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Behind The Scenes: How High Performing Sales Teams Stay On Top

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Sales organizations face constant pressure to close deals and hit targets. The challenge intensifies when you factor in rapidly evolving market demands and shifting customer expectations. 

Yet despite these obstacles, best-in-class sales teams continue to excel, outperforming and outshining their peers time and time again. 

What’s their secret? Turns out, they haven’t revolutionized the playbook. Rather, they’ve identified and put into action a series of tried-and-true practices that give them the edge.  

Download our infographic to uncover the effective strategies used by top-performing sales teams. 

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How Top Sales Teams Are Beating Their Peers in 2024

Elevate your sales team to new heights with these tried-and-true strategies that keep high-performing organizations ahead of the competition.

We surveyed 282 sales leaders from 32 countries across 12 industries to find out how top selling teams close a sale and outperform their rivals.

Use Solution Selling

60% of the best sales teams use solution selling - that is, positioning their offering as a solution to the customer's problems – VS. 48% of peer organizations

63% of top sales teams clearly articulate how the solution then matches the customer needs vs. 38% of their competitors

54% of best-in-class sales organizations use questioning skills to reveal customer needs, including unrealized needs, vs. 32% of their peers

Embrace Tech

45% of high-performing sales teams successfully use the sales technologies that are available to them vs. 27% of other sales teams

29% of best-in-class sellers say their ‘sales technology stack’ effectively addresses their selling challenges vs. 18% of others

29% of top sales teams effectively use call planning tools to prepare for customer interactions vs. 16% of their peers

Invest in Training

$2,889 - what top teams spend per salesperson annually on training vs. $1,661 - the amount their peers spend

Top teams are 2x as likely to supplement training with dynamic manager-led coaching

Collaborate with Other Teams

66% of top sellers collaborate with customer service vs. 42% of their peers

48% have a culture of accountability when it comes to delivering a high-quality customer experience vs. 25% in other organizations

Align Compensation Packages

62% of top sales teams have compensation plans well-aligned to their sales strategy vs. 32% of other sellers

49% of sellers in the highest performing organizations believe their compensation plan is fair vs. 30% of peer organizations

Become True Partners

Sellers who achieve trusted partner status achieve 48% higher quota attainment and 25% higher win rates than those who are merely approved vendors

“Buyers don’t want to be sold to, they want to learn something. That means you need people in your team who are strategic thinkers and who can have strategic conversations with their clients.”

Mark Grimshaw, Senior Client Partner, Global Sales & Service Practice at Korn Ferry

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Put into action the strategies that have propelled best-in-class sales teams to the top, and see better results for your own organization—get in touch with our experts.

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