Sponsored by SalesFuel and
Sales+Marketing Management magazine
SalesFuel's latest Voice of the Sales Rep study, conducted in July 2025, garnered insights from 830 self-identified sales representatives across the U.S., covering various sales disciplines.
Across different industries, participants shared their motivations, frustrations, and what salespeople value in management, alongside reasons for changing employers. They also discussed how they are using AI in sales, what helps them improve at work and what would entice them to stay longer.
This collaboration between SalesFuel and Sales and Marketing Management magazine provides a comprehensive understanding of the sales professional’s working dynamics, aiding in creating a supportive environment that boosts performance and retains talent.
Select Top-Line Findings
Only 51% of sales professionals say their path for advancement in the company is crystal clear.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelsales professionals, career advancement, salesfuel, teamtrait, voice of sales rep
Only40% of sales reps say they typically hit their sales quota every month.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel, SalesCred, sales quota
Only 25% of younger sales reps (Gen Zers and millennials) say AI research should always be validated by a knowledgeable human
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, Salesfuel.com, SalesCred, AI validation, young sales reps
59% of salespeople aren't completely clear on how to use AI to improve results.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel.com, SalesCred, AI results improvement
45% of sales reps say that connecting with the buyer on an emotional/logical level is their top superpower.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel.com, SalesCred, connecting with buyer, superpower
45% of business development reps say that the sales metric that best predicts their future performance is customer retention.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel.com, SalesCred, customer retention, business development reps
41% of high performers have been approached by another company about a sales job more than once.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel.com, TeamTrait, sales rep poaching, high performers
33% of reps in the retail and consumer goods vertical say they regularly use AI for client help and support.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesCred, SalesFuel.com, retail reps use AI
30% of account managers say the sales team would be more successful if they had co-workers who were more proficient at their jobs.
Voice of the Sales Rep|2025|SalesFuelVoice of the Sales Rep, SalesFuel.com, TeamTrait, account managers, proficient coworkers
Methodology
SalesFuel conducted our 4th Voice of the Sales Rep study in July 2025. The sample consisted of self-reported sales professionals who worked at companies with five or more sales professionals in the United States. 830 individuals completed the 15-minute survey. These individuals identified themselves as working in jobs with the following roles: Full-cycle sales (prospecting, closing, account management), business development (BDR/new business hunter), Sales development rep (SDR), or account manager (selling only to existing customers)
To avoid over-representation from any single industry, we capped participation at 26% for the retail/consumer goods industry. Contact us if you have additional questions about the study's methodology.
