Sales in 2025: The Game Has Changed – Here’s How to Win

We are well into 2025 and there’s one thing we know for sure—it’s going to be a wild ride in sales. The game is changing fast, with AI, of course! And one thing that’s a given is to close more deals and crush quotas.

Well, no pressure. All you need is the right knowledge and direction to make it happen. We sat down on this with Laxman Papineni, CEO, Outplay to figure out what is going to work for you in 2025. 

So, scroll down and find some actionable tips on 

• Building your pipeline using AI
• The new approach of looking at a deal and 
• 3 skills you must have as a salesperson

Tahira: Hey Laxman, excited to have you on our podcast. Let’s get straight to the point. In 2024, we saw a lot of buzz around AI, building customer relationships and focusing on personalisation. What is 2025 looking like? 

Laxman: AI definitely made people more efficient in 2024. It automated repetitive tasks and made research easier. However, while in doing so, it in a way increased competition. So now, things have become more challenging as well. 

This year will also be a year of AI. However, this time, you should be taking it a step further. Don’t just use AI for automation or simplifying your tasks, rather use it as a tool for in-depth information. 

Creative use of AI will be a game changer and people who adapt to this will rule the game. 

Tahira: Great. And how will the process change? Will there be a new approach to how you look at a deal?

Laxman: Fundamentally, nothing will change. The channels will be the same, be it cold calling or social selling. However, how you do it will matter. For example, cold calling isn’t new. At first, we used to do it from yellow pages, now there are databases to pick from. In 2025, how you pick the right database will be essential. 

AI will give you exact information about the buyer, their company, their personal struggles and most importantly the trigger. The trigger will help you with better connect rates and do the magic for you. 

Tahira: That’s quite interesting Laxman. Now, let’s move on to the strategy behind offering discounts. For years, discounts have been a go-to tactic to close deals. Will discounts continue this year as well? 

Laxman: For this, first, let us go back to where the concept of discounts started. Discounts have come from physical products, they were given to get rid of the extra inventory.

Now, come back to 2025. Discounts will still remain relevant depending on the industry, location and time of the deal. However, they won’t be the deciding factor anymore. 

Customers today aren’t just looking for a discount; they are looking for value. If you promise me more sales, I’m willing to spend more—regardless of whether you’re giving a discount or not. But if you’re not driving any value, even a discount won’t matter.

Tahira: So, saving a penny won’t make you close the deal anymore. Let’s move on. In 2025, what are the 3 must have skills for a salesperson? 

Laxman: First and foremost, staying up to date in your industry. What is the latest technology and what is your target audience talking about? If you are an expert of your industry, they will come to you. Remember, it is just not about being an expert at the product anymore. 

Second, building a personal brand will be essential. Just like I said, people like to buy from experts and if you can establish that through your content, you will stand out. 

Earlier, when people looked for a solution, they thought of logos. Now, it is people as brands. 

Third, excelling at outcome based selling. If you can deliver your customers more sales and more revenue, they will choose you. In 2025, customers want to see their problems getting solved, not just a tool to solve those problems. 

Products might become cheaper but the pricing will be based on the outcome. If you can excel at that, it will be a game changer for you. 

Tahira: So, that’s where the money is, folks! Before we end the conversation, Laxman, please share with us in brief, how to bring in more cha ching! 

Laxman: There is a saying, Money is in the follow up. Constant follow up can work wonders for your quotas. My final piece of advice would be to stay agile, focus more on value and forget about pushy selling, and be confident about your product and industry. 

Good luck! 

Tahira: Thank you Laxman for such an insightful session. See you next time with another exciting and valuable conversation on sales.