1. Sales Prospecting & Client Acquisition
1.1. Importance of Prospecting 60%
60% of business leaders consider sales prospecting a strategic priority.
Uptoo
45%
45% of French companies increased their prospecting budget year-over-year.
Uptoo
80% vs 2%
A referral-based call leads to a meeting 80% of the time, vs 2% for a cold call.
Spyral Conseil
50%
Generating qualified leads is identified as the top challenge by 50% of companies surveyed.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
95%
By 2027, 95% of sellers' research workflows will begin with AI, up from less than 20% in 2024.
Gartner
1.2. Prospecting Techniques 8 calls
It takes an average of 8 calls to reach a prospect.
Spyral Conseil
4.8%
Only 4.8% of prospects call back after receiving a voicemail from a salesperson.
Spyral Conseil
10-15%
10 to 15% of argued contacts result in a meeting.
Spyral Conseil
1.3. Social Media Usage 72%
72% of salespeople use social media to research targeted decision-makers and companies.
Uptoo
63%
63% of salespeople use social media to build relationships with potential clients.
HubSpot
51%
Salespeople using social media increase their success rate by 51%.
Uptoo
Expert take
Gaëlle Boutaud Co-founder & Head of Sales, Cuevr
Prospecting is becoming a precision craft again Response rates are dropping everywhere, and it is no accident: everyone sends more, so every message is worth less. Automation is no longer an edge, it is the price of entry.
The real question is what you do with the time it frees up: sharper targeting, a message that proves you understood the problem , and a first impression polished down to the documents you send.
2. Prospect Follow-up & Follow-through
2.1. Importance of Follow-ups 48%
48% of salespeople don't follow up with prospects after the first contact.
Spyral Conseil
+49%
Response rate increases by 49% after the first email follow-up.
Belkins
2.2. Follow-up Techniques 44%
44% of salespeople give up after a single follow-up attempt.
Invesp
10%
Only 10% of salespeople make more than three contacts with a prospect before giving up.
Spyral Conseil
42%
42% of salespeople lack relevant information about their prospects before calling.
Spyral Conseil
68%
68% of companies don't use any tool to track prospect engagement after sending a proposal.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Following up blindly is prospecting blindfolded Nearly one salesperson in two never follows up, and those who do often follow the calendar rather than the buyer. Yet this is where deals are won: 80% of sales close after the fifth interaction.
The real issue is not following up more, but knowing when: who opened your proposal, which pages held their attention, what was ignored . Following up on signals instead of schedules turns follow-up into a competitive advantage.
3. Sales Closing & Commercial Performance
3.1. Close Rates & Conversion 29%
In 2023, the average sales close rate is 29%.
HubSpot
75%
75% of leads don't result in a sale, often due to lack of personalization and follow-up.
Spyral Conseil
37%
Among companies measuring their close rate, 37% report a rate of 25% or below.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
39%
39% of companies don't measure their close rate or don't know if they do.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
3.2. Skills & Modernization 2/3
Two-thirds of evaluated salespeople don't meet the expected level for closing a sale.
Uptoo
32%
32% of salespeople don't master active listening, hindering closing.
Uptoo
44%
44% of salespeople consider training as the top motivation lever.
Uptoo
82%
82% of salespeople think companies need to modernize their sales techniques.
Uptoo
2.4x
Organizations that prioritize upskilling sellers on AI are 2.4x more likely to achieve strong revenue growth.
Gartner
3.3. Proposals & Closing 59%
The close rate is considered the most important KPI by 59% of managers and executives surveyed.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
68%
Professionals rate the impact of proposal quality on close rate at 68% on average.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
43%
43% of companies report specific difficulties in creating or managing their sales proposals.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Closing is decided long before the close Two thirds of assessed salespeople are below the level required to close, and it is almost never about signature techniques. A failed close is a rushed qualification three weeks earlier, or a generic proposal where half the content talks about you instead of the client's problem .
You cannot fix at the end of the cycle what was improvised at the start: rigorous qualification and a tailored proposal are the two real levers of your closing rate.
4. Sales Organization & Efficiency
4.1. Technology (CRM & Automation) 24%
Salespeople using a CRM exceed annual sales targets by 24%.
HubSpot
35%
A salesperson equipped with CRM and automation tools is 35% more productive.
Uptoo
70%
70% of companies have a poorly used CRM, while 62% of employees believe a well-integrated CRM creates more value.
Uptoo
33%
Only 33% of salespeople's time is actually spent selling.
Spyral Conseil
4.2. Cross-team Alignment +15%
A 15% increase in success rate is observed when sales and marketing teams work in coordination.
Uptoo
4.3. Proposal Creation: An Under-optimized Process 83%
83% of companies create proposals with non-specialized tools — 57% use Word or PowerPoint, 26% start from scratch manually.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
45%
45% of professionals spend over an hour creating a single sales proposal.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
58%
Average satisfaction with the proposal creation process is only 58%.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
61%
Among struggling companies, 61% cite excessive time spent creating proposals.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Not every hour serves the sale equally Salespeople spend only 33% of their time selling, but the problem is not tooling itself: it is what the organization rewards. Spending more time on reporting than on personalizing offers, or rewarding busywork that generates half-leads while existing leads wait to be closed, is walking on your head.
Every hour should be judged by its contribution to the signature , and every tool by what it gives back to the seller, not by what it asks them to type in.
5. Customer Relationship Management & Loyalty
5.1. Customer Expectations 86%
86% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase if the company understands their goals.
Salesforce
84%
84% of buyers want salespeople to act as trusted advisors.
Salesforce
5.2. Loyalty Levers 73%
73% of buyers say personalization is essential for loyalty.
Salesforce
91%
91% of clients are willing to refer, but only 11% of salespeople ask for it.
Spyral Conseil
47%
Client retention is identified as one of the most important KPIs by 47% of professionals.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
89% vs 33%
Companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain 89% of their customers, versus 33% for weak ones.
CX studies 2026
Expert take
Gaëlle Boutaud Co-founder & Head of Sales, Cuevr
Your biggest sales goldmine is asleep in your client base 91% of clients say they are willing to refer, yet only 11% of salespeople ask. The most profitable lever in B2B sales is also the most neglected, probably because it shows up in no report.
A well-served client, asked at the right moment with a precise, easy-to-share request, is worth ten acquisition campaigns. Make referrals a step in your process , not a happy accident.
6. Marketing Strategy & Sales Channels
6.1. Revenue Models & Indirect Sales 42%
42% of sales managers say recurring sales are their primary revenue source.
Salesforce
83%
83% of professionals report an increased impact of indirect sales on revenue.
Salesforce
6.2. Channel Evolution & Behaviors 46%
46% of Gen Z buyers use TikTok to research products/brands.
HubSpot
80%
By 2027, 80% of interactions between B2B buyers and suppliers will happen through digital channels.
Gartner
$15 trillion
Gartner predicts AI agents will command $15 trillion in B2B purchases by 2028 and manage 30% of procurement.
Gartner
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Be findable wherever buyers do their research, including through AI By 2027, 80% of buyer-supplier interactions will be digital, and a growing share will go through AI assistants that read the web on the buyer's behalf.
The channel is no longer a choice but a mesh, and every touchpoint, from the first email to the proposal, must be designed as a storefront : it is often the only meeting you will get.
7. Technology, Innovation & Artificial Intelligence
7.1. AI Adoption & Impact 83%
83% of teams using AI have seen their revenue grow.
Salesforce
7.2. AI Challenges 35%
35% of professionals lack trust in AI data accuracy.
Salesforce
73%
73% believe generative AI introduces new security risks.
Salesforce
33%
33% of salespeople lack budget, staff, or training to use AI effectively.
Salesforce
7.3. AI & Sales Proposals: A Highly Anticipated Use Case 73%
Professionals rate interest in AI-assisted proposal writing at 73%.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
71%
AI-assisted proposal design generates 71% interest.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
72%
Automated proposal scoring and evaluation receives 72% interest.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
AI does the sorting, humans make the difference 87% of teams already use AI: the tool alone no longer differentiates anyone. The paradox is that the more buyers research with AI, the more they seek a human to decide: 69% validate AI-gathered information with a sales rep.
Our conviction: useful AI is not the kind that produces generic text faster, it is the kind embedded in the sales process that helps qualify better, personalize better, decide better. AI writes fast; it does not sign.
8. Remote Sales & Hybrid Work
8.1. Hybrid Model Adoption 67%
67% of salespeople in France work in hybrid or remote mode.
HubSpot
80%
80% of B2B sales are conducted virtually.
Salesforce
56%
56% of professionals believe remote selling makes the process easier.
HubSpot
8.2. Remote Sales Channels & Tools 48% vs 38% vs 31%
Email and phone (48%) dominate, followed by social media (38%) and video chat (31%).
HubSpot
21%
21% of reps think remote selling is more effective than in-person.
HubSpot
52%
52% believe AI helps better understand remote clients.
HubSpot
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
At a distance, your documents speak in your place When 80% of sales happen remotely, showing up in person becomes a strong signal, reserved for decisive moments. Everything else in the cycle rests on what the prospect holds when you are not in the room: the clarity of your materials, the quality of your proposal, the visibility you have on what they do with it.
At a distance, your sales process is literally your image .
9. Human Resources, Training & Quality of Work Life
9.1. Training & Motivation 61%
61% of salespeople consider training the top motivation lever, above compensation.
Uptoo
76%
76% say management emphasizes their satisfaction.
Salesforce
9.2. Talent Retention & Turnover 4%
4% of new salespeople quit on their first day, and 22% within the first 45 days.
Uptoo
81%
81% of professionals have seen their salary increase.
Salesforce
64%
64% would leave their position for better compensation elsewhere.
Salesforce
Expert take
Gaëlle Boutaud Co-founder & Head of Sales, Cuevr
You do not fix the talent shortage with hiring, but with a process Sales roles will remain among the hardest to fill through 2030, and salary escalation has its limits.
The real answer: a sales process formalized and structured enough to carry skill development , and tools that embed genuine sales expertise, real coaches, not data-entry tools. That is what lets a promising profile reach top-performer level fast, and what makes top performers stay.
10. Financial Management & Budgets
10.1. Budget Monitoring & Optimization 70%
70% of sales managers note increased budget scrutiny.
HubSpot
45%
45% of French companies increased their prospecting budget.
Uptoo
78%
78% of B2B buyers indicate their company is more cautious with spending.
Salesforce
10.2. ROI & Marketing Automation +50% and +53%
Companies using marketing automation generate 50% more qualified leads and improve conversion rates by 53%.
HubSpot
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Manage budgets like a portfolio, not a shopping list Tighter budget scrutiny forces measurement, and that is good news. Our rule: fund first what touches the signature, the quality of qualification, proposal and follow-up, then automate the rest.
Cutting preparation or offer personalization to save money is saving on precisely what makes deals sign .
11. Market Analysis & Economic Trends
11.1. Market Expansion & Digitization +900,000
The number of companies in France grew from 2.2M to 3.1M between 2009 and 2020.
Statista
+35%
In 2022, France had 207,000 active e-commerce sites, up 35% vs 2019.
FEVAD
$36 trillion
The global B2B ecommerce market reaches $36 trillion in 2026, growing at about 14.5% annually.
B2B ecommerce studies 2026
11.2. Competition & Economic Context 57%
57% of sales managers report increased competition.
Salesforce
27%
Macroeconomic conditions (inflation) remain a challenge for 27% (down from 39% in 2022).
Salesforce
76%
76% of buyers seek to maximize value from every purchase.
Salesforce
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
More competition, less attention: differentiation becomes a discipline 57% of sales leaders report increased competition, in a market where switching suppliers has never been easier. Sales is a competition: with comparable offers, the quality of the process decides, from first approach to proposal.
Doing what others will not bother to do is not a bonus, it is the strategy.
12. Customer Service & Customer Experience
12.1. Importance of Customer Experience 93%
93% of customers are more likely to make repeat purchases from companies offering excellent service.
Salesforce
94%
94% of consumers are more likely to repurchase after a positive experience.
Salesforce
73%
73% of executives say there is a direct link between customer service and business performance.
Salesforce
12.2. Service Quality & Technology 48%
48% of customers switched brands in the past year for better customer service.
Salesforce
76%
76% of customer service professionals say AI enables them to handle more requests without compromising quality.
Dialpad
39%
39% of support professionals are concerned about lack of personalization from excessive automation.
HubSpot
50%
By 2027, half of all customer service cases will be resolved by AI, up from 30% in 2025.
CX studies 2026
Expert take
Gaëlle Boutaud Co-founder & Head of Sales, Cuevr
Customer experience starts before the signature We measure customer experience after the sale, but the buyer judges it from the first email. Fast answers, a readable process, a clear and personalized proposal: that is already customer service, and the most reliable preview of what working together will be like.
Your sales process is part of your offer's packaging ; polish it the way you polish the product.
13. Buying Behaviors & Consumption
13.1. Information Research & Buyer Autonomy 96%
96% of prospects do their own research before speaking with a salesperson.
HubSpot
86%
86% of consumers research multiple sources before making a purchasing decision.
HubSpot
80%
80% of prospects research online before buying in B2B.
Uptoo
7 sources
B2B buyers consult an average of 7 information sources per purchase, and 45% use generative AI in their research.
Gartner
69%
69% of buyers validate AI-gathered information with a sales rep.
Gartner
13.2. Importance of Personalization 78%
78% of buyers say they're more likely to buy from companies offering personalized experiences.
HubSpot
55%
55% of companies struggling with proposals cite difficulty personalizing for each client.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Your prospect did their homework. Did you? 96% of prospects research on their own before talking to sales, now helped by generative AI. A salesperson who knows less than their prospect about the problem is eliminated before the conversation starts.
The new standard: show up with a point of view, concrete customer cases and a proposal that speaks about their context , not a document where they must hunt for their own situation between two pages of corporate presentation.
14. Phone & Email Prospecting
14.1. Phone Prospecting 80%
80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls before closing.
Invesp
25 hours
Salespeople spend 25 hours per month leaving voicemails.
Spyral Conseil
4.8%
Only 4.8% of prospects return a call after a voicemail.
Spyral Conseil
14.2. Email Prospecting 22%
Personalized subject lines increase open rates by 22%.
HubSpot
24%
24% of marketing emails are opened; 35% of decision-makers base opening on subject relevance.
Spyral Conseil
50-125 words
An effective email contains between 50 and 125 words.
Spyral Conseil
20-35%
A healthy B2B cold email open rate sits between 20 and 35% in 2026, with reply rates of 1 to 10% depending on targeting.
Cold email benchmarks 2026
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
Less volume, more work per message Between 1 and 10% reply rates in cold email: the gap between average and elite campaigns rarely comes from the tool, almost always from the work invested per message. AI now lets you hyper-personalize at scale what only the best did by hand.
Use it for that, and carry the logic through the whole cycle: a personalized email that leads to a generic proposal ruins the initial effort .
15. Social Responsibility & Company Values
15.1. Consumer & Buyer Expectations 86%
86% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that shares their values.
Salesforce
82%
82% of consumers refuse to buy from brands that practice discrimination.
Salesforce
73%
73% of buyers say companies must adopt ethical practices to earn their loyalty.
Salesforce
15.2. CSR & Business Practices 79%
79% of companies say their sales strategy now includes CSR objectives.
Salesforce
67%
67% of companies include social responsibility as a selling point.
Salesforce
45%
45% of companies believe their CSR strategy directly contributes to customer loyalty.
Salesforce
Expert take
Gaëlle Boutaud Co-founder & Head of Sales, Cuevr
CSR moves from sales pitch to elimination criterion 67% of buyers now evaluate suppliers on sustainability criteria, up from 42% in 2023, and ESG requirements are entering contracts. Surface-level arguments are dead: proof takes their place.
Genuinely embedding these commitments in your proposals , with numbers to back them, becomes a differentiator in tenders, and a signal of seriousness for everything else.
16. Sales Process Challenges: What Companies Say This section is based on Sales Odyssey survey results from 76 professionals (executives, sales and marketing managers) on sales performance challenges.
16.1. Priority Stages of the Sales Cycle 22%
Focus on lead generation
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
22%
On product/service presentation
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
16%
On creating sales proposals
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
16%
On prospect qualification
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
11%
On prospect follow-up and outreach
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
9%
On negotiation and closing
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
16.2. Top Sales Challenges 50%
Generating enough qualified leads
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
45%
Closing sales quickly
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
37%
Personalizing proposals for each client
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
34%
Creating effective sales proposals
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
34%
Following up with prospects at the right time
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
32%
Converting leads into opportunities
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
16.3. Proposal-related Difficulties 61%
Cite excessive time spent creating them
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
55%
Difficulty personalizing for each client
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
36%
Difficulty improving based on past performance
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
30%
Lack of prospect feedback
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
21%
No tracking on prospect engagement
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
16.4. Challenges Vary by Company Size 63%
SMBs (2-9 employees): fast closing is the #1 challenge (63%), followed by lead generation (47%).
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
57-83%
Mid-market (10-49 employees): qualified lead generation dominates (57-83%), followed by conversion and follow-ups.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
100%
Enterprise (50-250+): effective proposal creation and personalization cited by 100% of large organizations.
Sales Odyssey Survey, 2025
Expert take
Nicolas Delignières Co-founder, Cuevr
What the field taught us: the sales proposal is the neglected link 61% of struggling companies cite the excessive time spent creating proposals, 55% the difficulty of personalizing them. Everything in our journey led us to the same conclusion: the proposal is where differentiation is won or lost, in substance as in form .
That finding is why we built Cuevr, and it is what we will measure again in the 2026-2027 edition of our survey.
Conclusion
Through this analysis, it's clear that sales teams can no longer rely on traditional methods alone. The rise of AI technologies, the shift to hybrid sales models, and the growing demand for personalized and ethical customer service are no longer optional — they're imperatives for surviving in an increasingly competitive market.
The key to success lies in a deep understanding of customer needs and values, and rapid adaptation to new expectations. Investing in training, adopting a customer-centric approach, and using tools to their full potential will enable sales teams to maximize every opportunity.
Our exclusive field survey data confirms it: with close rates often below 25%, proposals created with inadequate tools, and virtually nonexistent post-send tracking , the improvement potential is enormous. Companies that invest in optimizing their proposal process — from creation to follow-up — will have a decisive competitive advantage.
