--- title: "Challenges in Sales: How to solve 5 common problems" description: In this article, we identify the five biggest challenges in sales that can impact the success of your sales team. image: https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Google%20Drive%20Integration/Challenges%20in%20Sales%20How%20to%20solve%205%20common%20problems%20%7C%20DE-1.jpeg --- Website [![BEE_LOGO](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/BEE_LOGO.svg)](https://www.bee.digital) - Services - HubSpot - Resources - [Pricing](https://offers.bee.digital/bee-growth-pricing) - About BEE [Contact now](https://offers.bee.digital/en/contact) - #### Digital Marketing We help you to use your digital potential. For a strong positioning, more visibility and more leads. - [Branding & Positioning](https://www.bee.digital/en/brand-positioning) - [Website-as-a-Service](https://www.bee.digital/en/beevolution-hubspot-website) - [Webdesign](https://www.bee.digital/en/webdesign-provider) - [UX-Design](https://www.bee.digital/en/ux-design) - [Performance Marketing](https://www.bee.digital/en/performance-marketing) - [SEO-as-a-Service](https://www.bee.digital/en/seo-marketing) - [Leadgen-as-a-Service](https://www.bee.digital/en/leadgen-as-a-service) #### Get Growth ready With the BEE.Transformance model, we bring continuous and profitable growth to your company. A new mindset for your team. - [Growth Roadmap](https://www.bee.digital/en/digital-growth-roadmap) - [Market Entry](https://www.bee.digital/en/market-entry-german) - [Potential Analysis](https://offers.bee.digital/potential-analysis-request) #### Industries We transform your challenges into opportunities through the experience we have gained from projects in these industries. - [Manufacturing](https://www.bee.digital/en/manufactuers) - [IT Services](https://www.bee.digital/en/it-providers) - [Software Providers](https://www.bee.digital/en/sw-providers) - [Banking](https://www.bee.digital/en/banking) - [SaaS Company](https://www.bee.digital/en/saas) - [Personnel Service Providers](https://www.bee.digital/en/personnel-service-provider) - [Consulting](https://www.bee.digital/en/consulting) - #### HubSpot Services As a HubSpot Diamond Partner, we help you implement your digital growth strategy with a focus on performance - by implementing and integrating new and existing systems as well as 3rd party apps. - [HubSpot-as-a-Service](https://www.bee.digital/en/hubspot-as-a-service) - [HubSpot Health Check](https://www.bee.digital/en/hubspot-health-check) #### HubSpot Thought Leader As a HubSpot Diamond Partner with +50 certifications, host of the HubSpot User Group Zurich, HubSpot Trainer and HuSpot User Champions, you have access to in-depth HubSpot expertise. - [HubSpot User Group](https://events.hubspot.com/zurich/) - [HubSpot Partner Directory](https://app.hubspot.com/ecosystem/1765345/marketplace/solutions/switzerland) - [HubSpot Community](https://community.hubspot.com/) #### HubSpot Solutions The BEE.Theme offers you more creative freedom than any other theme on the market. Whether you're a beginner or a professional, a creative mind or a digital agency - with the BEE theme, you can easily unleash the maximum power for your pages in HubSpot CMS. - [BEE.Theme - HubSpot CMS Theme](https://beevolution.bee.digital/) - #### BEE.Blog Knowledge around digital marketing, digital sales, technology, data intelligence and employees. - [Blog](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog) #### Knowledge Base Pure knowledge: everything essential concentrated, compact, digitally prepared for you and ready to download. - [Guides & Topics](https://www.bee.digital/en/guides) - [eBooks & Worksheets](https://www.bee.digital/en/ebooks-worksheets) - [FAQ](https://wiki.bee.digital/en) - [Videos & Webinars](https://www.bee.digital/en/growth-videos) #### What is inbound? The most effective way to successfully combine digital marketing and digital sales. - [What is Inbound?](https://www.bee.digital/en/inbound) - [More about Inbound Marketing](https://www.bee.digital/en/inbound-marketing) - [More about Inbound Sales](https://www.bee.digital/en/inbound-sales) - #### BEE.Team The BEE.Performers: many different characters - with one thing in common: the fascination for a digital world. - [More about BEE](https://www.bee.digital/en/growth-partner) #### References More than 100 large and small companies have already started with BEE: to more visibility, more performance, more growth. - [To the references](https://www.bee.digital/en/references) - [To the testimonials](https://www.bee.digital/en/testimonials) #### Invest Participate in the growth of BEE and become part of the BEE Growth Story by purchasing Digital Share Tokens. - [Learn more](https://www.bee.digital/en/investors) #### We're hiring Become a BEE.Performer! Are you ready for your own transformation? - [Apply now](https://www.bee.digital/en/digital-jobs) EN - [DE](https://www.bee.digital/blog/challenges-sales) English # Challenges in Sales: How to solve 5 common problems [Philipp Schirmer](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/author/philipp-schirmer) | 11 Aug 2022 - [1. Challenge in Sales: A super lengthy sales process](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#1-challenge-in-sales_-a-super-lengthy-sales-process) - [2. Challenge in Sales: Short on leads](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#2-challenge-in-sales_-short-on-leads) - [3. Challenge in Sales: Unqualified leads](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#3-challenge-in-sales_-unqualified-leads) - [4. Challenge in Sales: Bad-fit prospects are eating your time](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#4-challenge-in-sales_-bad-fit-prospects-are-eating-your-time) - [5. Challenge in Sales: Low-value tasks reduce your sales productivity](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#5-challenge-in-sales_-low-value-tasks-reduce-your-sales-productivity) - [Key Tip: Learning and self-improvement](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales#key-tip_-learning-and-self-improvement) [Back to Blog](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog) A career in sales is, without a doubt, a challenging one. It requires an adaptable mindset, a tonne of objectivity and unfailing optimism. With [60%](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-statistics) of buyers saying 'no' at least four times before saying 'yes', you need to have a strong follow-up game and a thick skin. Salespeople are a vital component in any business; prospects *want* to talk to a representative of your company at a time in the buyer's journey that suits them. - [19 %](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-statistics)of buyers seek out a connection with a salesperson at the awareness stage, - [60 %](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-statistics)are keen to chat during the consideration phase, - and [20 %](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-statistics)are ready for a conversation at the decision stage.   But why is making that conversion often *such* a challenge?  In this article, we've identified the top five problems that may be forming an obstacle to your sales team's success. Whether you're a B2B or a B2C, these sales challenges are shared across industries, and addressing them now could drastically improve your sales figures. Let's explore… ## 1. Challenge in Sales: A super lengthy sales process If you're in the business of selling big-ticket items that require a fair amount of consideration from the buyer, you probably have a long sales process. Your customer will need more information and reassurance that your product or service is worthy of their investment. There are many touchpoints; throughout each one, your salespeople will become more and more invested. Relationship building is an essential part of selling goods and services that require vast sums of money, meaning that a salesperson will have less time to focus on other sales and prospects. With all (or most) of their eggs in a single basket, it can be super demoralising when a deal falls through. Indeed, a long sales process can be a perilous one.  The solution Although your salespeople are the gatekeepers to your business in many ways, they don't have to be the gatekeepers to vital sales information. Providing them with practical automation tools ad robust [sales enablement](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/sales-enablement) materials that solve the common questions they encounter daily from prospects can have a transformation effect.  Blogs, videos, articles, case studies and industry reports can help to educate buyers from the early stages to the decision-making part of the buyer's journey. By collaborating with your marketing team, sales can assist in creating powerful and effective content that limits the number of touchpoints they have to commit to, allowing them to focus on the most purchase-ready prospects.  ## 2. Challenge in Sales: Short on leads [Leads](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/hubspot-blog)are the lifeblood of our business. You need a steady stream to ensure you can generate enough revenue to sustain and grow your business. Without enough leads, your sales team's energy and enthusiasm can quickly wane. The trick, of course, is to acquire high volumes of the right-fit leads for your business. **The solution** Generating leads at *any* cost is never a good strategic decision. Filling your salespeople's pipeline with low-value leads wastes time and resources. The solution is to create excellent quality content that focuses on **buyer intent** and answers the questions that prospects ask when they're genuinely interested in your products or services and ready to buy.  By [aligning sales and marketing](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/sales-and-marketing-alignment), these teams can work together to create premium content for the people who are asking the right types of questions, rather than fluffy entertainment pieces that may gather some traffic and reactions but only generate high volumes of *irrelevant* prospects. ## 3. Challenge in Sales: Unqualified leads A qualified lead is one that has the means to buy what you sell, is ready to sell to and is a key decision maker. Unqualified leads are the types of people who clog up your sales funnel and have your sales team playing the numbers game – make enough calls, and someone's bound to buy! This is a tremendous waste of time and, once again, certainly not the confidence boost your salespeople need to reach their targets. Ultimately, if a prospect can't afford your goods and services, no amount of sales talk or premium content will get them to buy. **The solution** Many businesses don't recognise how important it is for prospects to self-identify whether they are a right fit for their type of business and offering. They do this by being mysterious about pricing and not openly answering the key questions that buyers may have. Ensuring your website is highly informative and focused on the questions that your read-to-buy prospects are likey to ask will help others to simply opt out without wasting any of your time or sales resources.  ## 4. Challenge in Sales: Bad-fit prospects are eating your time Here, we are not talking about folks that can't afford your products. Instead, bad fit prospects *can* buy from you ... but they'll make you pay for it.  This type of nightmare client can suck your service delivery and salespeople dry. They're the type of customers who make a lot of demands, have a tonne of complaints, want everything yesterday and have unrealistic expectations about the results you should be delivering. Bad-fit prospects can become part of your client list partly because you saw the financial potential and also because you may have sold to them knowing that you were slightly shoehorning your product or service, *hoping* to solve their problem. **The solution** Just say no. Honesty is the best policy here. The truth is, there is no universal product that can solve everything for everyone. Start by first creating a clear picture of *who* your ideal buyer is – Who does *your* business sells to? By getting this part right in your [sales process](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/assignment-selling-marketing-content-im-verkaufsprozess), you will retain happy clients for a long time because you can easily service their needs. While it may be tempting to sell to pretty much anyone who's willing to pay, think about the implications of handling the fallout. This needs to be made clear to your salespeople and outlined in a sales process that everyone follows, ensuring no bad-fit clients slip into your circle of happy, well-aligned clients.  ## 5. Challenge in Sales: Low-value tasks reduce your sales productivity Did you know that, on average, salespeople only spend [a third](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-statistics) of their day talking to prospects? The rest of their time is consumed by emails, entering data, researching, meetings and call scheduling. A poor sales performance can directly be attributed to the amount of time your salespeople spend on actual selling. It's a vicious cycle because salespeople are usually rewarded based on deals and sales; therefore, low-value tasks result in fewer opportunities and growing feelings of frustration that can eventually create a toxic and even more unproductive work environment. **The solution** If your salespeople are inundated with low-value tasks, it's time to look at what's eating into their time and how this can be redistributed, reprioritised and minimised through an effective audit and optimisation of each step in the sales process.  The company culture may need to change in order to give salespeople the autonomy to do what they do best: **selling**. Give salespeople the time to manage their own calendar and prioritise sales productive tasks ahead of things that can don't actually generate any income for the business. People in management and leadership roles should also look to reduce meetings and instead find a more impactful and effective way of communicating key information without continuously disrupting or monopolising the sales team's available sales hours. ## Key Tip: Learning and self-improvement  ![Challenges im Sales](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Google%20Drive%20Integration/Challenges%20in%20Sales%20How%20to%20solve%205%20common%20problems%20%7C%20DE.jpeg) Most of the challenges we've discussed are prevalent in organisations that lack a culture of continuous learning and education. By encouraging and enabling your sales team to acquire new, relevant skills in the sales realm, they'll feel more motivated and empowered to improve results. The modern sales process is supported by new automated and data-based tools that allow salespeople to target qualified leads at the right time more effectively. But in order to leverage the power of these tools, your team needs to be comfortable and well-versed in using them. For example, if you've got the [HubSpot Sales Hub](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/hubspot-sales-hub-starter), ensure that your team is taking advantage of the free playbooks and HubSpot Academy courses available within the platform. Or maybe they just need a little bit more information about [Sales Development - this article](https://mobilemonkey.com/blog/sales-development) could help to understand.   [![Sales Enablement Service | EN](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/1765345/interactive-96019590361.png)](https://www.bee.digital/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJ2pjFVtIggOrJhE1bkcMhUNfhHH4nHD82gOU9m3bg40Qdpi%2BwiqJlsd698HA4LWmumMWZ4YZL2Y2%2FkTTPqm2ANXMuY5FanyDpiSZNP3WKsj87Pogb59KiAdplDfSLcpfzgKunZYxxKjcIgXnyUwABK9TAxnn2%2BPnhwmNWuJo8%2FFiCIgfQFexoYRgm0hw%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=96019590361&portalId=1765345) [Inbound Sales](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/inbound-sales) | [Lead Generation](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/lead-generation) | [Strategie für Wachstum](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/strategie-für-wachstum) | [Vertrieb](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/vertrieb) | [Performance Marketing](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/performance-marketing) | [English](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/tag/english) ## Related Posts ### [![Sales Strategy: 5 Tips to Close Deals Faster](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Two%20creative%20millenial%20small%20business%20owners%20working%20on%20social%20media%20strategy%20using%20a%20digital%20tablet%20while%20sitting%20in%20staircase.jpeg) Sales Strategy: 5 Tips to Close Deals Faster Lanny Heiz | 12 May 2022 Shifting into virtual selling has resulted in a sharp shock for some teams, particularly those with a long-established heritage of on-site visits and frequent travel to ... reading time: 8min Zum Blog](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/sales-strategy) ### [![Building an Advanced but Simple Lead Scoring Model](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Google%20Drive%20Integration/Building%20an%20Advanced%20but%20Simple%20Lead%20Scoring%20Model_DE.jpeg) Building an Advanced but Simple Lead Scoring Model Philipp Schirmer | 27 Oct 2022 When executed correctly, your inbound marketing strategy should start generating plenty of new leads to your sales funnel. But how do you approach those leads to ensure ... reading time: 6min Zum Blog](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/lead-scoring) ### [![Sales Follow Up: Call or email? ](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Stock%20images/Business%20man%20with%20the%20text%20Follow%20Up%20in%20a%20concept%20image.jpeg) Sales Follow Up: Call or email? Lanny Heiz | 3 Jun 2021 You've got the perfect lead; they fit your buyer persona criteria, they've taken some of the desired actions on your website, and so far, they've ticked all the right ... reading time: 8min Zum Blog](https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/sales-follow-up) BEE Digital Growth AG The Circle 60 8058 Zürich [info@bee.digital](mailto:info@bee.digital)  [+41 43 336 90 00](tel:0041433369000) BEE Digital Growth GmbH Relenbergstraße 6 D - 70174 Stuttgart [info@bee.digital](mailto:info@bee.digital)  [+49 711 49010128](tel:004971149010128) [![v2](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/v2.png)](https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/de/marketplace/solutions/bee-digital) [![Bee Inbound](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Vector.png)](https://databox.com/partner/bee-inbound) [![agency directory](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Vector%20(1).png)](https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/de/marketplace/solutions/bee-digital) [![top blog](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Vector%20(2).png)](https://www.swissanimate.ch/top-50-marketingblogs/) [![google-partner-footer](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/google-partner-footer.png)](https://ads.google.com/intl/en_en/home/partners/become-a-partner/) [![bee-ariba-badge](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/bee-ariba-badge.png)](https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/profile/public?anId=AN01528892760&sourceApplication=SBN) [![t4v_logo_white](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/T4V/T4V%20Logo/t4v_logo_white.png)](https://www.t4v.org/) Our BEE News © 2026 BEE Digital Growth AG. All rights reserved Created with the BEE.Theme - [Privacy Policy](https://www.bee.digital/en/privacy-policy) - [Legal Notes](https://www.bee.digital/en/legal-notices) - [GTC](https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/AGB/BEE_AGB_EN_v1.2.pdf) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Philipp Schirmer", "url" : "https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/author/philipp-schirmer" }, "dateModified" : "2023-03-23T08:57:09.682Z", "datePublished" : "2022-08-11T05:15:00.000Z", "headline" : "Challenges in Sales: How to solve 5 common problems", "image" : [ "https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/Google%20Drive%20Integration/Challenges%20in%20Sales%20How%20to%20solve%205%20common%20problems%20%7C%20DE-1.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.bee.digital/en/blog/challenges-sales", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.bee.digital/hubfs/BEE_REDESIGN/Logos/final_bee_logo_og.png" }, "name" : "BEE Digital Growth AG" } } ```