I. Executive Summary

Sales leaders, including VPs of Sales and Sales Directors, rely on digital software tools to manage their teams, drive revenue, and achieve strategic objectives. This research report analyses of the most frequently used applications by sales leaders, with particular focus on their goals, primary tasks, and key challenges. 

The findings reveal that Email Inbox & Calendar and CRM (Pipeline Management & Forecasting) are the most time-consuming application modules. Sales leaders leverage email for extensive communication and scheduling, while CRM platforms are central to managing sales pipelines and generating forecasts. Other critical applications include Team Communication & Collaboration Platforms, Video Conferencing Platforms, Sales Analytics Dashboards & Reporting Tools, and GenAI tools each serving distinct purposes in their daily workflows.

By understanding the time allocation and associated pain points across these applications, organizations can identify opportunities to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of their sales leadership.

II. Introduction

Defining the Roles

Vice President of Sales (VP of Sales)

The Vice President of Sales (VP of Sales) is a senior executive responsible for leading and managing a company’s sales team and overseeing all sales activities and operations. These professionals possess extensive sales experience, enabling them to establish and implement sales goals, targets, and strategies aimed at driving the company’s growth and development. 

Their responsibilities include reviewing and evaluating customer activities and needs, researching market trends to develop new products and services based on customer demands, and providing sales forecasts. Furthermore, VPs of Sales are typically in charge of hiring and training new sales team members, providing mentorship and guidance, setting sales targets, and preparing detailed reports of sales operations and activities. Leadership, strategic thinking, communication, and analytical skills are crucial for this role [1]. 

They often:

• Lead the sales team in meeting objectives.
• Order sales training courses.
• Develop strategies and plans.
• Manage sales teams and monitor sales activities.
• Promote company products and services.
• Oversee sales budgets.
• Track market activity, and identify areas for improvement [3].

Sales Directors

Sales Directors plan, direct, and coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. They coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives [4]. 

Analyzing sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitoring the preferences of customers also fall under their purview [5]. 

This key leadership role is often responsible for developing and executing sales and marketing strategies that align with the company’s overall objectives, overseeing both sales and marketing teams (Sales and Marketing Directors) to ensure a cohesive approach to achieving business goals [6]. 

Their tasks include setting realistic targets, allocating resources effectively, fostering a positive work environment, hiring, training, and mentoring staff, and managing budgets [6]. They are also expected to conduct market research, analyze competitor strategies, collaborate with product teams, and monitor key performance indicators [6].

While both roles are senior-level positions focused on driving sales and achieving revenue targets, VPs of Sales often have a broader strategic and organizational mandate, encompassing the overall vision and direction of the sales function [1]. 

Sales Directors, on the other hand, may be more focused on the execution of these strategies, often within specific regions, product lines, or market segments, and have more direct involvement in managing sales teams and individual performance [4].

Role	Responsibilities	Focus
VP of Sales	Leading and managing the sales team. Overseeing all sales activities and operations. Setting sales goals and strategies. Reviewing customer activity. Researching market trends. Hiring, training, and mentoring sales team members.	Broader strategic and organizational mandate, encompassing the overall vision and direction of the sales function.
Sales Director	Planning, directing, and coordinating product or service distribution. Coordinating sales distribution. Establishing sales territories and goals. Establishing training programs. Analyzing sales statistics. Monitoring customer preferences. Developing and executing sales and marketing strategies.	More focused on the execution of strategies within specific regions, product lines, or market segments.  More direct involvement in managing sales teams and individual performance.

Despite these nuances, their daily activities and software needs exhibit significant overlap, as both roles require a blend of strategic oversight, team leadership, and performance management.

Significance of Application Usage Analysis

Understanding the specific applications that VPs of Sales and Sales Directors spend the most time using is crucial for identifying opportunities to enhance their productivity [11]. By analyzing their digital routines, organizations can pinpoint time-consuming tasks and associated pain points, which can then inform strategies to streamline workflows and reduce administrative burdens [11]. This, in turn, can free up valuable time for these leaders to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as developing long-term sales strategies, building key customer relationships, and coaching their teams. 

Research indicates that a significant portion of sales professionals’ time is spent on non-selling activities, highlighting the need to optimize their daily routines [13].

Furthermore, analyzing application usage is essential for making informed technology adoption and investment decisions within sales organizations [17]. By understanding which software tools are most critical to sales leadership and where they encounter challenges, companies can make better decisions about purchasing new software, implementing training programs, and integrating various systems. 

For instance, if Sales Leaders spend a significant amount of time managing their email inboxes, investing in tools that enhance email productivity or integrate email with other platforms might be beneficial. Similarly, if they struggle with generating accurate sales forecasts using their current CRM, exploring more advanced forecasting tools or providing additional training could be necessary. 

Ultimately, a data-driven approach to understanding application usage can lead to more strategic technology investments that directly support the goals and objectives of the sales organization.

Methodology

The findings presented in this report are based on an analysis of various articles and reports that discuss the daily activities and software tools commonly used by VPs of Sales and Sales Directors. This research involved identifying frequently mentioned application modules or specific software, such as CRM platforms (particularly pipeline and forecasting modules), email inboxes, sales analytics dashboards, team communication channels, and presentation editing views. 

For each identified application module, the research explored the typical goals Sales Leaders aim to achieve, the primary tasks they perform, and the common pain points or challenges they encounter. Additionally, the research sought data or estimations regarding the amount of time Sales Leaders typically spend on each of these application modules daily. The final step involved compiling a list of these applications / modules along with the associated goals, tasks, and pain points, and then ranking them based on the estimated time spent.

III. In-Depth Analysis of Key Application Usage

A. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Goals

Achieving revenue targets is a primary goal for Sales Leaders, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems play a pivotal role in enabling effective pipeline management to reach these targets [27, 28, 29, 30, 31]. 

CRM platforms provide a centralized view of the sales process, allowing leaders to monitor opportunities, identify potential bottlenecks, and prioritize high-value deals [27, 28]. By visualizing the pipeline, Sales Leaders can ensure that their teams are focusing on the right activities to move deals forward and ultimately achieve revenue goals [27]. Furthermore, CRM systems often include features for tracking progress against sales targets, providing transparency and accountability across the sales organization [31].

Generating accurate sales forecasts is another critical goal for Sales Leaders, as these forecasts are essential for strategic planning and resource allocation [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38]. CRM platforms leverage historical data, algorithmic models, and AI-driven analytics to predict future sales performance [32]. This capability allows Sales Leaders to anticipate customer needs, predict market trends, and identify potential risks or opportunities in the sales process [32, 33, 34]. 

With reliable forecasts, leaders can manage and allocate resources more effectively, plan inventory, manage human resources, and make informed strategic decisions regarding marketing efforts and overall business growth [32, 33]. Accurate forecasting also aids in setting realistic and achievable sales targets for the team [31, 34].

Tasks

A significant task for Sales Leaders within CRM systems is the regular review and updating of deal stages and opportunity information [27, 28, 39, 40, 41]. Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date CRM is fundamental for ensuring pipeline visibility and effective management [27, 40, 41]. This involves monitoring the progress of deals through different stages of the sales cycle, ensuring that key information such as contact details, deal value, and expected close dates are accurate and current [28, 39]. Sales Leaders often rely on their teams to provide these updates, but they also conduct reviews to ensure data integrity and identify any stalled or at-risk deals [41].

Generating and analyzing sales forecasts and pipeline reports is another primary task performed by Sales Leaders within CRM platforms [28, 29, 30]. These reports provide critical insights into the overall health of the sales pipeline, including deal flow, conversion rates at each stage, and the projected value of deals expected to close within a specific period [28, 29, 30]. Sales Leaders analyze these reports to identify trends, assess progress towards sales goals, and pinpoint areas where performance can be improved [28]. They may customize reports to focus on specific metrics, regions, or sales representatives to gain a more granular understanding of performance [28, 30].

Monitoring team performance and progress towards sales goals is also a key task facilitated by CRM systems [31, 35, 41]. CRM dashboards and reports provide Sales Leaders with a centralized view of individual and team performance against established targets [31, 35]. Leaders can track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as quota attainment, sales cycle length, and average deal size to evaluate the effectiveness of their teams and identify top performers as well as those who may need additional support or coaching [41]. This monitoring enables proactive intervention to address performance issues and ensure that the team is on track to achieve its objectives.

Pain Points

One common pain point for Sales Leaders using CRM systems for pipeline management and forecasting is data inaccuracy and inconsistency [42, 43, 44]. Because CRM systems often rely on manual updates from sales representatives, ensuring that the data is accurate, complete, and consistently entered can be a significant challenge [42, 43]. This can lead to unreliable pipeline information, making it difficult for Sales Leaders to gain a clear and accurate understanding of their sales opportunities and generate dependable forecasts [42, 44].

Another challenge is the lack of real-time visibility into pipeline health and deal progression [42, 45]. Without up-to-the-minute data, Sales Leaders may struggle to identify deals that are stalling, potential bottlenecks in the sales process, or opportunities that require immediate attention [42, 45]. This lack of timely insights can hinder their ability to proactively address issues and potentially lead to missed opportunities or inaccurate projections [42].

The complexity and time-consuming nature of generating accurate forecasts within CRM systems can also be a pain point [38, 44, 46]. Forecasting often involves manual data manipulation, reliance on individual sales rep input, and the application of various forecasting methods, which can be a complex and cumbersome process [38, 46]. This can take away valuable time from other strategic activities and may still result in forecasts that are not entirely accurate [44].

Sales Leaders also report spending a significant amount of time on administrative tasks within the CRM [44, 47, 48]. Activities such as data entry, generating reports, updating records, and managing workflows can consume a considerable portion of their day [47, 48]. This administrative burden reduces the time they have available for selling, coaching their teams, or focusing on strategic initiatives that could drive revenue growth [48].

Difficulty in tracking and nurturing leads effectively within the CRM is another common challenge [42, 43, 45]. Ensuring that leads are followed up on in a timely manner, moved through the sales pipeline efficiently, and provided with relevant information can be a struggle without well-defined processes and automation [42, 45]. Leads may fall through the cracks, and potential customers might be lost to competitors if the lead nurturing process is not managed effectively [42].

Finally, poor integration between the CRM system and other essential sales tools can create inefficiencies [23, 42]. When the CRM does not seamlessly connect with tools for email, sales engagement, or analytics, it can lead to data silos, duplicated efforts, and difficulties in accessing and utilizing information across different platforms [23, 42]. This lack of integration can hinder overall productivity and make it more challenging for Sales Leaders to gain a comprehensive view of their sales operations.

B. Email Inbox & Calendar

Goals

Efficient communication with their sales teams, prospects, and internal stakeholders is a primary goal for Sales Leaders when using their email inbox [3, 7, 49]. Email serves as a central hub for disseminating information, providing updates, answering questions, and building relationships [49]. Sales Leaders aim to use email effectively to keep their teams informed, engage with potential clients, and collaborate with other departments to achieve business objectives [3, 7].

Effective scheduling of meetings, appointments, and other activities is another crucial goal associated with email inboxes and calendars [17, 49, 50]. Sales Leaders rely heavily on their calendars to organize their daily workflows, schedule meetings with team members, prospects, and other stakeholders, and manage their time effectively [50]. The ability to quickly check availability, send meeting invites, and receive confirmations through their email and calendar systems is essential for maintaining productivity and ensuring that schedules are coordinated [17, 49].

Tasks

A significant portion of a Sales Leader’s day involves sending and receiving emails, managing email threads, and responding to inquiries [49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56]. This task encompasses both internal communications with their sales team, such as providing guidance, feedback, and updates on performance, as well as external communications with prospects and clients, including follow-ups, providing information, and nurturing relationships [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56]. Effectively managing these email interactions is crucial for maintaining momentum in sales cycles and fostering strong working relationships [49].

Scheduling appointments, booking meetings, and managing calendar invites are also key tasks performed by Sales Leaders through their email and calendar systems [17, 49, 50, 55]. They spend time coordinating schedules with various individuals and groups, sending out meeting invitations, and responding to invites they receive [50]. Utilizing calendar features to block out time for specific tasks, set reminders, and ensure that their schedules are well-organized is essential for effective time management [55].

Furthermore, Sales Leaders use the information contained within their email and calendar to organize their daily workflows, set reminders, and prioritize tasks [49, 50, 55]. They may review their inbox to identify urgent matters requiring immediate attention and check their calendar to plan their activities for the day or week [55]. By integrating these tools into their daily routines, Sales Leaders can maintain a clear overview of their commitments and ensure that they are focusing on the most important tasks to achieve their goals [49, 50].

Pain Points

One of the major pain points for Sales Leaders using email is the overwhelming volume of emails they receive daily, often leading to information overload and the risk of missing important messages [57, 58, 59]. The sheer number of emails can make it difficult to prioritize effectively and can consume a significant amount of time just to sort through and manage [59].

Sales Leaders also report spending a significant amount of time on reading, writing, and managing administrative emails [47, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]. This includes internal communications, routine updates, and other emails that, while necessary, may not directly contribute to selling or strategic activities [63]. The time spent on these tasks can detract from more high-value activities.

Difficulty in prioritizing important communications and filtering out noise is another challenge [55, 57, 64]. With a constant influx of emails, it can be hard to discern which messages require immediate attention and which are less urgent or irrelevant [57]. This can lead to delays in responding to critical communications or overlooking important information [55, 64].

Struggling to keep the inbox organized and manage follow-ups effectively is also a common pain point [53, 55, 56]. Sales Leaders need to ensure that they are following up with prospects and team members in a timely manner, but the volume of emails can make it challenging to keep track of these follow-up tasks [53, 56]. Maintaining an organized inbox to facilitate this process requires consistent effort and strategies [55].

Dealing with spam and irrelevant emails that clutter the inbox adds to the challenges [56, 57, 58]. These unwanted emails not only increase the overall volume but also distract from important communications and can sometimes lead to legitimate emails being overlooked [58].

C. Sales Analytics Dashboards & Reporting Tools

Goals

Sales Leaders utilize sales analytics dashboards and reporting tools with the primary goal of gaining actionable insights into sales performance across various levels, including individual, team, and organizational [65, 66, 67, 68, 69]. These tools centralize and simplify complex sales data, making it easier for leaders to understand trends, identify opportunities, and pinpoint areas that require improvement [65, 66]. By having a clear, visual representation of key performance indicators (KPIs), Sales Leaders can quickly assess the health of their sales operations [67, 68].

Another key goal is to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement within sales processes and team activities [65, 66, 67, 68, 69]. Analyzing sales data helps Sales Leaders understand what strategies and activities are driving success and where inefficiencies or underperformance might exist [69]. For example, they can track conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel to identify potential bottlenecks or analyze sales cycle lengths to pinpoint areas where the process can be streamlined [66, 68].

Ultimately, Sales Leaders aim to make data-driven decisions to optimize sales strategies, resource allocation, and the accuracy of their sales forecasts [65, 66, 69, 70]. By basing their decisions on concrete data rather than intuition, they can develop more effective plans, allocate resources to high-potential areas, and improve the reliability of their revenue projections [69, 70]. This data-driven approach is crucial for achieving sales targets and driving sustainable growth [69].

Tasks

A core task for Sales Leaders is regularly reviewing key sales metrics such as conversion rates, win rates, sales cycle length, and revenue growth using analytics dashboards [65, 66, 68, 70, 71]. These metrics provide a high-level overview of the sales team’s effectiveness and efficiency [66, 68]. By monitoring these KPIs, Sales Leaders can quickly gauge overall performance, identify trends over time, and assess whether the team is on track to meet its goals [65, 71].

Analyzing sales reports is another essential task performed by Sales Leaders to gain a deeper understanding of performance against targets and to identify specific areas of concern or opportunity [65, 67, 72, 73]. These reports can provide detailed breakdowns of sales by product, region, sales representative, or time period, allowing leaders to pinpoint what is driving success and where improvements are needed [67, 72, 73]. By examining these reports, Sales Leaders can make informed decisions about resource allocation, coaching efforts, and strategic adjustments [65].

Monitoring sales pipeline health, deal velocity, and lead conversion rates is also a critical task [66, 70]. These metrics provide insights into the efficiency of the sales process and the likelihood of achieving future revenue targets [66, 70]. By tracking the rate at which deals move through the pipeline (deal velocity) and the percentage of leads that convert into customers (lead conversion rates), Sales Leaders can identify potential bottlenecks and areas where the sales process might be stalling [66].

Many Sales Leaders also spend time customizing dashboards and reports within their analytics tools to focus on specific data points that are most relevant to their individual responsibilities and the needs of their team [65, 67, 73]. This customization allows them to filter out irrelevant information and concentrate on the metrics that will provide the most actionable insights for their particular area of focus [65, 67].

Pain Points

One significant pain point for Sales Leaders using sales analytics dashboards and reporting tools is data overload [66, 74, 75]. Modern CRM and sales platforms collect vast amounts of data, and Sales Leaders can find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information [66]. Identifying the most relevant metrics and extracting meaningful insights from this deluge of data can be a time-consuming and challenging task [74, 75].

Another challenge is ensuring data accuracy and consistency across different reporting tools and sources [65, 69, 75]. Sales data often resides in multiple systems, and discrepancies or inconsistencies in the data can lead to flawed analyses and unreliable insights [69]. Ensuring that the data is clean, accurate, and consistently reported across all platforms is crucial but can be difficult to achieve [65, 75].

Sales Leaders also face the difficulty of translating data into actionable strategies and concrete improvements in sales performance [66, 76]. While dashboards and reports can provide valuable information about what is happening, understanding the underlying reasons behind the numbers and determining the best course of action to drive positive change can be a complex process [66, 76].

The time spent on manually compiling and manipulating data for reporting purposes can also be a pain point [65]. If analytics tools do not provide the specific reports or views that Sales Leaders need, they may have to spend time manually extracting data and using spreadsheets or other tools to create the desired analyses [65]. This manual work is inefficient and takes away time from more strategic activities.

A lack of seamless integration between analytics tools and other sales platforms can further exacerbate these challenges [65]. When data is siloed in different systems, it becomes more difficult to gain a holistic view of sales performance and to connect insights from analytics with other aspects of the sales process [65].

Finally, Sales Leaders may struggle with understanding the ‘why’ behind the numbers presented in their dashboards and reports [66, 76]. Basic reporting might show trends or performance levels, but it may not provide the context or deeper analysis needed to understand the root causes of performance issues or to identify the most effective levers for improvement [76].

D. Team Communication & Collaboration Platforms (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams)

Goals

A primary goal for Sales Leaders using team communication and collaboration platforms is to facilitate seamless internal communication and information sharing within their sales organizations [3, 20, 77, 78, 79]. These platforms provide real-time messaging capabilities, allowing leaders to quickly disseminate important updates, answer questions, and keep team members informed about key initiatives and performance [77, 78]. This instant connectivity helps to foster a more agile and responsive sales team [79].

Enhancing collaboration on deals, projects, and strategic initiatives is another significant goal [19, 20, 78, 79, 80]. These platforms offer dedicated channels and workspaces where teams can come together to discuss specific opportunities, share relevant documents and resources, and coordinate their efforts [19, 80]. This centralized communication hub improves transparency and ensures that all team members are aligned and working towards common goals [78, 79].

Sales Leaders also leverage these platforms to quickly disseminate important updates, announcements, and feedback to the entire sales team [77, 78, 80]. Whether it’s announcing a new product launch, sharing performance results, or providing timely feedback on sales activities, these platforms offer an efficient way to reach a broad audience within the organization [77]. This helps to keep everyone informed and motivated [80].

Tasks

Sales Leaders actively participate in team-specific channels within these platforms for discussions, updates, and knowledge sharing [19, 20, 79, 80]. They monitor these channels to stay informed about team activities, answer questions from their reps, and provide guidance and support [79]. They also use channels to share relevant industry news, best practices, and success stories to foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team [19, 20].

Direct messaging with individual team members or small groups is another common task for Sales Leaders [79, 80]. This feature allows for more focused and private communication on specific deals, performance issues, or personal development discussions [80]. Leaders can use direct messages to provide one-on-one coaching, address sensitive topics, or quickly follow up on individual tasks or concerns [79].

Sharing files, documents, and links relevant to sales activities and customer interactions is also a frequent task [19, 79]. These platforms make it easy to share important resources such as sales presentations, product information, case studies, and competitive intelligence with the entire team or specific individuals [79]. This ensures that everyone has access to the latest materials they need to effectively engage with prospects and customers [19].

Coordinating on projects, deals, and customer issues in real-time is another key function facilitated by these platforms [19, 77, 80]. The ability to communicate instantly allows Sales Leaders and their teams to quickly address challenges, brainstorm solutions, and make decisions that can keep deals moving forward [77, 80]. This real-time collaboration is particularly valuable when dealing with complex deals or urgent customer issues [19].

Pain Points

One significant pain point for Sales Leaders using team communication platforms is the constant distractions arising from notifications and the need to monitor multiple channels [48, 77, 81, 82]. The continuous stream of messages can interrupt focus and make it challenging to concentrate on strategic tasks or deep work [48, 81]. Leaders often struggle to balance the need to stay informed with the desire to minimize these interruptions [77].

Difficulty in managing information flow and ensuring that important messages are not missed is another challenge [77]. With numerous channels and a high volume of messages, critical information can sometimes get lost or overlooked [77]. Sales Leaders need to develop strategies to effectively filter and prioritize messages to ensure they are not missing crucial updates or requests [77].

The potential for miscommunication or lack of context in quick, informal messages is also a concern [77]. While the brevity of these platforms can be efficient, it can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or a lack of necessary detail, requiring further clarification and potentially wasting time [77].

Sales Leaders often spend time sifting through numerous messages to find relevant information [77]. Locating a specific piece of information within a large archive of conversations can be time-consuming and frustrating, especially when dealing with urgent requests or fast-paced deal cycles [77].

Integration challenges with other sales tools and CRM systems can also be a pain point [77, 80]. While some platforms offer integrations, they may not always be seamless or comprehensive, requiring Sales Leaders to switch between multiple applications to access all the information they need [80].

Finally, balancing the need for quick communication with the desire to minimize interruptions to selling time for their team is a constant challenge [77, 81, 83]. Sales Leaders need to encourage their teams to use these platforms effectively for collaboration and support without allowing them to become a constant source of distraction from core selling activities [83].

E. Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides)

Goals

Sales Leaders frequently use presentation software to create compelling sales presentations and pitch decks for prospects and clients [84, 85, 86, 87]. These visual aids are crucial for effectively communicating the value proposition of their products or services, showcasing case studies, and ultimately persuading potential customers [87]. The goal is to create presentations that are engaging, informative, and tailored to the specific needs and interests of the audience [85, 88].

Developing internal reports and presentations is another key goal for Sales Leaders using these tools [84, 86, 89, 90]. They need to communicate sales strategies, progress against targets, and key insights to various stakeholders within the organization, including their own teams and upper management [86, 89]. These presentations help to align everyone on the sales objectives and provide a clear understanding of performance [90].

Ensuring consistent branding and messaging across all sales communications is also a significant goal achieved through the use of presentation software [84, 91]. By using branded templates and adhering to company guidelines, Sales Leaders can ensure that all presentations maintain a professional look and feel and deliver a consistent message to both internal and external audiences [91].

Tasks

A primary task involves developing slide content, including crafting clear and concise text, selecting impactful images, creating informative charts, and incorporating other relevant visuals [85, 87, 88]. Sales Leaders often work on these presentations themselves or guide their team members in creating effective visual content that supports their sales narratives [88]. The aim is to structure information in a way that is easily digestible and reinforces the key points of the presentation [87].

Incorporating data visualizations to present sales performance and insights effectively is another crucial task [84, 85, 87]. Sales Leaders need to translate complex sales data into clear and compelling charts and graphs that highlight trends, progress, and key performance indicators [85]. These visuals help the audience quickly grasp the information and understand its significance [87].

Preparing and rehearsing presentations is essential for both internal and external audiences [85, 87, 88]. Sales Leaders often spend time reviewing their slide decks, practicing their delivery, and ensuring that they are comfortable with the flow and timing of the presentation [88]. Rehearsal helps to build confidence and ensures a smooth and impactful delivery [87].

Collaborating with marketing and other teams to ensure content accuracy and alignment is also an important task [84]. Sales Leaders may work with marketing to obtain the latest product information, branding guidelines, and approved messaging to incorporate into their presentations [84]. This collaboration helps to ensure that sales communications are consistent with the overall marketing strategy and brand identity.

Pain Points

Sales Leaders often find the process of creating visually appealing and impactful presentations to be time-consuming [91, 92, 93]. Designing effective slides that are both informative and engaging can take a significant amount of time and effort, especially when starting from scratch or trying to incorporate complex data [93].

Keeping content up-to-date and managing version control across multiple presentations can also be a challenge [91]. Sales information, product details, and company branding can change frequently, and ensuring that all presentations reflect the latest information and that different versions are properly managed can be difficult [91].

Ensuring brand consistency and adherence to company guidelines in presentation design is another pain point [91]. Maintaining a uniform look and feel across all sales presentations requires attention to detail and can be challenging, especially when multiple individuals are creating presentations [91].

Sales Leaders often struggle to balance the amount of text and visuals on slides to achieve optimal engagement [87, 92, 93]. Finding the right balance between providing enough information without overwhelming the audience with text while also using visuals effectively to enhance understanding and retention can be a delicate act [92, 93].

Technical issues and compatibility problems with different presentation software versions can also cause frustration [91]. Ensuring that presentations work seamlessly across various platforms, devices, and software versions can sometimes present technical hurdles [91].

Finally, the lack of readily available templates and pre-approved content can slow down the presentation creation process [91]. Sales Leaders may spend unnecessary time on basic design elements if they do not have access to a library of branded templates and approved content that they can quickly utilize [91].

F. Sales Engagement Platforms (e.g., Salesloft, Outreach)

Goals

Sales Leaders implement sales engagement platforms with the primary goal of automating and optimizing outreach strategies to significantly improve sales productivity [94, 95, 96]. By leveraging features such as automated email sequences, call tracking, and social selling integration, these platforms help sales teams engage with more prospects in a consistent and efficient manner, ultimately freeing up time for more strategic selling activities [95].

Improving engagement with prospects through personalized and strategically timed communications is another key objective [94, 95]. Sales engagement platforms allow for the creation of tailored outreach campaigns based on prospect behavior and data, ensuring that the right message reaches the right person at the optimal time [94]. This personalization aims to build stronger relationships and increase the likelihood of positive responses and conversions [95].

Tracking engagement metrics and analyzing the effectiveness of different outreach sequences is also a crucial goal [94, 95]. These platforms provide valuable data on open rates, click-through rates, response rates, and other key metrics, enabling Sales Leaders to understand what outreach strategies are working and where improvements can be made [94]. This data-driven approach allows for continuous optimization of sales engagement efforts [95].

Tasks

A fundamental task for Sales Leaders using these platforms is creating and managing automated email sequences and follow-up cadences [95, 96]. This involves designing a series of emails and other touchpoints that are triggered based on prospect actions or predefined schedules, ensuring consistent and timely follow-up without manual intervention [96]. Sales Leaders often develop these sequences based on best practices and insights from successful sales interactions [95].

Scheduling and tracking calls, emails, and other touchpoints with prospects is another key task [95, 96]. Sales engagement platforms provide tools to schedule outreach activities across multiple channels, ensuring that prospects are engaged through a variety of methods and at optimal intervals [96]. These platforms also track all interactions, providing a comprehensive view of engagement history [95].

Analyzing engagement metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and response rates is essential for Sales Leaders to evaluate the performance of their outreach efforts [94, 95]. By monitoring these metrics, they can identify which email templates, messaging, and sequences are most effective in capturing prospect interest and driving engagement [95]. This analysis informs decisions on how to refine and optimize outreach strategies for better results [94].

Integrating with CRM systems is a critical task that ensures data synchronization and comprehensive tracking of prospect interactions [95, 96]. This integration allows for a seamless flow of information between the sales engagement platform and the CRM, providing a unified view of all prospect communications and activities [96]. This helps to maintain data accuracy and provides valuable context for sales representatives [95].

Pain Points

One significant pain point is ensuring personalization at scale and avoiding the perception of generic, automated communications [95, 97]. While automation is a key benefit, Sales Leaders must strive to create outreach that feels personal and relevant to each prospect, rather than sending out mass, impersonal messages that can be easily ignored [97]. Achieving this balance requires careful crafting of messaging and the strategic use of personalization tokens and dynamic content [95].

Difficulty in crafting effective email templates and messaging that truly resonate with prospects is another challenge [98, 99]. Sales Leaders need to develop content that captures attention, clearly communicates value, and motivates prospects to take the desired action [99]. This often involves continuous testing and refinement of email copy and overall messaging [98].

Managing and optimizing numerous outreach sequences and cadences can become complex [96]. As sales teams engage with different types of prospects and pursue various sales motions, they may have multiple active sequences running simultaneously [96]. Keeping track of these different cadences, analyzing their performance, and making necessary adjustments can be a demanding task for Sales Leaders.

There is also the potential for overwhelming prospects with too many automated touchpoints [100]. While consistency is important, Sales Leaders need to ensure that their outreach is not so frequent or aggressive that it annoys prospects and damages the company’s reputation [100]. Finding the right frequency and mix of touchpoints is crucial.

Integration challenges with other sales and marketing tools can also arise [96]. While many sales engagement platforms offer integrations, these may not always be seamless or fully functional with all the other tools in a company’s tech stack, leading to data silos or inefficient workflows [96].

Finally, keeping up with the platform’s features and ensuring that the entire sales team utilizes it effectively can be a challenge [101]. Sales engagement platforms often have a wide range of features and capabilities, and Sales Leaders need to ensure that their team members are properly trained and are leveraging the platform to its full potential [101]. This may require ongoing training and support.

G. Lead Generation & Prospecting Tools (e.g., UpLead, Cognism)

Goals

Sales Leaders utilize lead generation and prospecting tools with the primary goal of identifying and sourcing high-quality leads that closely match their ideal customer profile (ICP) [17, 20, 102, 103]. These tools provide access to vast databases of business contacts and company information, enabling Sales Leaders to target specific industries, job titles, and other criteria to find the most promising prospects for their products or services [102, 103].

Building a robust sales pipeline with a sufficient volume of qualified leads is another crucial objective [102, 103, 104]. By efficiently identifying and sourcing leads, Sales Leaders can ensure that their sales teams have a consistent flow of potential customers to engage with, which is essential for meeting and exceeding sales targets [104]. These tools help to streamline the initial stages of the sales process by providing a readily available pool of prospects [103].

Verifying contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers, to improve the effectiveness of outreach efforts is also a key goal [17, 20, 105]. Lead generation tools often include features for verifying the accuracy of contact data in real-time, which helps to reduce bounce rates in email campaigns and increases the chances of connecting with prospects successfully [105]. This ensures that sales teams are spending their time engaging with valid and reachable contacts [17, 20].

Tasks

A core task involves utilizing the search filters and criteria offered by these platforms to identify relevant prospects and companies [17, 20, 103]. Sales Leaders or their teams use various filters, such as industry, company size, job title, and location, to narrow down their search and pinpoint the leads that are most likely to be a good fit for their offerings [103]. This targeted approach helps to focus sales efforts on the most promising opportunities [17, 20].

Verifying the accuracy of contact information using the platform’s built-in features is another important task [17, 20, 105]. Many lead generation tools provide mechanisms for checking the validity of email addresses and phone numbers, ensuring that the data is up-to-date and reliable [105]. This verification process helps to improve the efficiency of outreach campaigns and reduces wasted effort on invalid contacts [17, 20].

Exporting lists of leads from the platform and integrating them with CRM and sales engagement platforms is a common task [17, 20, 105]. Once relevant leads have been identified and verified, Sales Leaders need to transfer this data into their other sales tools for further engagement and tracking [105]. Seamless integration between these platforms is crucial for maintaining an efficient workflow and a unified view of prospect information [17, 20].

Researching prospects and their companies within the lead generation tool to personalize outreach efforts is also a valuable task [103, 104]. Many platforms provide detailed information about companies and their employees, which Sales Leaders can use to gain insights into their prospects’ needs, challenges, and interests [104]. This research enables more personalized and relevant communication, increasing the likelihood of a positive response [103].

Pain Points

One of the main pain points is ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the lead data provided by these tools [105, 106]. Despite features like real-time verification, users occasionally encounter outdated or incorrect data, which can lead to wasted time and effort on pursuing non-viable leads [106]. Maintaining a high level of data quality remains a challenge for many lead generation platforms [105].

Sales Leaders may also face challenges in finding highly targeted and niche leads that perfectly match their ideal customer profile [103]. While these tools offer various filters, it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint very specific types of prospects, especially in highly specialized industries or with very specific criteria [103].

The cost of lead generation tools and justifying the return on investment (ROI) can be a significant pain point, particularly for smaller businesses or startups with limited budgets [105, 106]. While these tools can provide valuable leads, the subscription fees can be substantial, and Sales Leaders need to ensure that the value derived from the leads justifies the expense [106].

Integration issues with existing CRM and sales engagement systems can also be a source of frustration [20, 105]. While many platforms offer integrations, they may not always be seamless or function as expected, requiring additional effort to ensure data flows correctly between systems [20, 105].

Dealing with data privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, and ensuring compliance when using lead generation tools is another important consideration [20]. Sales Leaders need to be aware of the regulations in different regions and ensure that their use of these tools and the data they obtain is compliant with these requirements [20].

Finally, Sales Leaders may find that there is a learning curve associated with effectively utilizing the various features and filters of these tools [105, 106]. Maximizing the potential of the platform requires understanding its functionalities and how to best leverage them to find the desired leads, which can take time and effort [106].

H. Video Conferencing Platforms (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams Meetings)

Goals

A primary goal for Sales Leaders using video conferencing platforms is to conduct virtual meetings with prospects and clients for presentations, product demos, and relationship building [20, 107, 108]. These platforms enable face-to-face interactions regardless of geographical location, allowing for a more personal and engaging experience than phone calls alone [107, 108]. The aim is to effectively communicate value, build trust, and move deals forward through these virtual meetings [108].

Facilitating virtual team meetings for updates, strategy discussions, and training is another key goal [20, 108]. Video conferencing allows Sales Leaders to connect with their remote or distributed teams, providing a platform for regular check-ins, collaborative planning, and delivering important information or training sessions [108]. The visual element helps to foster a sense of team unity and engagement [107].

Sharing screens and presentations effectively during virtual meetings is also a crucial objective [107, 108]. These platforms allow Sales Leaders to easily share their screen to present slide decks, demonstrate product features, or walk through other visual aids, enhancing the clarity and impact of their communication [107]. This capability is essential for delivering compelling sales pitches and informative team updates [108].

Tasks

Scheduling and hosting video conference calls and meetings is a fundamental task [108]. Sales Leaders need to coordinate meeting times with participants, send out invitations with meeting links, and initiate the virtual meeting at the scheduled time [108]. Many platforms offer features to integrate with calendars and streamline this process [108].

Sharing screens to present slides, product demos, or other visual aids is a frequent task during these virtual meetings [107, 108]. Sales Leaders need to be able to seamlessly share their desktop or specific applications to effectively convey information and engage their audience visually [107].

Recording meetings for better understanding discussed topics, future reference or for team members who could not attend is another common task [107]. This allows Sales Leaders to capture the content of important discussions, presentations, or training sessions and share them with others as needed, ensuring that key information is not lost [107].

Utilizing features like virtual backgrounds and meeting controls to enhance the overall meeting experience is also a task that Sales Leaders may perform [107, 108]. Virtual backgrounds can help to create a more professional appearance, while meeting controls allow leaders to manage participants, mute or unmute audio, and otherwise facilitate a smooth and productive meeting [107].

Pain Points

One common pain point is technical difficulties such as audio and video issues [109, 110]. Problems with microphone functionality, camera quality, or internet connectivity can disrupt meetings and lead to frustration for both the host and the participants [110]. Ensuring a smooth and reliable technical setup can sometimes be challenging [109].

Managing meeting fatigue and maintaining engagement in virtual settings is another significant challenge [111]. Prolonged video calls can be tiring, and Sales Leaders often struggle to keep participants focused and actively involved throughout the meeting [111]. Strategies for fostering engagement are crucial in this virtual environment [111].

Difficulty in building rapport and personal connections in a virtual environment compared to in-person meetings can also be a pain point [107]. While video conferencing enables visual interaction, it can sometimes be harder to establish the same level of personal connection and build trust as in face-to-face settings [107].

Ensuring meeting security and preventing unauthorized access is an important concern [107]. Sales Leaders need to be mindful of security protocols and take steps to prevent unwanted attendees from joining sensitive meetings [107].

Coordinating meeting schedules across different time zones can also be a logistical challenge, especially for teams with a global presence [108]. Finding mutually convenient times for all participants can require careful planning and flexibility [108].

Finally, the need for reliable internet connectivity for all participants to effectively join and participate in video conferences is a prerequisite that can sometimes be a pain point, particularly for individuals working remotely or in areas with inconsistent internet service [108].

I. Sales Enablement Platforms (e.g., Seismic, Highspot)

Goals

A primary goal of Sales Leaders using sales enablement platforms is to provide their sales teams with easy and centralized access to relevant and up-to-date content [18, 112, 113, 114]. This includes marketing materials, case studies, product information, and other resources that sales representatives need to effectively engage with prospects and customers throughout the sales cycle [112, 113]. The aim is to ensure that reps have the right content at their fingertips to answer questions, address objections, and move deals forward [113].

Delivering comprehensive training and coaching resources to enhance the sales skills and knowledge of their teams is another key objective [18, 112, 113, 115, 116]. Sales enablement platforms often include learning management system (LMS) features that allow Sales Leaders to create and deliver training modules, track progress, and provide personalized coaching to improve rep performance [115, 116]. This supports the continuous professional development of the sales force [113].

Streamlining the onboarding process for new sales hires is also a significant goal [113, 115]. Sales enablement platforms can provide structured onboarding programs with relevant content, training materials, and assessments to help new reps quickly get up to speed on company products, sales processes, and best practices [115]. This accelerates the time it takes for new hires to become productive and contribute to revenue [113].

Tasks

A common task involves searching for and accessing sales content within the platform’s organized library [112, 113]. Sales Leaders may need to locate specific marketing materials, case studies, or product briefs to share with their team or to understand what resources are available [113]. The platform should offer intuitive search functionality and logical categorization to facilitate this process [112].

Completing training modules and assessments is a task that Sales Leaders might undertake themselves to stay updated on new products or sales methodologies, and they also monitor their team’s progress in completing these activities [115, 116]. This ensures that everyone on the sales team has the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their roles effectively [116].

Sharing relevant content with prospects and customers directly through the platform is another task [112, 113]. Many sales enablement platforms offer features that allow sales reps to easily share approved content with external stakeholders, often with tracking capabilities to see when and how the content is being viewed [113]. Sales Leaders may review which content is being shared and its impact on deal progression [112].

Utilizing the analytics features within the platform to understand content usage and effectiveness is also a key task for Sales Leaders [112, 114, 117]. These analytics provide insights into which content is most frequently accessed, shared, and viewed by prospects, helping Sales Leaders to optimize their content strategy and ensure that they are providing the most impactful resources to their teams [114].

Pain Points

One frequent pain point is ensuring that the content library within the sales enablement platform is well-organized, consistently up-to-date, and easy for sales teams to navigate [112, 114, 118, 119]. If content is outdated, difficult to find, or poorly categorized, it can hinder sales reps’ ability to quickly access the resources they need, leading to frustration and inefficiency [118, 119].

Driving adoption of the platform by sales teams can also be a challenge [113, 118]. Sales reps may be resistant to learning and using new tools, especially if they perceive them as adding extra steps to their workflow [118]. Sales Leaders need to effectively communicate the benefits of the platform and provide adequate training and support to encourage consistent usage [113].

Keeping the content aligned with the latest marketing messages and product updates is another ongoing pain point [115, 120]. Ensuring that all materials within the sales enablement platform reflect the most current information and are consistent with the company’s overall messaging requires effective collaboration between sales and marketing teams and a robust content management process [120].

Measuring the return on investment (ROI) and the overall impact of the sales enablement platform on sales performance can be difficult [114, 117]. Sales Leaders need to track key metrics to demonstrate the value of the platform in terms of improved sales productivity, shorter sales cycles, and increased win rates [114].

Integration challenges with CRM and other sales technology tools can also arise [112]. Seamless integration is crucial for ensuring that the sales enablement platform fits smoothly into the existing sales ecosystem and that data flows effectively between different systems [112].

Finally, the time and effort required to create and maintain high-quality sales enablement content can be significant [112, 120]. Developing engaging and effective training materials, marketing collateral, and other resources demands both time and expertise, and Sales Leaders need to allocate sufficient resources to this task [120].

J. Spreadsheet Software (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets)

Goals

Sales Leaders often use spreadsheet software to perform in-depth analysis of sales data that might be cumbersome or not easily achievable within their CRM or analytics dashboards [14, 15, 16]. This allows for more granular examination of trends, performance metrics, and forecasting scenarios [33]. 

They also use spreadsheets to create custom reports and visualizations tailored to specific needs or audiences [21, 26]. 

Tasks

A significant task involves exporting data from CRM and other sales tools into spreadsheets for further manipulation and analysis [14, 15, 16]. This might include creating pivot tables, applying advanced formulas, or building custom charts to gain deeper insights into sales performance, pipeline health, and forecasting accuracy [33]. 

Sales Leaders may also use spreadsheets to build and manage sales compensation plans, track individual and team quotas, and perform ad-hoc calculations related to sales activities [21, 26]. 

Pain Points

One of the main pain points is the manual effort required to export, clean, and manipulate data from various systems [14, 15, 16]. This process can be time-consuming and prone to errors [47]. 

Additionally, relying heavily on spreadsheets for critical tasks can lead to data silos and inconsistencies if not properly managed [14, 15, 16]. 

The lack of real-time updates and the potential for version control issues when multiple stakeholders are involved can also be significant challenges [14, 15, 16]. 

Some Sales Leaders also find that they resort to spreadsheets because their CRM system lacks the flexibility or reporting capabilities they need [14, 15, 16].

K. Generative AI Applications

Goals

The primary goals of using GenAI by sales leaders (VPs of Sales and Sales Directors) include boosting efficiency, accelerating revenue growth, enhancing forecasting accuracy, personalizing buyer interactions, and strengthening team performance through improved training and support.

A top objective is improving efficiency and productivity, freeing up time from administrative or repetitive tasks so their teams can focus on selling [137]. B2B sales executives are excited about gen AI’s potential to boost efficiency, drive top-line revenue growth, and enhance customer experiences [137]. 

Many also seek to accelerate sales cycles and reach customers faster – for example, by automating proposal generation and quote responses to reduce turnaround time on deals [138] [142]. 

Another key goal is improving sales forecasting and data-driven decision making. Generative AI, paired with analytics, can increase the precision of sales forecasts and pipeline insights, helping leaders allocate resources to the highest-return opportunities [137] [139]. 

Additionally, sales leaders use AI to personalize customer engagement at scale – tailoring outreach and solutions to individual customer needs – which they believe will ultimately improve customer satisfaction and loyalty [138] [139]. 

Finally, many sales managers aim to better coach and empower their sales reps using AI. By analyzing sales calls and performance data, generative AI can identify skill gaps and provide targeted coaching or training content, helping to build higher-performing sales teams [137] [141]. 

Tasks

Sales leaders and their teams are integrating generative AI into a variety of day-to-day tasks. 

Content Generation and Outreach

Generative AI is widely used to draft emails, sales pitches, and proposals. Sales managers report using AI to create personalized outreach messages for prospects, write follow-up emails, and even generate proposal documents or sales decks. In a recent survey, content creation was the top generative AI use case in sales (cited by 18% of respondents), closely followed by AI-assisted prospect outreach (16%) [140]. By offloading email drafting and collateral creation to AI, sales teams can engage more prospects faster while ensuring messaging is polished and tailored to each client [140].

Lead Generation and Research 

Another common task is using AI to research and qualify leads. Generative AI can quickly synthesize information about target accounts, industries, or buyer personas from large datasets and public sources. Sales leaders leverage this capability to have AI identify high-potential prospects, compile account intelligence, and even score leads for their teams [139]. 

It reduces the manual effort spent hunting for background information. For example, AI tools can scan news, social media, and CRM data to surface key insights about a prospect’s business, or predict which leads are most likely to convert, allowing reps to prioritize effectively [137] [139]. By boosting research efficiency, GenAI helps sales orgs fill their pipelines with more qualified opportunities.

Pipeline Analytics and Forecasting

Many sales directors now rely on AI for analyzing pipeline health and forecasting sales outcomes. Generative AI can digest CRM data, deal histories, and even external signals to spot patterns or risks in the pipeline. Leaders use it to get real-time pipeline summaries and predictive insights – for instance, which deals are at risk of slipping, or what the projected revenue will be for the quarter [137] [139]. 

AI-driven forecasting tools help reduce bias and guesswork in sales projections, resulting in more accurate forecasts. This enables VPs of Sales to manage expectations and adjust strategy (e.g. reallocating resources to deals likely to close) with greater confidence. In short, gen AI is handling the heavy data analysis work behind sales forecasting and pipeline review, so managers can make quicker, data-backed decisions.

Sales Coaching and Training

Generative AI is also employed to support manager tasks like onboarding and coaching reps. AI-driven conversation intelligence tools can transcribe and analyze sales calls or meetings, then provide feedback or talking-point suggestions to reps. Sales leaders use these tools to identify coaching opportunities at scale.

For example, AI can flag if a rep failed to mention a key product benefit on a call, or suggest how to handle a prospect’s objection next time [137]. Some organizations have even deployed AI coaches that create personalized training content or role-play simulations for reps to practice. 

By equipping front-line managers with AI-generated performance insights and recommended coaching plans, companies are overcoming the limits of traditional coaching (which can be subjective or inconsistent) [141]. This means more consistent mentorship for sellers and faster ramp-up times for new team members, guided by data-driven feedback from GenAI.

Administrative and CRM Updates

A significant portion of a sales leader’s routine administrative work can be handled by generative AI. For instance, after client meetings or sales calls, AI assistants can automatically generate call summaries, highlight action items, and even draft follow-up emails or next-step proposals. Rather than having reps or managers manually log notes and update the CRM, gen AI can transcribe meetings and populate the CRM system with key details (contact roles, deal requirements, etc.) [137]. 

AI can also assist with scheduling and task management – e.g. scheduling the next meeting or setting reminders for a follow-up – based on the conversation content [137]. By automating these low-value but necessary tasks, AI tools reduce administrative burdens. 

Other Tasks

The research from RAIN Group [148]  identifies the key general tasks that Generative AI helps sales teams perform, ranked by how frequently sales professionals use AI for each task:

Task	Percentage (%)
Creating content for blog posts, articles, or social media posts	72%
Creating follow-up emails from sales calls	67%
Creating personalized outreach messaging for specific audiences	67%
Integrating with CRM (data entry, opportunity creation, etc.)	62%
Researching prospects, current accounts, industries, trigger events, etc.	58%
Generating insights	58%
Tailoring custom value propositions	58%
Taking notes and summarizing meetings	57%
Building target lists	55%
Creating up-sell/cross-sell emails to customers	55%
Analyzing competitors	50%
Creating proposal/RFP responses	50%
Conducting needs discovery (identifying pain points)	50%
Scoring leads	48%
Developing personas	46%
Crafting solutions	45%
Responding to objections	44%
Scheduling meetings	43%
Providing next best actions with customers/prospects	41%

In general, sales leaders encourage the use of Generative AI to automate content and data-related tasks. It frees up their teams’ time to focus on strategic activities and ensuring access to cleaner and more current data. In essence, generative AI serves as a virtual assistant for sales teams, handling behind-the-scenes chores to keep the sales process running smoothly.

Pain Points

Despite its promise, sales leaders have encountered several pain points and limitations when using generative AI in their management workflows. A primary concern is accuracy and trustworthiness of AI outputs. Generative AI sometimes produces incorrect or fabricated information (so-called “hallucinations”), which can be risky in a sales context [143]. 

Managers must double-check AI-generated content or insights for accuracy, which can limit trust in the tool. Closely related is the challenge of ensuring context-specific relevance: out-of-the-box AI models may generate generic responses that lack the nuanced understanding of a company’s products, pricing, or customers. Experts note that to be truly useful, generative AI must be combined with an organization’s own data to produce context-specific outputs [144]. Without that integration, sales leaders might find the AI’s recommendations too generic or misaligned with their business, requiring manual refinement.

Another significant limitation involves data privacy and security. Sales teams deal with sensitive customer and deal information, yet using GenAI often means sending data into external models or cloud services. This raises concerns about protecting customer data and meeting compliance requirements. 

While surprisingly only about 30% of sales teams in one survey flagged data protection and privacy as a challenge [142], it remains a top-of-mind issue for leadership given how essential customer trust is. Many organizations impose strict guidelines or even bans on inputting confidential CRM data into public AI tools [143]. Sales leaders must navigate these privacy concerns and often wait for more secure, enterprise-grade AI solutions that can run on first-party data.

Integration and workflow challenges are also common. Generative AI tools need to mesh with existing CRM systems and sales processes to be effective. However, technical integration is not always seamless – it’s been noted that organizations often underestimate the effort to integrate AI into their tech stack and workflows [143]. If the GenAI tool isn’t embedded in the sales team’s daily platforms (CRM, email, etc.), usage can falter. 

Additionally, maintaining up-to-date data connections (for example, feeding the latest CRM updates to the AI model) can require ongoing IT support. Without thoughtful integration, AI remains a disconnected novelty and sales managers may struggle to get consistent value from it.

Furthermore, driving user adoption and cultural acceptance poses a challenge. Frontline sales reps can be wary of AI tools, sometimes fearing that automation might replace their roles or change how they work. Many sales leaders find it “formidable” to achieve high adoption rates for GenAI – employees may be reluctant or use the tools inconsistently [142]. 

To combat this, forward-thinking CSOs stress positioning AI as an augmentation tool (with a human-in-the-loop) rather than a replacement [142]. Even so, getting a sales team to trust and rely on AI suggestions takes time. Training is required to improve “GenAI literacy” so that reps and managers know how to interpret AI outputs and integrate them into their decisions [142]. In short, the human factor – building trust in and comfort with AI – is a non-technical limitation that sales leaders must manage during implementation.

Finally, some organizations struggle with measuring ROI and scaling success with generative AI. Early experiments may not immediately deliver clear ROI, leading to skepticism. Approximately one-fifth of AI pilot projects fail due to disappointing ROI or unrealized expectations [143]. In 2024 many sales leaders still lacked a clear vision for how best to deploy GenAI across their organization [143], which can result in piecemeal efforts that don’t scale. 

Without a solid strategy, even useful AI tools might not gain budget or expansion. Sales directors also note that maintaining data quality is an ongoing limitation – AI is only as good as the data it learns from. If the CRM data is incomplete or training data is biased, the AI’s recommendations could mislead. These kinds of implementation hurdles mean that, for all its potential, generative AI in sales management is not a plug-and-play miracle; it requires careful handling of data, systems, and people to truly overcome its limitations.

IV. Ranking of Application Usage by Time Spent

Analyzing the available research material provides insights into how Sales Leaders allocate their time across various business applications. 

Email Inbox & Calendar consistently emerges as one of the most time-consuming tools. Studies indicate that professionals, including sales roles, spend a significant portion of their workday managing emails [59]. Some research suggests that sales representatives can spend over 20% of their day writing emails [59], and the overall time spent on email-related activities can amount to several hours daily [59]. The need for constant communication and scheduling contributes to this high time investment.

Pipeline Management & Forecasting in CRM is another application that demands a substantial amount of time from Sales Leaders [14]. While the ideal scenario involves CRM streamlining processes, many sales professionals report spending a significant time on data entry, updates, and generating reports [47]. Some studies suggest that sales reps spend a considerable number of hours per week on CRM-related tasks, highlighting its time-intensive nature for managing pipelines and forecasts [14].

Team Communication & Collaboration Platforms also occupy a notable portion of Sales Leaders’ time [125]. The need for constant internal communication, information sharing, and collaboration on deals and projects necessitates regular engagement with these platforms. While these tools aim to improve efficiency, the volume of messages and the need to monitor multiple channels can contribute to a significant time investment throughout the day [126].

Video Conferencing Platforms have become increasingly important for both internal and external interactions, consuming a considerable amount of time [111]. With the rise of remote work and virtual sales engagements, Sales Leaders spend time scheduling, hosting, and participating in video meetings for various purposes, from prospect presentations to team updates [130]. Some individuals report spending several hours daily on these platforms [111].

Sales Analytics Dashboards & Reporting Tools require time for Sales Leaders to review performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. While the research material does not provide specific time estimations for this category, the importance of these tools suggests that Sales Leaders dedicate a portion of their day to analyzing sales data [65].

Presentation Software is used for creating both internal and external communications. The time spent on this would vary depending on the frequency and complexity of presentations required [133]. Some individuals in data-related roles report spending a significant amount of time on presentation software [134].

Sales Engagement Platforms are utilized to automate and optimize outreach. Sales Leaders spend time setting up and monitoring campaigns, but the goal is often to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort over the long term [136].

Lead Generation & Prospecting Tools are essential for building the sales pipeline. Time spent on these tools would depend on the lead generation strategy and the role’s involvement in direct prospecting [13].

Sales Enablement Platforms aim to provide resources and training, potentially saving time in the long run by making information readily accessible. However, initial setup and ongoing management would require some time investment [136].

Sales leaders are increasingly incorporating Generative AI into their daily routines, and evidence suggests it’s becoming a significant time-saver in the workday. Recent industry surveys indicate that sales professionals save on the order of two to three hours per day by using AI and automation tools to handle routine tasks [145] [146]. 

For example, HubSpot’s 2024 State of AI report found that AI saves the average professional about 2.5 hours per day – time that used to be spent on manual work is now reclaimed for more valuable activities [146]. In sales specifically, automating tasks like data entry, email drafting, and scheduling was shown to save over two hours each day for reps and managers [146]. This suggests that a substantial portion of the sales leader’s day is now augmented or supported by AI outputs – whether reviewing an AI-generated forecast report each morning or fine-tuning an email that an assistant drafted before sending it out.

It’s important to note that “time saved” doesn’t always mean zero effort from the user. Sales leaders might spend, say, 30 minutes guiding an AI tool to produce work that would have taken 3 hours without it. In practice, many sales managers interact with GenAI throughout the day in short bursts – asking a conversational AI for a summary here, generating an email draft there – as part of their workflow. 

While exact usage patterns vary, the overall impact is that hours of busywork are being offloaded. In fact, an overwhelming 81% of sales leaders believe that AI helps reduce time spent on manual tasks and improves sales performance as a result [147]. Some sales leaders treat their AI tools almost like additional team members or personal aides, consulting them multiple times a day for quick answers or content generation. 

By relying on generative AI for these needs, a VP of Sales might easily spend 1–2 hours of active usage spread across the day in different applications and indirectly benefit from several more hours of work automated in the background. The net effect is that generative AI is freeing up a considerable chunk of the day – roughly 20% or more of a full workday in some cases – which sales leaders can reinvest into core activities like strategy, customer meetings, and coaching their teams [145] [147]. This increased efficiency underscores why so many sales organizations are rapidly embracing generative AI: it extends their capacity without extending their working hours.

However, accurately quantifying the exact time sales leaders spend using generative AI tools is challenging. Their interactions typically occur in short bursts throughout the day and overlap extensively with tasks performed in other applications that have embedded AI features. Therefore, while it’s clear GenAI significantly reduces workload, pinpointing precise usage time remains difficult due to its deeply integrated and fragmented nature within daily workflows.

—

Based on this analysis, the estimated daily time spent by Sales Leaders on these applications can be ranked as follows.

Table: Estimated Daily Time Spent by Sales Leaders on Applications / Modules 

Rank	Application / Module	Estimated Daily Time Spent
1	Email Inbox & Calendar	2-4 hours
2	CRM (Pipeline Management & Forecasting)	1-3 hours
3	Team Communication & Collaboration Platforms	1-2 hours
4	Video Conferencing Platforms	1-2 hours
5	Sales Analytics Dashboards & Reporting Tools	30 mins – 1 hour
6	Spreadsheet Software	30 mins – 1 hour
7	Presentation Software	30 mins – 1 hour
8	Sales Engagement Platforms	30 mins – 1 hour
9	Lead Generation & Prospecting Tools	30 mins – 1 hour
10	Sales Enablement Platforms	15-30 mins
11	Generative AI Applications	Growing, N/A

Note: These are estimated ranges based on the synthesis of various sources and may vary depending on the specific role, company, and individual work habits.

V. Conclusion

This analysis reveals that Email Inbox & Calendar and CRM (Pipeline Management & Forecasting) are the applications that typically consume the most time for Sales Leaders, including VPs of Sales and Sales Directors. Their daily routines are heavily centered around communication, scheduling, managing sales pipelines, and generating forecasts. 

Other significant applications include Team Communication & Collaboration Platforms and Video Conferencing Platforms, reflecting the importance of internal and external connectivity in their roles. 

Sales Analytics Dashboards & Reporting Tools, Presentation Software, Sales Engagement Platforms, Lead Generation & Prospecting Tools, and Sales Enablement Platforms also play crucial roles, albeit with potentially lower average daily time spent.

To optimize their daily application usage and enhance productivity, Sales Leaders and their organizations can consider several recommendations. 

Strategies for managing email overload, such as setting specific times for checking emails and utilizing filters and rules, can help reduce the time spent in the inbox. 

For CRM, ensuring data accuracy through training and potentially AI-automation, along with providing advanced forecasting tools and training, can improve efficiency and reliability. 

Implementing clear guidelines for using team communication platforms and encouraging asynchronous communication where appropriate can help minimize distractions. 

Organizations should also invest in training and support for all sales technology tools to ensure that Sales Leaders and their teams are leveraging these platforms effectively to automate tasks and streamline workflows. 

Continuous evaluation of technology usage patterns and adaptation to new tools and best practices will be essential for improving sales productivity and achieving overall business objectives. 

Sources

Leveraging automation and AI within these tools, where available, can also significantly reduce administrative burdens and free up more time for strategic and customer-facing activities.

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