The Reality of Business Owners Who Are 'Confident in Sales': Only 14%

Is your company's sales performance going well?

When I ask this question to small and medium-sized business owners, many of them offer a wry smile. According to a 2025 survey conducted by the Salary Increase Research Institute (targeting 107 business owners with 10 to 300 employees who oversee their sales departments' performance), only 14% of business owners feel that their company's sales department has high productivity. In other words, 86% of business owners are not satisfied with their company's sales.

What I want to highlight here is that many business owners believe that 'sales power' equals the 'individual ability of a salesperson.' In reality, the reason why sales results are unstable is often not the people, but the absence of a 'system.'

Why does sales become 'dependent on people'?

Sales departments in small and medium-sized enterprises share a common challenge. The same survey revealed the following results regarding sales issues:

・'Sales processes are not standardized or streamlined': 24.2%
・'Education and guidance for sales staff are insufficient': 24.2%
・'An environment where staff can focus on sales activities is not in place': 18.2%

(Source: Salary Increase Research Institute, 'Survey on the Reality and Improvement Measures of Sales Productivity in SMEs,' 2025)

These figures reveal the reality that in many small and medium-sized enterprises, the way of selling exists only in the 'minds of those who can do it.'

Is your company in a state like this? When a new sales representative joins, they have no choice but to learn by watching their seniors. The way proposal materials are created and quotes are issued varies from person to person. No one has been able to articulate 'why that person is able to sell.'

This is not a case of 'lacking sales power,' but a state of 'lacking a sales system.' Sales that depend on individual ability fluctuate significantly based on that person's condition or their employment status. I believe this is a quite unstable structure for management.

Real-world examples of companies transformed by systemization

So, how does it change when you systemize the sales process? I will introduce the initiatives of actual companies.

At one SaaS (software service available via the internet) company, there was no system for sharing sales knowledge, and the sales support flow was left entirely to individuals. Therefore, they implemented the following initiatives:

・Created a sales workflow chart (visualizing who does what and when)
・Defined deal progress stages (so that everyone can judge based on the same criteria, such as 'under consideration,' 'proposed,' 'just before contract,' etc.)
・Created a common format for proposal materials
・Formulated a curriculum for training and development

As a result, it was reported that the completion rate of deal response deadlines improved by approximately 20%, and the quality of proposals across the entire sales team was raised (Source: Persol Business Process Design Co., Ltd.).

Also, in the case of an insurance company, they thoroughly analyzed the sales techniques of their top-performing sales team and articulated them as an internal method. When this was shared and practiced by all sales representatives, the company's overall closing rate improved by 10% (Source: Mer Inc., 'Mer LABO.').

In both cases, the essence of what they did is the same. 'They made it so that everyone could do what the capable people were doing'—that is all. They did not make a huge investment in special IT tools.

Starting with 'visualizing sales'

What I want to emphasize here is that systemizing sales is not just a story for large corporations. In fact, it is even more effective for small and medium-sized enterprises with only a few sales representatives. This is because the variation in each individual's results directly leads to the variation in the company's overall sales.

Systemizing the sales process can be advanced through the following steps.

1. Visualize the current sales flow: Write down the process leading up to an order. Understand how many stages there are from the initial inquiry to closing.

2. Articulate the sales methods that are producing results: Specifically write down successful patterns, such as the timing of proposals, items to cover in interviews, and the frequency of follow-ups.

3. Incorporate them into a common format and manual: Create a state where anyone can handle the work with the same quality.

4. Have everyone use it and review it periodically: Put it into actual operation and improve the parts that are not working as you go.

What is particularly important is the "visualization" in Step 1. If the sales process is not visible, you will not know what needs to be improved. If it is difficult to do on your own, consulting an external partner specializing in business organization is also an effective option.

Incidentally, in the aforementioned survey, about 40% of business owners answered that they would "like to outsource part of their sales operations" if sales productivity were to increase by 120%. This means that the number of business owners who are reconsidering the premise of "handling everything in-house" is definitely increasing.

Summary

Sales capability cannot be solved just by hiring excellent people. Only when there is a "system" in place can the power of each individual be maximized.

First, try writing down your company's sales flow on a single sheet of paper. Just by organizing the flow from the entry point of a business negotiation to the order, you will be able to see where there is waste and where there is room for improvement.

Creating a state where the business owner themselves can articulate, "This is how our sales work." That is the first step to breaking out of the 86%.

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ShakeHands LLC
A business partner that organizes labor shortages from a structural perspective
You are short on staff. But "hiring" is not always the right answer.
ShakeHands LLC is a partner that faces the labor shortages and business expansion challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises, organizes options for hiring, outsourcing, and AI utilization, and designs the optimal course of action.
We think together about choices as management decisions, rather than making proposals just to sell.