3. Operationalizing Sales Enablement

Over the past few years, sales enablement has gone from a "nice-to-have" to a key strategic function. Case in point: high-performing teams were 12% more likely to have a dedicated enablement department.

What are best-in-class enablement teams focused on? Based on our research:

  • Continuous training to reinforce key skills and keep reps up to speed
  • Intensive onboarding to get new hires productive faster
  • Optimizing content and resources for each stage of the sales process
  • Capturing and sharing winning techniques from top performers
  • Collaborating with marketing to align messaging and positioning

Leading orgs are also investing in enablement technology to increase efficiency and scale. For example, using HubSpot‘s Onboarding and Training tool, enablers can quickly create interactive training programs, track rep progress, and deliver personalized coaching — all without the time and expense of live sessions.

If you‘ve been treating enablement as an ad hoc responsibility or one-time training blitz, it‘s time to rethink your approach. Build enablement into the fabric of your sales org, and the results will speak for themselves.

4. Empowering Managers with Data & Automation

The days of sales managers making crucial decisions based on gut feel alone are (thankfully) over. High-performing teams were 10% more likely to arm their managers with specialized tools to make their jobs more efficient and effective.

What capabilities are most critical? Based on our analysis:

  • Pipeline inspection and forecasting
  • Rep activity tracking and analytics
  • Automated data capture and reporting
  • AI-powered insights and recommendations
  • Conversation intelligence and coaching

Using HubSpot‘s Sales Analytics and Sales Automation tools for example, front-line managers can quickly visualize their team‘s leading and lagging performance indicators, get alerts when deals are at risk, and trigger customized follow-up sequences based on prospect actions — all without wrangling spreadsheets or bending over backwards.

Of course, technology is no substitute for the fundamentals of great sales management, like running high-impact 1:1s, motivating the team, and holding reps accountable. But by automating the tedious stuff, the best managers can focus on the high-value activities that actually move the needle.

5. Authentic Social Selling

Among the tactics deployed by high-performing salespeople in 2022, social selling had one of the most striking correlations to quota attainment. 88% more reps who exceeded quota used social as part of their approach, compared to their underperforming peers.

So what exactly does effective social selling entail? It‘s not about spamming your network with generic pitches. Instead, the best practitioners:

  • Optimize their profiles to demonstrate credibility and expertise
  • Share valuable content that educates and initiates conversations
  • Engage buyers by answering questions and offering relevant insights
  • Tap into social proof like customer testimonials and case studies
  • Use social listening to understand buyer needs and tailor outreach

Using a tool like HubSpot‘s Social Media Management Software can help reps save time and maximize their impact, by simplifying content sharing, social listening, and cross-channel engagement.

Here‘s the key, though: social selling has to be genuine and personalized. Buyers can smell a shallow, self-serving approach from a mile away. Focus on building real relationships and establishing your voice as a trusted advisor, not just a vendor.

Beyond the Basics: Emerging Success Factors in 2023

Mastering these five fundamentals will place you ahead of the pack. But true sales innovators are already looking ahead. Based on our research, some of the emerging factors that will define outsized success in the coming year include:

  • Empowering customers to drive the sales process through interactive tools and experiences
  • Harnessing AI and machine learning to intelligently prioritize accounts and opportunities
  • Integrating emerging channels like video messaging into outreach cadences
  • Optimizing the process for product-led sales and enabling rep/PLG coordination
  • Formalizing sales operations roles and developing a true "RevOps" competency

The bar for sales excellence keeps getting higher. But for organizations that commit to the core pillars above — and keep pushing the envelope — the opportunity has never been greater. Here‘s to leaving your competition in the dust in 2023 and beyond.

For a deeper dive into the data and trends shaping the future of sales, download the full report.

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