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Across the past three years, Desire has remained stable among salespeople, even as Motivation has steadily declined. At the same time, Commitment continues to lag behindthe other Will to Sell competencies, signaling risk in consistent execution. Outlook has improved meaningfully in 2025, suggesting a more optimistic environment, but that optimism has not translated into stronger performance. External data reinforces this pattern, pointing to declining quota attainment and rising burnout across B2B sales. This means that sales leaders need to refocus on understanding what is motivating their salespeople and create an environment that harnesses their Desire for success into a Commitment to success. 

The Data: A Stable Desire in an Unstable Market 

Objective Management Group analyzed data from current sales employees across 2023–2025, focusing on the Will to Sell competencies.¹ 

At first glance, the data appears relatively stable. Desire has held steady. Outlook has improved. Commitment has ticked up slightly. 

Motivation, however, has declined each year. 

That divergence is worth paying attention to. 

Desire vs. Motivation: A Gap That Matters 

Desire and Motivation are often used interchangeably, but they measure different things. 

• Motivation reflects what a salesperson wants. Income, recognition, success.  

• Desire reflects how badly they want it.  

The data shows that while Motivation has declined from 65% to 62%, Desire has remained consistent. 

That tells us something important. 

Salespeople still want success. But they are less likely to have a “Why?” What’s behind the divergence? 

The Market Context: Selling Has Become More Difficult 

External data reinforces what many sales leaders are already seeing. 

• Only 16% of B2B sales reps are hitting quota² 

• Sales cycles have expanded to 6+ months with larger buying groups²  

• Only 21% of salespeople report being fully engaged at work³  

B2B selling has become harder, and for more salespeople, it’s become less rewarding. 

More stakeholders. Longer cycles. Less access to decision makers. More time spent on non-selling activities. 

In this kind of environment, salespeople might want to succeed (Desire), but success can feel unattainable.  

Outlook Is Improving, But That Doesn’t Solve the Problem 

One of the more interesting findings in the data is the rise in Outlook from 68% in 2024 to 73% in 2025. 

There are several plausible contributors: 

• Greater economic clarity following years of disruption  

• Stabilization in certain industries after post-pandemic volatility  

• Increased familiarity with modern selling tools and environments  

Salespeople, broadly speaking, feel more optimistic. 

That is a positive signal. But it does not directly translate to performance. 

Outlook reflects how someone feels about the future. Desire reflects what they are willing to do today. 

Those are not the same thing. 

Commitment Remains the Weak Link 

Across all three years, Commitment remains the lowest scoring competency. 

• 54% in 2023  

• 53% in 2024  

• 56% in 2025  

Commitment measures whether a salesperson will do whatever it takes to succeed, even when it is uncomfortable or difficult. 

In today’s environment, that matters more than ever. 

Because the behaviors required to succeed today are often the ones salespeople are most likely to avoid: 

• Prospecting into resistant markets  

• Asking difficult financial questions  

• Challenging prospects  

• Staying engaged through long, complex sales cycles  

When Commitment is low, those behaviors are the first to disappear. 

Burnout, Complexity, and the Erosion of Execution 

A growing body of research points to burnout as a key issue in sales organizations. 

• Only 21% of reps report being fully engaged³  

• Overwhelmed sellers are significantly less likely to hit quota⁴  

Burnout does not necessarily eliminate Desire. Our data shows that salespeople still want to succeed.  

However, burnout can reduce persistence, increase avoidance and narrow the range of behaviors a salesperson is willing to engage in. 

That shows up in Commitment first. Over time, it begins to impact Desire. 

Why This Matters for Sales Leaders 

Most sales organizations respond to performance challenges by focusing on: 

• Skills training  

• Sales process improvements  

• Technology investments  

Those are important. But they do not solves the issues reflected in this data. 

Salespeople want success and are optimistic, but success also feels less attainable. So they aren’t willing to do what it takes to get the outcome they want. 

As a sales leader, what role are you playing in this environment?

Are you setting targets that are realistic, or are you using targets that are handed to you by the CFO based on a spreadsheet with numbers that investors want to see? 

Are you consistently coaching your salespeople so that they see their skills improving week after week, or are you just hammering them for activity? 

Are you modeling commitment to success by doing whatever it takes, or are you only focused on the activities that you are comfortable doing? 

Do you even know what motivates your salespeople, or are you assuming that all salespeople are extrinsically motivated? 

The Takeaway 

A more demanding selling environment requires that sales leaders recalibrate how they are motivating and coaching their sellers. 

You cannot assume that just because salespeople want to succeed they will do whatever it takes to succeed. 

You have to harness their Desire and direct it into Commitment to success. 

Because in today’s market, those are the factors that determine whether opportunities move forward or stall out.  

Sources 

1. Objective Management Group: Finding Statistics Tool: Average competency scores for Desire, Commitment, Outlook, and Motivation in Current Employees from 1/1/20-23-12/31/2023, 1/1/2024-12/31/2024, and 1/1/2025-12/31/2025. Internal Dataset.
2. Kondo, The State of B2B Sales in 2025 https://www.trykondo.com/blog/b2b-sales-2025-report
3. HatHawk, Why Sales Burnout Is Quietly Killing Quotas 
   https://hathawk.com/sales-burnout-killing-b2b-quota-productivity
4. Salesforce, State of Sales Statistics 
   https://www.salesforce.com/sales/state-of-sales/sales-statistics