The first benchmark built exclusively on European call data. Scored, not aggregated. 1,400+ discovery and demo calls across 32 B2B SaaS companies in Benelux and DACH, assessed over seven years.
Differentiation is created in discovery, confirmed in the demo, and protected through deal management. European B2B SaaS sales teams are failing at all three.
Six behaviours show up as systematic gaps across almost every team in the dataset. Each scores below 3 out of 10 on average. If your team doesn't explicitly train for these, you're leaking revenue.
The most effective way to make value concrete is used in only 10% of demos. Reps show features instead of proof. Buyers walk away informed, not persuaded.
75% of calls score zero on business impact. Without a euro figure attached to the pain, buyers have no internal case to make. Pricing becomes the only differentiator.
Active listening and summarising scores 0.22 out of 1. Reps hear, but they don't confirm. Buyers leave unsure whether they've been understood, and internal champions lose their script.
The single behaviour that most separates winners from the rest. Introducing new information that makes the buyer reconsider their own situation. Almost nobody does it.
Discovery-to-demo alignment scores 0.39. Reps ask the right questions, then present the same generic deck to everyone. The tailoring never makes it into the room.
Anchoring, the act of tying a feature back to a specific pain the buyer mentioned, happens in one out of three demos. The rest are monologues.
A few behaviours show up consistently across the dataset. If your team is doing these well, protect them. If not, they're the easiest wins.
Warm opening, agenda setting, setting expectations. Table stakes, but consistently executed. The foundation is in place.
Concrete next step, owner, purpose, timing. Deal management starts here, and it's being done reasonably well. This is what holds deals together.
Reps know how to map out team structure, tech stack, and current process. What they don't do is turn that map into something the buyer didn't already know.
When it's time to talk money, reps hold the line reasonably well. The problem isn't in how pricing is presented. It's that value was never anchored before pricing came up.
The full report breaks down every criterion with averages, distributions, example quotes from real calls, and how to close each gap. Free to download.
Send me one call from your top rep and one from a mediocre performer. I'll show you the exact gap and how to close it.