Objective Management Group

Sales presentations have changed significantly over the last several years.   Many B2B sales conversations now happen virtually, often involving demos, more stakeholders, and shorter attention spans. At the same time, AI is making it easier than ever for sellers to create polished presentations quickly.   That does not automatically make presentations more effective.   In Objective Management Group's latest research, we examined Presentation Approach competency data from thousands of salespeople and explored why judgment, timing, and relevance matter more now than delivery alone.   Article provided below in comments. 

Strong sales hiring decisions require more than resumes, interviews, and instinct alone. We're excited to see Rocky LaGrone | Sales Development Expert- Rocky LaGrone leading important conversations around where AI can support smarter, more consistent sales hiring decisions while still keeping human judgment at the center of the process. Worth checking out for sales leaders focused on improving hiring accuracy and long-term sales performance. #saleshiring #salesdevelopment #hr

Across thousands of Objective Management Group sales evaluations, one pattern shows up consistently: Leadership shapes sales performance. Our research finds that salespeople who improve their Responsibility scores are also more likely to improve their Tactical selling scores. Responsibility inside a sales force is heavily influenced by what leadership models.   Responsibility comes from high-quality development conversations. Salespeople who receive daily coaching are approximately 10x more likely to master sales competencies than those coached quarterly.   Outlook is one of the more overlooked drivers of performance. Leadership communication, compensation plans, territory assignment all play a role in shaping how your salespeople feel about their ability to succeed.   Sales culture usually reflects executive culture over time. Organizations that treat sales as a company-wide responsibility tend to outperform those that treat it as a sales department problem.   Full article link in comments.

If there's someone who knows how to fix a sales hiring issue, it is Rocky LaGrone and his team at Sales Development Expert. #CEOs, if you're worried about hitting your 2026 numbers - get in touch with Rocky today.

#SalesLeaders, your company has spent hundreds of thousands on CRM, call intelligence, intent segmentation, and AI roleplay - but is any of it actually making your salespeople better? Sales organizations have added more technology than ever.   Proficiency in using it has gone the other direction.   Objective Management Group's data from 2021 to 2025 shows average scores for leveraging Sales Technology have remained flat, while the percentage of salespeople who are proficient has declined from 20% to 16%. Hunting competency has dropped over the same period.   The tools are there. The capability to use them effectively is not keeping pace.   This is why I'm excited to announce that Objective Management Group is the only assessment to measure Technology Acumen and willingness to adopt new sales technology. Our assessment tells you *can* your salespeople use the technology you've invested in, and *will* they use the technology.   Full article link in comments.

We've noticed an interesting phenomenon in Objective Management Group's data. Measures of Desire for sales success are steady, but measures of Motivation for sales success are declining. In other words, salespeople want to succeed, but they are less likely to have a "Why". Why does this matter? Selling has always been hard. By many measures it's getting harder. Cycles are longer. Only 16% of B2B reps are hitting quota. Success feels less attainable. As a sales leader, are you creating an environment to help your sellers find their "Why?" Or are you creating an environment that blocks them from uncovering their "Why"?    Full article link in comments.

A 67% average score on Comfort Discussing Money looks solid. But it's not the whole story.   58% of buyers want to talk pricing on the first call. Fewer than a quarter of salespeople are prepared to do that. They haven't conducted effective discovery yet, and more fatally, they haven't quantified the Buyer's pain. So the "money conversation" just becomes "what's your budget?" Box checked. On to the demo. #SalesLeaders, if you're frustrated by your sellers discounting, or deals stalling late, you'll want to read our latest article.   Full article link in comments.

Love this article from Objective Management Group award-winning Partner, Jay Spielvogel. Jay nails an issue that we see too often with immature sales teams - coaching toward activity instead of coaching toward understanding the prospect. Great practical tips that sales leaders can put in place today!

CEOs, how many times has your VP Sales told you some version of "We need training on objection handling." Sales leaders continue to treat "Objections" as the primary barrier to performance. But data from Objective Management Group does not support that assumption.   Across a large dataset, 88 percent of salespeople are already strong in handling rejection. The average score in this area is higher than most other selling competencies.   At the same time, only 27 percent of salespeople demonstrate strong Sales DNA overall. Even fewer have supportive beliefs or a strong buy cycle.   Salespeople are willing to hear "No". Their issue is how they think, qualify, and make decisions throughout the sales process.   This shows up in deals that should have been disqualified earlier, opportunities that stall, and conversations that lack direction. Persistence doesn't correct these issues. In fact, it can extend them.   Sales leaders who focus on Consultative Selling, Qualification and the belief systems that enable / limit effective questioning tend to see more consistent improvements in performance.    Full analysis in the comments.

Most sales leaders continue to invest heavily in skills training. Objective Management Group's data suggests they are focusing on the wrong issue.   In an analysis of more than 1,500 salespeople only 27% showed strong Sales DNA. Just 16% held supportive beliefs about selling.   Salespeople who were more Comfortable Discussing Money consistently generated higher median revenue, with a gap of more than $200K compared to their peers.   Salespeople who hesitate to talk about money delay budget conversations, allow ambiguity to persist, and lose control of the sales process. Those who are comfortable talking about professional and personal financial impact are more likely to uncover urgency.   For sales leaders, this requires a shift in development focus.   Coaching must address the *beliefs* that drive behavior, not just the tactics that support it. Without that shift, most training will fail to translate into measurable performance gains.   Link in comments.