Most of us have heard the saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” And yet, business leaders often forget this truth as they head into planning for a new year, whether it’s due to confining strategic direction or the comfort of familiarity. Other times it’s because of budget constraints or a die-hard belief that a strategy you love will actually pan out, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
No matter the reason you’ve been stuck in the same groove, it can be hard to make change. But in 2025? You have to shake up your efforts to get different results.
The Reality Of The Roadblocks Ahead
As we’re halfway through Q4 2024, we’re getting a glimpse of what the road ahead will hold. If B2B sales continue as they have been, next year looks bleak. Many organizations this year have struggled to hit their sales numbers and are seeing renewal rates fall. With marketing budgets under pressure and headcount at risk, staying the course seems to spell certain disaster.
Stop Chasing The Wrong Accounts
It’s time to seize the moment to make change. Most importantly, sales teams need to immediately stop chasing deals they can’t close. When sales reps are unlikely to convert an account, they’ll experience lower close rates and extended sales cycles. This pattern also often contributes to lower annual contract value, since reps often offer discounts as they strive to fit the square peg in the round hole.
If sales teams do manage to close any of these poor-fit opportunities, there might be a short-term boost in revenue. However, these customers are then handed over to post-sales teams, who often struggle to deliver the value these clients expect. The result? Unhappy post-sales teams, unhappy clients and, ultimately, reduced renewal rates.
All those efforts turn out to be a waste of much needed budget and time, also causing the delivery of low-quality pipelines. The Board see this and decides the current setup isn’t working, so their next step is to cut the budgets and headcount of sales and marketing. This happened repeatedly over the last few months.
Direct Your Resources To The Right Accounts
One of the biggest problems with pursuing the wrong accounts is that it takes salespeople away from great-fit opportunities. The new year doesn’t have to be this way: To flip the script, you must eliminate the waste in sales and marketing time, budget and resources. This way, your efforts and budget are only going toward good-fit companies, maximizing your salespeople’s chances of success as well as the customers’ ultimate satisfaction (and retention).
Take the time to ensure that the opportunities you do pursue align with your business goals. This looks like a pipeline that’s filled with prospects who are truly interested in — and well-suited to — your offerings. It also means you can move on from vanity metrics like anonymous click-through rates or website traffic, which tell you nothing meaningful and can end up being more of a distraction.
If last year felt challenging, you can bet next year will be the same — if you continue with your same approach. Instead, make the strategic change to focus on best-fit accounts and increase sales and renewal rates while building stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships. In 2025, you can either repeat the past and fail, or adapt and grow: The choice is up to you.
Paul Gibson is the SVP, International at Demandbase, an account-based go-to-market (GTM) platform.