Most Brazilian companies faced significant difficulties in achieving their sales targets in 2024: 72% did not meet the established goals, according to the 2025 Marketing and Sales Panorama, released by RD Station, a business unit of TOTVS. The study shows that, despite market optimism – with 87% of companies projecting growth in 2025 – there are important bottlenecks that need to be overcome to ensure consistent results. For the survey, over 3,800 professionals from companies of various sizes and sectors across all regions of the country were interviewed, in addition to billions of data points from RD Station tools.
Among the main challenges identified is the low adoption of technological tools in the sales sector. 58% of the companies that participated in the study still do not use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which compromises data centralization, metric analysis, and sales process efficiency. This number has remained high in recent years, highlighting a critical gap in the digital transformation of sales operations.
Another concerning point is the lack of clear sales methodologies: more than half of the teams do not adopt any structured approach, while only 13% have a documented sales playbook. Additionally, 27% of companies did not even measure their average sales opportunity conversion rate in 2024, making it difficult to identify improvement points in the sales funnel.
Regarding contact channels, WhatsApp remains the main means to engage leads at the top of the funnel, being used by 74% of companies in 2024. However, many organizations still face difficulties integrating this channel with other tools and measuring results efficiently. Multi-channel strategies, combining WhatsApp, phone, email, and video conferences, are pointed out as essential to improving conversion rates and reducing opportunity losses.
The lack of customer response was identified as the main reason for lost sales (38%), followed by factors such as price (33%) and unqualified leads (33%). These data reinforce the need for more robust and aligned processes, as well as frequent training for sales teams.
The study also addresses the relationship between Marketing and Sales teams, revealing that only 18% of companies consider this connection satisfactory, although there has been progress compared to the previous year. Additionally, 57% of companies do not have a defined SLA (Service Level Agreement) between teams, while 69% of marketing teams track sales results. Investing in integrated processes and shared tools, such as CRMs, has proven to be an effective strategy to improve lead conversion and achieve goals.
Challenges, opportunities, and emerging trends for 2025
The 2025 Marketing and Sales Panorama also highlights emerging trends that promise to transform the sales sector. Among them are the more efficient use of WhatsApp integrated with other channels (50%), the application of Artificial Intelligence and process automation (42%), and the strengthening of social selling (37%). Additionally, 36% of companies point to data analysis as a priority for more assertive decisions.
To overcome the challenges, the main improvement opportunities include more training and updates for teams (41%), defining or revising sales methodologies (35%), and greater use of Artificial Intelligence to optimize processes (33%). Data centralization and tool integration, such as CRMs, were also highlighted as essential strategies to increase operational efficiency and improve the customer experience.
“The research shows that, although the market is optimistic about the future, there is still much work to be done to structure processes and leverage the full potential of available technologies. Tools like CRMs, automation, and data analysis are no longer differentiators – they are basic requirements to compete in an increasingly dynamic and demanding scenario,” says Gustavo Broilo, Sales Director at RD Station.
Check here to access the complete 2025 Marketing and Sales Panorama.
