Logo - Full (Color)
Skip to content

[EXPOSED] Life in Sales

HubSpot pulls back the curtain on what it's really like to work in sales

What is sales data

Sales data is made up of numbers and statistics about the health of your sales team and pipeline. In this latest research, we look at the health of the sales profession overall.

How do Salespeople rate their lifestyle?

  • 1/3

    of salespeople say they have no work life balance at all

  • 68%

    of salespeople describe their lifestyle as challenging

  • 1/2

    of salespeople's friends and family have told them they work too much

  • 1/3

    of salespeople say their job negatively impacts their personal life

    Working in today’s digital sales environment is a set-up for distraction and adds a minimum of 1-2 hours of extra hours/day. To escape this time-suck, sellers need to minimize distractions (e.g, eliminate notifications) and block their work day into specific tasks.

    Jill Konrath

    Author of More Sales Less Time

    What's so challenging about being in Sales? The need to always be "on".

    • 28%

      of Sales Directors and VPs work more than 60 hours per week

    • 72%

      of Sales Directors/VPs work in their evenings & weekends

    • 54%

      of salespeople check email as soon as they wake up

    • 1/2

      of salespeople check email before bed every night

      You don't need to work 80 hour work weeks to be a successful sales professional, but you do have to maximize your time, which >50% of sales professionals struggle with. They then complain that they don't have enough "work/life balance".

      Jamie Shanks

      CEO, Sales for Life

      What would salespeople change about their lifestyle?

      • 1/2

        of salespeople admit they need to improve their work life balance

      • 72%

        of salespeople say they would like more time off

      • 83%

        of salespeople want to spend more quality time with family

      • 1/2

        of sales reps would like to travel if they had more time

        No. of hours worked are not a direct correlation to stress levels

        Sales is about the transfer of enthusiasm. If you don’t believe in what you do then you won’t be successful or care about your job enough to put in the effort to be successful. If you love what you do then the work/life balance is irrelevant.

        John Barrows

        Sales Trainer

        There is Another Way

        Salespeople around the world are saving hours every week to do the things they love, with HubSpot Sales
        Get Started Now

        Survey Methodology: HubSpot surveyed 503 salespeople in June 2017 through a Google survey. The survey included a screening question to include only sales professionals, individual contributors, Managers, Directors and VPs.