For a project-based business, selling predictability is useful: a clear process, transparent agreements, regular reports and manageable project economics. Below are eight areas to work on in sales for 2026. These are practical recommendations, rather than a statistical ranking of the market:
Contents:
- Trend 1. A transparent commercial proposal and change control
- Trend 2. Sales through a single communication hub
- Trend 3. AI in presales: calculate, write and respond faster
- Trend 4. End-to-end analytics and planned versus actual results for deals
- Trend 5. Service packages and productized offers
- Trend 6. Digital contracts, acceptance documents and online payments
- Trend 7. After-sales service and referrals as a separate funnel
- Trend 8. Project management as part of sales: accounting, reporting and standards
Trend 1. A transparent commercial proposal and change control
A transparent proposal helps the customer assess the scope of work, the risk of additional charges and the procedure for recording changes alongside the final price.
The scenario is familiar: the site survey is complete, the calculation has been sent, and a week of messages follows. Then it turns out that air conditioning or electrical work was left out of the proposal. The customer gets frustrated and goes away to think about it. To reduce the risk of this conflict, agree on the scope of work and exclusions in advance.
How to change your commercial proposal so that it works in 2026:
- Put the proposal together as a document: scope of work, responsibilities, stages, delivery timelines, advance payment terms and the acceptance procedure.
- Introduce a change rule: every request to “add a socket” is recorded as a separate line, with its impact on the timeline and cost.
- Give the customer a way to stay in control: a stage acceptance checklist and a clear status showing what has been completed, what has been accepted and what comes next.
If you would like to explore the logic behind calculations and documents in more detail, read “What can replace a cost estimate?” (in Russian).
Trend 2. Sales through a single communication hub
In 2026, customers send messages where they expect a faster reply: Telegram, WhatsApp, VK or Max. Email remains a channel for documents. Even a small business may therefore need a system that helps avoid a situation where “whoever has the conversation on their phone owns the customer.”
In a project-based business, messaging apps can easily turn a sale into an endless chat: questions jump from timelines to materials, the manager answers from memory, and the surveyor recalls details in the evening. Agreements get lost and delays grow longer.
How to turn endless messages and calls into a system:
- Assign responsibility: who responds during the day, who takes over in the evening, and what counts as the first response.
- Prepare quick replies (on an iPhone, you can use text replacement shortcuts): advance payment terms, typical timelines, the information required for a calculation and the site survey procedure.
- Implement a CRM or omnichannel platforms.
Trend 3. AI in presales: calculate, write and respond faster
AI can speed up the preparation of sales drafts. This is particularly useful in a project-based business: you sell a complex service, there is a lot to explain, and your team has limited time. Check facts, calculations and promises before sending them to a customer.
Where AI can deliver a quick benefit:
- Draft proposals and emails: structure, wording and responses to common objections.
- Call transcripts and summaries: what the customer requested, what was promised and what needs to be sent.
- Questions for a site survey: so that ventilation, sound insulation and air-conditioning pipe routes are not forgotten on site.
Examples of tools include ChatGPT for drafts and Whisper for speech recognition. Check the capabilities, availability and data processing terms of a particular service before adopting it. The developer’s introduction to Whisper.
Trend 4. End-to-end analytics and planned versus actual results for deals
Another useful direction for 2026 is to measure the margin each channel generates alongside the number of leads, and look for losses between signing the contract and handover. In a project-based business, it is easy to fall into a trap: plenty of projects, encouraging turnover and dwindling cash.
How to assess sales effectiveness:
Define the funnel stages and the point at which a deal counts as active: a site survey, a specification, agreement or a contract.
Record the following for each lead: source, type of property, deal value, planned margin and reason for rejection.
Add a planned versus actual comparison for the project: receipts, expenses, deviations, what happened and why.
Services include Roistat/Calltouch for end-to-end analytics, Power BI/Looker Studio for dashboards, and amoCRM/Bitrix24 for the funnel and disciplined customer contact. Among 101’s resources, you can start with setting up business analytics (in Russian) and the method for analysing business effectiveness (in Russian).
Trend 5. Service packages and productized offers
A service package helps the customer understand the result, the boundaries of the work and the logic behind the price. An offer like this can simplify reaching an agreement; test its effect using your own deals.
For a project-based business, this means replacing a single “turnkey renovation” offer with a range of packages built around the same rules. They differ in scope of work, speed, service level and how comprehensively materials and furnishings are sourced. This also benefits the team: less assembling each offer by hand and fewer unplanned promises.
Trend 6. Digital contracts, acceptance documents and online payments
The contract has been sent, but signing is scheduled for next week; the acceptance document will be finalised after the weekend; the customer pays “when they get around to it”... The longer the cycle, the greater the risk of it falling through.
In a project-based business, digital documents serve two purposes: they speed up the deal and bring discipline to completing stages. Once a stage has been accepted and signed off, it is easier to request payment calmly, without persuasion.
What to implement:
- Electronic document exchange and electronic signatures: to speed up documentation for completed stages while complying with the requirements of applicable law.
- Payment and advance payment links: so that an advance does not depend on travelling or “meeting at the office.”
- An acceptance documentation procedure: what counts as complete, who accepts the work and which photos are required.
Examples of services for the Russian market include Kontur.Diadoc/SBIS for electronic document exchange and YooKassa/CloudPayments for payments. In other countries, check service availability and legal applicability separately. YooKassa: ways to accept payments (in Russian).
Trend 7. After-sales service and referrals as a separate funnel
Referrals have always played an important role in project-based businesses. You can manage referrals as a separate funnel: timing of follow-ups, quality of completion and repeat sales scenarios.
The mechanism is simple: a satisfied customer messages friends and forwards your contact details. An unhappy customer writes a review that dozens of people read. After-sales service is therefore part of sales.
Trend 8. Project management as part of sales: accounting, reporting and standards
The main sales trend for project-based businesses in 2026 is a firm reminder: a sale does not end with the contract. Reputation, repeat enquiries and referrals come from the process on site. If that process breaks down, you will have to buy the next deal through advertising.
An accounting system can support sales. When the team manages a project in one place, the business owner sees the full picture without manually gathering information from chats and spreadsheets.
How to implement this in a project-based business:
- Set a project standard: stages, documents and who sends the customer a report each week.
- Allocate money to each project: receipts, expenses and payouts, so that one project does not finance another.
- Make customer reports regular: completed work, accepted work, spending, balance and upcoming work.
In the 101 App, accounting is built into work on individual projects: money, expenses, events and reports. This helps you stay in control when several projects are running at the same time.
If you need deeper analysis, PRO+ offers advanced analytics. You can check the features and plan terms in the 101 pricing section.
