A new year offers a fresh start for sales organizations – a chance to assess what worked (and what didn’t) in 2024 and what’s possible in 2025. And as we turn to Q1, sales teams have a unique opportunity.
Thanks to AI-powered insights, organizations have more tools at their disposal than ever to drive growth by leveraging a technology-first approach to problem solving. The right data and analytics can make it easier for teams to pinpoint which sales offers and incentives will resonate best with which customers and in what moments.
But to successfully drive conversions, sales teams need the right mix of strategy, technology, and people.
Don’t forget to focus on retention
Retaining customers is a cornerstone of sustainable sales success, and now is a great time to reprioritize retention if it’s slipped to the back burner.
Slowing your churn rate is crucial for multiple reasons. Existing customers can be seven times more valuable than new customers, so it makes bottom-line sense to retain the ones you have. And beyond that, retaining customers demonstrates that you’re meeting or exceeding their expectations and fostering loyalty, which are key to building lifetime value and brand reputation.
To keep customers, you need to understand their perspective and what they want from your organization. Take the time to examine and really understand the multiple customer journeys that bring people to your brand. What delights them? What frustrates them?
Get to know your customers better by investing in AI-powered voice and data analytics tools. With a deeper understanding, you can deliver product offerings or upsell opportunities that resonate with them. This increases your chances of generating additional revenue.
Grow value in your customer base
Too often, companies focus solely on resolving the customer issue at hand and, while a quick resolution is important, you’re probably missing out on opportunities to learn more about your customer journey and grow revenue.
Most (65%) of customer service interactions have sales opportunities attached. Seize them by using AI-enhanced analytics and insights to listen to all interactions, find patterns, and uncover opportunities by prompting your sales team to take action. AI-powered insights can tell your sales team and customer service associates which customers will be most receptive to a sales attempt, which offer to deliver, and when.
With AI-enabled support, you can eliminate guesswork and focus your resources and efforts on customers who are most likely to convert.
For many companies, this service-to-sales approach is a blind spot, but it’s important to tap into sales opportunities in the contact center or any other stop along the journey. Doing so will capture new revenue streams with diversified growth, increasing your customer satisfaction and loyalty.
If you’re not already, it’s time to look at every customer interaction as a potential sales interaction, through all channels. But it needs to be done thoughtfully. Unlocking the full value of every interaction can be tricky, since unwanted or ill-timed sales pushes can be off-putting to customers.
Lean into your data to get the best sense of where there are opportunities to maximize value, and make sure your associates are trained and ready to meet the moment.
Embrace sales’ new era
Organizations that succeed in 2025 and beyond will be the ones that blend sales and CX. If you’re clinging to outdated notions that your sales team and CX operation are two separate entities, it’s time to break down those silos.
Your salespeople and CX associates have more in common than you think. It’s possible for customer support associates to uncover (and convert) hidden sales opportunities, and for salespeople to deliver a great customer experience when they’ve got the right tools and training.
Make it easy for information to flow freely between your CX and sales teams. Rethink your training and coaching process to ensure team members have the knowledge and tools they need at their fingertips.
As we enter the new year, there’s never been so many tools and insights at your disposal to accelerate growth. For sales organizations that are willing and ready to invest in the right people, strategy, and AI-powered tools, the coming year can be truly transformative.
To learn more about how growing value in your customer base and other trends we’re watching, check out our strategy guide, “CX Trends 2025.”
