5 Can’t-Miss Takeaways from Clari’s 2024 Revenue Leak Report

Every dollar counts in the hyper-competitive B2B landscape. 

That’s why Revenue Leak should be at the top of every leader’s priority list. Day after day, dollars drip from the four corners of your business – lost to inefficient processes, errant forecasts, and misaligned teams. 

Capture even a small percentage of revenue leak, and you can add millions back to the bottom line. Let the leak persist, and your competitors will sprint ahead. 

To help revenue leaders plug their leaks, Clari launched an expansive 2024 report. 

The report compiles responses from 420 revenue-facing leaders and practitioners representing IT/Technology, telecoms, retail, consumer services, manufacturing, financial services, and more. And it features insights to help you better understand revenue leak — and stop leak in its tracks.

Here are 5 can’t-miss takeaways.

1. 61% of companies missed their 2023 revenue target 

Want to place a bet on whether your company will hit or miss its revenue target?

The data says you should bet on a miss. 61% of surveyed companies missed their 2023 revenue target and only 1% exceeded target. What’s more, enterprise companies (1,000+ employees) missed at a higher rate, with 75% off target. 

What this means for revenue leaders: The status quo isn’t working. If you plan to hit 2024 revenue targets — amidst a tough economy, high interest rates, and ongoing digital transformation — now is the time to rethink your revenue strategy.

Here’s the good news. 72% of surveyed leaders are optimistic about improving revenue attainment in 2024. With the right strategy, tools, and processes, leaders know they can reduce revenue leak and boost the bottom line.

2. Revenue leaders are focused on improving sales forecasting

Tech spend is up, with 61% of companies increasing their 2024 investment. 

And where are these dollars going? For nearly a third of respondents, the answer is sales forecasting. C-suites and senior leaders are tired of cloudy pipelines and misaligned forecasts. They’re tired of rolling up deal targets and calling it a day. 

They’re ready for technology that offers visibility and precision. 

What this means for revenue leaders: To keep pace, it’s time to think about your forecasting capabilities. Do you have the tech to name your number every quarter? Or are you still working with outdated tools (spreadsheets, BI, and CRMs) that keep revenue leak alive?

The B2B companies who win 2024 have serious sales forecasting behind them. They know their pipeline down to the dollar, and have the visibility to intervene when deals start going sideways.

3. RevOps reports 26% lost to Revenue Leak

What’s at stake with Revenue Leak?

Take your future revenue figure and cross out 26%. For the average B2B company, that’s how much money is lost every single year. And the numbers are even worse for enterprise-level companies. 

At Clari, this massive figure doesn’t surprise us. Today’s responses align with our Clari Labs' 2021 research, which revealed that B2B companies lose an average of 14.9% of annual revenue to Revenue Leak.

What this means for revenue leaders: Ignore revenue leak at your own peril. The amount of leak in the B2B space is staggering — and seems to be growing year-over-year. 

To make matters more complicated, 2024 responses included a wide range of revenue leak figures. This suggests a simple fact: Most revenue teams likely don’t even know the full extent of revenue leak in their organization.

4. Three factors drive the majority of Revenue Leak

Revenue leak is a business-altering problem. But what’s causing it?

Here, the report offers three top factors. 

First, an inability to diagnose deal progression leaves revenue teams guessing whether their deal is moving forward or not. Second, uncertainty about where pipeline is dropping off limits the impact leaders and managers have on slipped deals. And third, misalignment with buying teams leads to missed handoffs and botched communication. 

What this means for revenue leaders: Despite its massive impact, revenue leak can be solved for. By adding visibility to deal progression and slipped deals, you can unlock essential information your team needs to stop revenue leak. 

You can also bridge the communication gap with a single source of truth, such as a unified revenue platform. This tool pulls every revenue-facing team onto the same page, reducing the risk of misalignment.

5. AI is an essential tool for stopping revenue leak

Consider this data point from the 2024 report: 

“Companies integrating AI into their sales processes are twice as confident in meeting their revenue goals compared to those not using AI.”

What’s making them so confident? With AI, revenue leaders are unlocking precise pipeline tracking and enhanced forecasting capabilities. This visibility helps them name their number every quarter — and feel confident doing it. 

What this means for revenue leaders: If you’re looking to stop revenue leak, AI needs to be part of the conversation. The most advanced AI tools for revenue teams create transparency through the pipeline, boosting revenue collaboration and reducing slipped deals. 

And AI is just getting warmed up. In the coming years, expect to see advanced tools — built on proprietary data sets — equip teams to capture even more available revenue. If you’re not already thinking about AI and data, now’s the time. 

Ready to capture every dollar of revenue?

Start by downloading Clari’s 2024 Global Revenue Leak Report today. 

In it, you’ll find valuable Insights like: 

1. How many B2B companies are missing revenue targets. 
2. Where B2B companies are investing their tech dollars. 
3. What the bottom line impact of revenue leak looks like. 
4. Which three factors drive the majority of revenue leak. 
5. How AI is transforming the revenue landscape. 

With these insights in hand, you can take action to recapture dollars, blow past your 2024 targets, and launch a legendary revenue career. 

‘Til next time, 

Andy Byrne

CEO, Clari