- June 21, 2025
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
According to Grok AI’s research, in 2025, CEOs and sales leaders are scouring the web for the next big thing to crush their revenue goals, chasing everything from “AI for revenue growth” to “M&A strategies.” While these are bold, shiny ideas that can transform businesses, the cold, hard truth is they’re ignoring the fastest, most effective way to boost revenue, by developing their salespeople. Let’s break down what they’re searching for and why investing in their sales teams with proven training is the real key to explosive growth.
What CEOs Are Searching For (And Why It’s Not Enough)
Grok AI determined that CEOs are diving into eight key areas online to drive revenue, based on 2025 trends. Here’s what’s topping their search bars:
AI-Powered Growth Strategies (“generative AI in sales,” “AI-driven forecasting”): They’re banking on AI to predict customer behavior and streamline operations, with 61% of CEOs seeing it as a competitive edge.
Demand Generation and Forecasting (“improve demand forecasting 2025,” “pipeline management”): Leaders want better pipelines and analytics to tackle changing demand, which swung from 52% in Q1 to 29% in Q2 2024.
Sales and Marketing Alignment (“align sales and marketing,” “CMO CEO partnership”): With only 50% agreement on marketing’s role, they’re hunting for ways to unify teams.
Account-Based Selling (ABS) (“account-based selling strategies,” “personalized B2B sales”): Targeting high-value accounts with tailored campaigns is hot for shortening sales cycles.
Automation and Efficiency Tools (“sales automation tools 2025,” “CRM automation”): They’re after tools to cut admin time and boost rep efficiency. A recent Gartner study revealed that half of sales reps are overwhelmed by the sales tech stack, are less likely to hit quota, and take significantly longer to ramp up. Sales technology is being introduced faster than ever and advances in generative AI have accelerated the trend.
Customer Retention and Expansion (“customer retention strategies,” “upsell techniques”): Keeping and growing existing clients is a cost-effective growth play.
M&A and Strategic Partnerships (“M&A for revenue growth,” “marketplace partnerships”): 56% of CEOs plan mergers or partnerships to scale long-term value.
Thought Leadership and Brand Trust (“B2B thought leadership,” “build brand trust”): They want authentic outreach to warm up prospects.
These are smart moves as AI, automation, and partnerships can set the stage for growth. But they’re long-term strategies or system-level fixes. They don’t directly empower or improve the very salespeople who identify the opportunities, move them forward, and close the deals. Without skilled reps turning leads into revenue, even the best tools and strategies are a waste of time and money.
The Missing Piece: Supercharged Salespeople
Developing your sales team is the fastest route to revenue growth. Data from Objective Management Group’s (OMG) assessments of 2.5 million sales professionals shows that sales managers who consistently coach their teams see a 28% increase in revenue, and when they coach consistently and effectively, that number increases to 42%. I see these improvements like this with our own clients when they embrace the coaching, yet, searches for “sales training” or “improve win rates” are a blip on the radar compared to the buzz around AI and demand gen. Why’s that?
Tech Bias: CEOs are dazzled by AI and automation, thinking tools alone will fix everything. But CRM doesn’t close deals—people do.
Assuming Competence: Leaders assume their reps already know how to sell, so they focus on pipelines or systems instead of skills. More data from OMG proves that while most salespeople have varying knowledge of HOW to sell, only 20% of all salespeople execute what they know about how to sell. Honestly, most salespeople kind of suck.
Scale Over Individuals: Big-picture searches like M&A or ABS prioritize scale, not the individual reps who execute the plan.
This is a massive blind spot. Your salespeople are the economic engine of your company and every deal they close directly impacts revenue. If they’re not equipped to consistently outsell the competition, all the AI in the world won’t generate new revenue or save your numbers. I had Grok AI conduct most of the research for this article so this is essentially an AI tool discovering that AI can’t help you hit your numbers without training up your salespeople.
It’s ironic, isn’t it?
Why Developing Salespeople Wins
Investing in your sales team delivers results faster than any other strategy. Here’s why:
Immediate Impact: Unlike M&A or building thought leadership, effective sales training boosts performance in just months. A rep trained in a proven sales process and methodology, like Baseline Selling, can start winning more deals now.
Multiplies Other Investments: AI and other tech tools are only as good as the reps using them. Skilled salespeople can better leverage leads, automation, and ABS campaigns.
Cost-Effective: Training is significantly less costly than acquiring new customers through M&A or building new systems. A 2023 HubSpot report showed a 20% increase in deal size for teams with ongoing coaching for their salespeople. More data from OMG shows that only 8% of all sales managers have the skills to effectively coach up their salespeople.
Builds Resilience: Well-trained reps adapt to market swings, handle tough objections, and keep deals moving, even when demand fluctuates.
How to Develop Your Sales Team for Revenue Growth
Ready for your salespeople to become your revenue superpower? Here are four actionable steps:
Have Your Sales Team Evaluated: Only a comprehensive OMG sales team evaluation will accurately predict how much more revenue your team can generate, the training and coaching requirements to get there, and how long it will take. The role analysis allows you to better understand how suitable each salesperson is for the role they are in, the pipeline analysis provides unbiased feedback on pipeline quality and proper staging, the skills analysis measures each salesperson’s capabilities in 21 Sales Core Competencies, and so much more useful information.
Invest in Training: Forget generic training programs. Baseline Selling (powered by Kurlan & Associates) is a battle-tested system that transforms reps into super producers by leveraging its powerful sales process and methodology, driving measurable revenue growth.
Leverage Tools for Coaching, Not Just Forecasting: Use tools to analyze sales calls and provide real-time feedback. Platforms like Gong or Chorus.ai help sales managers review calls with reps, and coaching sales managers to coach salespeople via role-play supercharges their skills.
Compensation and Incentives: Boost motivation with clear goals and appropriate compensation and incentives. Set up leaderboards for relevant metrics or offer bonuses for hitting stretch targets. Happy, engaged reps sell more.
The Bottom Line
CEOs, you’re searching for the right things—AI, alignment, and partnerships are powerful. But don’t sleep on your salespeople. They’re the ones who must convert your strategies into revenue, and they’re your fastest path to growth in 2025. While you are considering the long-game fixes, invest in your salespeople. Train them with Baseline Selling, coach them, empower them with the right skills. Because when your reps win, your revenue soars.
Want to talk more about supercharging your sales team? Reach out and let’s get your revenue rocking!
Image created by Grok3 (you can tell because AI still has trouble with hands and fingers)