57% of Contractors Spend Nearly Half of Their Time on Non-Selling Activities, Stalling Growth and Performance Opportunities
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ServiceTitan (Nasdaq: TTAN), the software platform that powers the trades, today released its first annual Commercial Sales and Marketing Report, which surveyed over 1,000 commercial sales and marketing contractors. The report reveals that 57% of commercial contractors spend close to half of their time on non-selling activities, indicating they are missing out on opportunities to improve performance and drive growth. While a majority of businesses are using customer relationship management (CRM) systems, contractors report being stuck doing work that the right CRM and AI could automate, ultimately solving many of their core challenges.
“Commercial business leaders run complex operations that rely on deals closing, building strong customer relationships, and reducing overhead work to consistently drive growth,” said Bryan Olshock, chief marketing officer of ServiceTitan. “As the report notes, CRMs are gaining traction to push these efforts forward, but adding AI-powered software unlocks even greater business value. The results are too valuable to ignore, and a modern sales and marketing architecture made up of sales teams, AI, and CRMs is key to delivering lasting impact to customers, increasing efficiency and revenue growth. We’ll continue to see adoption increase for businesses to scale.”
Inefficient Sales Cycles Lead to Missed Growth Opportunities In addition to contractors being bogged down by non-selling activities, inefficient sales cycles are another key challenge, with 44% of businesses reporting a typical sales cycle of four months or longer. Specifically, 10% have cycles of 4-6 months, 11% have cycles of 7-12 months, and 23% have cycles exceeding 12 months. When too much time is spent on sales cycles and developing job summaries, conducting discovery calls, or following up on estimates, there’s less time to generate new leads, and forecasting growth becomes more difficult.
Marketing and Sales Priorities are Shaped by Customer Relationships According to the report, the majority of businesses rely on referrals and repeat business from existing customers (71%) and paid advertising (71%) as a crucial source of revenue, followed by website and organic digital marketing (67%). To maximize the impact of their sales and marketing efforts, the top marketing priorities for commercial business leaders are increasing brand awareness (66%), expanding digital marketing initiatives (66%), and generating leads (41%).
Gaps Persist in Account Management Structure A significant portion of commercial businesses have dedicated sales representatives (48%) or a hybrid model (22%), but a large gap exists in how accounts are managed. The report reveals that 63% of businesses surveyed have a clear, structured approach to account ownership, meaning that 37% of sales teams operate on an ad hoc, first-come, or judgment-based system. This lack of formal structure extends to specialization, with the report noting that specialization by geography or industry remains limited.
Customizable CRMs Unlock Efficiency and Growth Despite widespread adoption of CRMs (78%), the report findings indicate that many business leaders aren’t happy with the solutions. Under half of contractors (41%) report being satisfied. For 37% of contractors, a lack of industry-specific features is a primary challenge, followed by high cost (29%), and limited reporting capabilities (22%). This is where advanced, customizable CRM capabilities unlock efficiency and growth.
AI Adoption Trails, but the Value is Clear The use of AI in sales processes is still a developing area for commercial business leaders, with only 29% of respondents currently using AI agents. Among the businesses that do use AI, the applications are focused on key areas that can boost efficiency, including sales content creation and personalization (58%), lead scoring and qualification (43%), and automating CRM data entry and updates (43%). The report also notes that AI usage is more concentrated among higher-performing businesses. Combining AI with CRMs can empower business leaders to be more efficient with their sales cycles, limit overhead work and automate workflows to minimize gaps in account ownership.
To review the full findings and key takeaways, download ServiceTitan’s Commercial Sales and Marketing Report here.
About the research This research was conducted by Thrive Analytics on behalf of ServiceTitan, polling more than 1,000 commercial sales directors/managers, business development managers, service department managers, and estimators, primarily in mechanical, electrical and plumbing. The survey was conducted from July 14 to July 31, 2025. This research is for informational purposes only and ServiceTitan provides no assurances (express or implied) with respect to the accuracy of the survey data. Forward-looking economic and industry outlooks represent the views of the survey respondents, and may not represent the view of ServiceTitan or its affiliates.
About ServiceTitan ServiceTitan is the software platform that powers trades businesses. The company’s cloud-based, end-to-end solution gives contractors the tools they need to run and grow their business, manage their back office, and provide a stellar customer experience. By bringing an integrated SaaS platform to an industry historically underserved by technology, ServiceTitan is equipping tradespeople with the technology they need to keep the world running.
