The Growth Hub has launched the 2025 State of Sales survey following its groundbreaking findings that attracting and retaining top talent has become the UK’s number one sales leadership challenge.
The sales landscape is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades, and UK sales leaders are feeling the pressure. Following the success of The Growth Hub’s inaugural State of Sales: Challenges in Sales Leadership report, which surveyed 268 sales professionals across multiple sectors, a stark reality has emerged: while technology races ahead, the human element remains the biggest challenge.
The Talent Struggle: UK’s Top Challenge
The report for 2025 revealed that attracting and retaining top sales talent has overtaken other concerns to become the UK’s biggest sales leadership challenge. This is particularly concerning, as organisations simultaneously grapple with rapid technological change and evolving market dynamics.
“Our research reveals a critical transformation in sales leadership,” explains Steve Lindsey, Event Director at the National Sales Conference and The Growth Hub. “Organisations are simultaneously navigating technological integration, strategic alignment, and the need for more agile approaches to revenue generation, but at the heart of it all is the fundamental challenge of building and keeping great teams.”
Notable in the 2025 report was the strong response from the manufacturing sector, which represented a significant portion of survey participants. Manufacturing sales leaders are at the forefront of digital transformation, balancing traditional relationship-building with cutting-edge technology adoption. The sector’s complex supply chains and longer sales cycles make the talent retention challenge even more acute, as experienced professionals who understand both technical products and evolving customer needs become increasingly valuable and harder to replace.
The AI Adoption Paradox
While talent remains the top concern, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how sales teams operate. The report found that 35% of companies are already leveraging sales-specific AI tools, with a staggering 70% of non-adopters planning implementation within the next year.
This creates something of a paradox: as AI becomes more prevalent in sales processes, the demand for skilled human talent to manage, interpret, and leverage these technologies has intensified rather than diminished.
A Gap in Sales Enablement
Another critical finding highlighted a significant disconnect in sales enablement. Despite 87% of leaders considering it extremely important, only 45% of organisations have established dedicated sales enablement departments or platforms. This gap represents both a challenge and a massive opportunity for forward-thinking companies.
Looking Ahead: The 2025 Survey
Building on these insights, The Growth Hub has launched its 2025 State of Sales survey to dig even deeper into the evolving challenges facing sales professionals, with a view to releasing the 2026 State of Sales report.
“Last year’s report sparked conversations across boardrooms and sales floors alike,” says Lindsey. “This year, we’re going deeper to understand not just what the challenges are, but how leaders are adapting their strategies to overcome them.”
The 2025 survey is targeting sales leaders, revenue managers, and customer engagement professionals across all sectors. The findings will be revealed at the National Sales Conference on 13 November 2025, providing a comprehensive view of where the industry is heading.
Strategic Priorities Are Shifting
The 2025 report also revealed that strategic priorities are clearly evolving. Sales leaders are increasingly focused on aligning sales objectives with broader business goals, maintaining dynamic value propositions, and developing more future-proof revenue strategies. The traditional approach of chasing short-term targets appears to be giving way to a more holistic, long-term perspective.
This shift reflects the growing complexity of modern sales environments, where customer expectations are higher, buying cycles are longer, and competition is fiercer than ever.
A Critical Moment for Sales Leadership
As the industry stands at this pivotal moment, the insights from both the 2025 survey and 2026 report will help to shape effective sales strategies. The combination of technological disruption, talent challenges, and evolving customer needs requires a new approach to sales leadership.
“We’re at a critical moment where the decisions sales leaders make today will determine their success for years to come,” adds Lindsey. “That’s why it’s essential we capture the collective wisdom of our community through this research.”
Join the Conversation: Take the 2025 Survey
The 2025 State of Sales survey is now live and takes just minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous, and participants will receive early access to the findings when the report launches later this year.
Sales professionals interested in contributing to the 2025 report can access the survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q6CH7ZX
The full 2025 State of Sales: Challenges in Sales Leadership report is still available for download.
