Why sales reps miss quota in 2025 (and how AI sales copilots solve it)

According to a study by ValueSelling Associates, only 23% of reps say they're generating enough pipeline to hit quota.

If you fall in the other 77%, you're likely asking: what are top performers doing differently? And why are some reps still missing quota month after month?

It sounds like a cliché, but the truth is that when you examine what quota-hitting sellers are doing, you see they're working smarter, not harder.

Most importantly, they're mastering the universal formula for sales success: right person, right messaging, right timing.

In our recent webinar, we sat down with Gap Selling Consultant Celeste Berke Knisely and Jeeves' Director of Sales Andrés Nájera to dive deeper into this performance gap.

We asked them about the common mistakes sales reps are making today, what top-performing salespeople are doing differently, and stole some of their tried-and-tested outbound plays that have helped them book more meetings!

Here's the round-up of what went down.

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The problem: why sales reps are struggling to hit quota

When we kicked off our webinar session, we asked the audience: what's your biggest outbound frustration right now?

The top answer: low response rates.

We have to sympathize with prospects. Everyone's inbox is full of cookie-cutter cold emails and reps are blasting out 1,000+ messages hoping something sticks.

"There's just too much noise," Celeste shares. "I visited a team recently and asked to see their spam folder. The amount of garbage in there was shocking. As sellers, we forget our buyers are human and overwhelmed."

Andrés agrees: "Too many reps are sending thousands of templated emails with zero personalization. That kind of outreach is easy to ignore."

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As much as we love AI, poor use of AI sales engagement tools has only made the problem worse.

Celeste describes how she saw reply rates drop from 18% to single digits once mass AI messaging became the norm:

"Everybody jumped on AI without strategy. And suddenly, nothing worked."

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Moreover, industry data shows that reps are facing problems throughout their sales funnel that are making it harder for them to meet quota.

Most — if not all — of these in some way contribute to the problem of low response rates:

• Increased competition: 45% of B2B vendors say they're facing more competition, whilst 77% of sellers believe buyers expect richer, more personal experiences.
• Outdated tactics: Email-only lead rates have decreased 29% since ESP updates in 2024. Meanwhile, just 38% of reps say they rarely receive sales coaching to improve their tactics.
• Complex buying processes: The average number of vendors considered during a buying process has risen by 62% since 2021. At the same time, the average B2B buying process in 2025 now involves at least 4 stakeholders.

Sources: Ebsta/Pavilion B2B Sales Benchmarks, Sopro State of Prospecting, My Sales Coach State of Sales Coaching

The bottom line is that sellers need to be more precise and intentional with their sales approaches — but only the minority have figured out what this means in practice.

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The solution: from activity-based to signal-based selling

"Sales isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things," Andrés says.

What if instead of guessing when someone might be ready to talk, reps were always reaching out for a specific reason?

This is the core principle of signal-based selling — and why more sellers are integrating signals into their outbound strategies to hit quota consistently.

"Think of it like digital body language," Celeste explains. "If someone follows your company page or comments on a post about sales training, that's a signal. There's a reason they did that. That's where your outreach should start."

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This approach flips the traditional outbound model on its head. Rather than sending the same message to 1,000 people, you send highly targeted messages to the right 10.

For some sellers, the idea of reducing outbound volumes is a scary one. But as Andrés explains with a great analogy, it's about focusing on high-potential prospects instead of spraying and praying.

"It's like the difference between someone walking into a store and someone getting handed a flyer on the street. One person is showing real interest. The other is just passing by. Which one do you think is more likely to buy?"

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Signal-based selling means you're catching prospects who are already interested, when their attention is already leaning toward your category, product, or problem space.

This helps you tackle the challenge of low response rates by ensuring you're not interrupting people who aren't interested.

Instead, you're opening conversations around a highly relevant signal insight or trigger that is much more likely to resonate with your prospect.

Best of all, thanks to AI sales copilots like Amplemarket's Duo, you don't have to hunt for signals manually!

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3 high-converting signal plays that help reps hit quota

Since Celeste and Andrés are both Duo power users, we asked them to share their favorite signal approaches and outbound plays that have helped them book meetings:

Signal #1: Comments on Industry Posts

Play: Andrés targets leads who engage with thought leaders. Duo identifies commenters on relevant posts, then Andrés reaches out:

"Hey, saw your comment on {{Thought Leader}}'s post about scaling sales. We've helped teams in your space reduce ramp time by 40%. Curious to compare notes."

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This play helped Andrés book 180 meetings in one month using Duo Copilot!

As Andrés explains, Amplemarket offers sellers another way to tap into engagement with industry posts. As well as sequencing the individual leads found by Duo, Andrés does a little more digging on the LinkedIn posts themselves to identify similar high-intent leads.

"Duo Copilot brings these great leads to you, but then when you open the LinkedIn post you can use the Amplemarket extension to export more leads who are engaging with the same topic."

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Andrés is able to filter the leads associated with any given post according to his ICP to make sure he's only targeting relevant people. Then it's time to engage, using the post as a reference.

"When you mention the exact post they interacted with, it doesn't feel like a cold message," Andrés notes. "It feels like a conversation."

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Signal #2: Company Page Follows

Play: Duo flags when someone in your ICP follows your company page. Celeste jumps in with a message that focuses on one of the main problems she knows her audience cares about:

"I'll send off a message like, 'Low win rates and long sales cycles are often the reason teams miss quota. Curious if either of those are a focus for you right now.'"

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As a proponent of the Gap Selling methodology, Celeste is always looking for ways to position her messaging around the buyer's needs.

The key to this approach is to highlight the "gap" between the buyer's current and future states, helping them visualize what their ideal solution looks like.

"The key is relevance. I didn't ask about needs. I just pointed to a real problem I solve," she explains.

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To follow up, she'll typically send a message that includes a noteworthy case study relevant to the prospect's circumstances so they can better understand the "gap" she's trying to help them tackle.

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Signal #3: Keyword Mentions

Play: Celeste sets up Duo to surface leads who mention sales methodologies on LinkedIn. That keyword is tied to a key pain point she solves: low win rates.

"Saw you mentioned Sandler vs Challenger recently. Teams usually dig into methodology when win rates are low. Is that something you're trying to improve?"

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What makes this play powerful is the intent behind the keyword. As Celeste explains, "If someone's comparing methodologies, it tells me they're in problem-solving mode. They're looking for a better way to sell, and that's where I can come in."

But on top of surfacing relevant keyword mentions on LinkedIn, Duo Copilot also highlights who commented and what they said.

"The magic happens when I layer that with my ICP filters," Celeste says. "Now I'm not just reaching out to a random VP of Sales. I'm reaching out to someone actively thinking about the exact problems I solve."

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This approach has helped her book meetings faster and with higher quality leads.

"These aren't cold leads. They're warm. Sometimes hot. I don't have to guess if they're interested because the signal tells me they already are."

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How AI sales copilots help reps hit quota: expert tips

Signal-based selling sounds great. But manual signal research is impossible to scale.

That's where AI sales copilots like Duo come in. Duo takes care of:

• Surfacing real-time signals from LinkedIn and the web
• Filtering leads based on your target personas
• Generating unique sequences tied to each signal
• Keeping outreach multi-channel: email, phone, LinkedIn, even WhatsApp
• Protecting your domain by never sending the same email twice

"It's like waking up to a to-do list built just for you," Celeste says. "I open Duo and have 10 leads with recent actions. All I need to do is add my human touch."

Andrés adds, "It's not just automation. Duo lets you define your voice, your tone, and your strategy. It's AI that adapts to you."

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As a user of Duo Copilot, you can prompt the AI to use certain value propositions, case studies, pitches, a specific tone of voice, or sequence approach according to your preferred selling style.

And how do you get the most out of an AI sales copilot like Duo?

The important thing is to be clear and detailed in your prompts — and to be open to testing different approaches over time!

Here's what our speakers recommend:

1. Start with the problem. "Don't ask what keeps them up at night. Tell them what should." Celeste emphasizes the importance of being problem-led instead of product-led.
2. Test different CTAs. "Some prospects hate calendar links. Others want them. Test to learn," says Andres. Celeste adds, "Sometimes a soft ask gets more replies than a hard push."
3. Mix your channels. "You might need 15-18 touches to get a reply. Mix it up: email, phone, LinkedIn," says Andrés. Celeste chimes in: "If you're only using email, you're missing buyers who live on LinkedIn or respond better to voice notes."
4. Stay human. "Let AI do the heavy lifting, but don't let it rob you of your voice," says Celeste. "I take Duo's suggestion and add my own insight. That's where the magic happens."
5. Keep refining. "What works today may not work tomorrow. I'm constantly tweaking my signals and copilot prompts," Celeste says. "The reps who win are the ones who treat AI as a partner, not a crutch."

Remember:

"AI doesn't replace reps. It frees them to be more human. That's your superpower," Celeste says.

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Final thought: how modern sales teams hit quota consistently

Sales has changed: buyers are more informed, inboxes are noisier, and traditional volume-based outbound is a dead-end in terms of results.

But on the other hand, some things haven't changed at all. The key to getting more prospect responses, building relationships, and closing deals to hit quota is the same as it's always been:

You need to send the right message, at the right time, to the right people.

Signal-based selling, powered by a smart AI sales copilot like Duo, helps you re-focus on this principle by putting personalized value back into sales.

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Want to see it in action?

Start your free 14-day trial of Amplemarket Duo Copilot. Let AI handle the busywork. You focus on closing.