Sales insight reports

State of SMB hiring 2025 report

The small business hiring landscape in 2025 has been challenging in ways that often go unnoticed in broader labor market discussions. While national employment data dominates headlines, the reality for SMBs is more nuanced and more challenging. Our first annual State of SMB hiring report provides a comprehensive look at the challenges, strategies and outlook shaping how smaller companies build their teams, based on insights from the professionals who make their hiring decisions.

The evolving role of AI in sales workload management

The world of sales is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). As AI tools become more accessible and sophisticated, their impact on sales roles and workload distribution is becoming increasingly evident. This whitepaper explores the findings of Pipedrive’s recent survey, shedding light on the evolving adoption trends of AI, the workload realities for sales professionals, and the implications for the future of the industry.

State of AI in sales: key challenges and opportunities for enhanced productivity

In today’s fast-paced sales environment, businesses are constantly seeking ways to optimize workflows, reduce repetitive tasks, and enhance customer communication. It’s no surprise that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is growing globally, enabling companies to explore new ways of working and uncover lead management opportunities previously unforeseen.

The knowledge gap is the biggest obstacle to AI adoption

Small businesses need powerful yet accessible tools to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. AI-driven solutions simplify complex processes, enabling businesses to harness AI's full potential for unprecedented productivity and efficiency. Pipedrive’s “State of sales in AI” report offers deep insights into how global businesses grapple with automating routine tasks, enhancing productivity and navigating the biggest challenges in adopting AI.

Why don’t more salespeople become CEOs?

With such a small percentage of FTSE 100 CEOs boasting a background in sales, it raises the question: why aren’t there more? Sales is an integral part of any business. If a business has no one buying - it simply doesn’t exist. So it is perhaps surprising that this key specialism is not more widely shared amongst the top CEOs.

Report on key struggles salespeople face in lead generation

The report analyzes the issues facing sales teams in getting and managing prospect leads in the sales pipeline.

Qualitative and quantitative insights indicate that while sales professionals’ top concern is prospecting, a more pressing need is for a better way to identify the most promising leads earlier in the sales process and convert them to sales more quickly.

Scheduling inefficiency report for agencies

This report analyzes key issues on scheduling sales meetings.

Qualitative and quantitative insights indicate that deals may die just through the delay and annoyance toward meeting scheduling inefficiency.

Insight into drivers of CRM adoption for first-time users

Research based on in-depth interviews with 260 sales professionals who are users of CRM software found that 56 percent were first-time users of CRM.

Of these first-time CRM users, 55 percent switched from using spreadsheets; 21 percent reported they had been using nothing; 16 percent were using pen or paper; and 5 percent, email.