There’s no denying it: B2B sales have evolved significantly over the last few years. Customer buying preferences have changed, competition has increased, and the emphasis has gone from simply selling products and services to understanding buyers’ problems and offering personalized solutions. To support this transition, there has been a constant stream of thought leadership about accelerating sales cycles and closing higher-value deals, making it hard to keep track of trends.
Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of sales statistics to help inform your research. Whether you’re a sales leader trying to discern the best way to onboard a new rep, a sales operations specialist deciding how to invest in technology, or just curious about what’s happening in B2B sales, this list of statistics will satisfy you.
Sales Hiring
The current economic landscape has created a more competitive job market in sales, and organizations are specifically seeking candidates who are comfortable working remotely and have experience with digital tools for selling, such as email, social media, and virtual meetings. In addition, with tight budgets, relationship-building is more critical than ever. Buyers are more discerning than ever about their investment, and establishing trust with the solution provider is vital. Therefore, organizations seek to hire sales reps with robust skills that include active listening and clear communication. Below are seven more statistics about the new hiring climate.
- There are approximately 14 million sales jobs in the United States.
- The median OTE for a B2B account executive is $132,000.
- Only 39% of sales reps intended to have a career in sales.
- It costs 150 – 200% of a sales rep’s salary to replace them.
- One in five of every sales rep hired won’t make it.
- Forty-four percent of companies use AI-driven software to identify high-performing sales reps.
- Seventy percent of recruiters believe virtual recruiting will become the norm.
Sales Training
In recent years, B2B buyers have become more independent, researching products and solutions online long before interacting with a sales rep. In addition, buying groups have become larger, often including IT, procurement, and finance. And… this buying behavior will continue to evolve, so sales reps can no longer rely on old sales methodologies. Instead, they must constantly develop new skills that enable them to move at the same speed as the market. Here are ten statistics about the power of long-term training:
- Over 90 days, new hires will only retain 16% of all sales training they receive.
- On average, managers of top-performing reps hold 11 formal coaching sessions per rep per month.
- Eighty-five percent of sales reps report receiving coaching on open deals, while only 24% report receiving coaching on long-term skills.
- Fifty-five percent of people in sales don’t have the proper skill set to be successful.
- Continuous training yields 50% higher net sales per employee.
- The average organization spends approximately $10 to $15k hiring a rep and only $2k annually for training.
- Approximately 43% of sales reps take ten months or more to contribute to company goals.
- The ROI of sales training is more than 350%.
- Sixty-five percent of employees report that quality sales training positively impacts their engagement.
- When sales reps use their organizations’ sales methodology and receive continuous training, they hit their quota 73% of the time.
Sales Productivity
Of course, sales reps need to spend time selling, but administrative and other non-sales-related tasks often get in the way. To minimize these distractions and enable sales reps to meet their buyers’ needs by behaving more as solutions consultants, organizations are rethinking sales workflows and KPIs with an eye on efficiency. From sales processes to performance metrics, below are 20 stats about the latest trends in sales productivity.
- Eighty-one percent of sales and marketing teams don’t spend time reviewing and correcting their sales processes.
- Lost productivity and poor lead management cost organizations at least $1 trillion annually.
- Seventy-one percent of sales reps claim they spend too much time on data entry.
- Twenty percent of sales reps believe they don’t have the right resources to keep sales cycles on track.
- Top sales reps spend, on average, six hours per week researching prospect accounts.
- High-performing organizations are twice as likely as under-performing organizations to describe their sales processes as “automated.”
- Approximately 35% of a sales rep’s time is spent selling.
- The average sales rep has 1,400 pieces of content at their disposal. Yet 65% say they can’t find content.
- Sixty-one percent of sales reps say sales and marketing alignment has become more critical, and organizations with this alignment say goal achievement is 107% more likely.
- Sixty-six percent of sales reps say they have too many tools.
- Fifty-six percent of sales reps prepare their own materials.
- Fifty-seven percent of C-level buyers prefer to be contacted via phone, and approximately 41% of salespeople report the most productive tool in their toolbox is their phone. Meanwhile, 54% of sales leaders define calls as the most critical productivity metric.
And speaking of tracking metrics…
- Forty-seven percent of sales leaders track CRM usage as a productivity KPI, and:
- Forty-one percent track calls.
- Thirty-seven percent track emails.
- Thirty-six percent track conversations.
- Thirty-five percent track sales tool use.
- Thirty-three percent track proposals.
- Thirty-one percent track follow-up on high-quality leads.
- Thirty percent track scheduled meetings.
Sales Prospecting
Buying and selling processes have undergone a significant digital transformation over the last few years, as many buyers now conduct research online. This means buyers glean information from multiple channels, forcing marketing and sales teams to execute multi-channel campaigns and outreach and making it difficult to predict how—and when—a buyer will enter the sales funnel. From phone calls to LinkedIn messaging, here are some stats to know about sales prospecting.
Sales Calls
- On average, it takes eight cold calls to connect with a prospect.
- Ninety-two percent of customer interactions take place over the phone.
- Sixty percent of customers say “no” four times before saying “yes.”
- Eighty percent of sales require five follow-up calls, and 48% of salespeople don’t follow up.
- Forty-four percent of sales reps abandon the account after one follow-up attempt.
- Sixty-nine percent of buyers have accepted cold calls.
- Companies that don’t cold call experienced 42% less growth.
- The best time to call is within one hour of receiving an inquiry.
- The best day to place a sales call is Wednesday.
- Ninety percent of CEOs claim they don’t return cold calls.
- The best time to qualify leads is between 4:00 – 5:00 pm and 11:00 am – 12:00 pm.
- Only seven percent of companies respond within five minutes of a form submission from a prospect.
- When sales reps call at a scheduled date and time, 42% of buyers are more amenable to purchasing.
- Opening a sales call with, “How have you been?” increases the likelihood of booking a meeting by 660%.
- Successful sales reps talk 54% of the time during a sales call.
- Using the word “I” instead of “we” during a sales call lowers success rates by 35%.
Sales Emails
- Personalized email subject lines yield a 22% increase in email open rates.
- Email is 40 times more effective at customer acquisition than Facebook and X.
- Seventy percent of sales reps only send one email, yet sending more than one email yields a 25% chance of receiving a response.
- Only nine percent of sales emails are opened by the recipient.
- Personalized emails yield six times as many transactions.
- Forty-three percent of sales reps claim email is the best channel for selling.
- Approximately nine percent of outreach emails receive a response. However, contacting the same contact multiple times will increase the response rate by 2x.
- Eight out of 10 prospects prefer email to other communication methods.
- Ninety-five percent of salespeople feel bulk email sends are ineffective.
Social Selling
- Fifty-six percent of sales reps use social media to identify new prospects.
- Eighty-four percent of C-level executives and 75% of B2B buyers use social media when making purchasing decisions.
- Ninety percent of top-performing sales reps use social media.
- Sixty-three percent of sales reps who practice social selling say LinkedIn is the best platform for finding new prospects.
- Seventy-four percent of sales reps who use social media to research new prospects claim LinkedIn is the best platform for research.
- Fifty percent of sales reps spend anywhere from three to ten hours weekly on social selling.
- Buyers who use social media typically have 84% more budget than those who don’t.
- Social posts with videos yield engagement rates of 50% or more.
- Fifty-four percent of sales reps can track closed deals back to social selling.
- Sales reps who use social selling achieve their quota 66% more often than those who don’t.
- By using social selling, companies can increase win rates by 5% and deal size by 35%.
Sales Technology
In the age of AI, it’s more important than ever for companies to create a solid technology foundation and train employees to use the technology to their advantage. This certainly proves true in sales, where digital solutions can fundamentally transform the role of a sales rep. Says Robert Blaisdell, senior director analyst in Gartner’s sales practice, in a recent article in Destination CRM, “A new approach that marries technology advances with the distinctive abilities that human sellers bring to a deal is required to adapt to customers’ changing needs and drive real commercial outcomes.”
Need more convincing that now is the time to digitize your sales organization? Check out these statistics.
- Forty-three percent of salespeople use intelligence tools for pipeline management.
- Thirty-two percent of sales reps using a CRM reported the most significant benefit is lead management.
- Seventy-seven percent of sales reps claim their organization has plans to invest more in intelligence tools.
- Fifty-four percent of sales reps say technology enables stronger relationship-building with prospects.
- Seventy percent of salespeople believe a CRM is the most critical technology.
- Forty-nine percent of sales reps claim they intend to use a CRM more often.
- A properly implemented CRM can yield an ROI of 245%.
- The mobile CRM market is expected to grow by 13% annually between 2019 and 2029.
- Fifty percent of sales teams using a CRM have improved productivity.
- By 2025, 80% of B2B sales will occur in digital channels.
- Ninety percent of companies use two or more lead enrichment tools.
Adopt a Long-Term Mindset
The statistics above reveal that companies looking to improve sales and decrease the cost-to-close need to adopt a long-term mindset regarding how they recruit, retain, and enable their sales force. From investing in training and sales technology to seeking efficiencies in prospecting and reporting, the organizations that stay ahead of change will be the ones to succeed.
Contact us today to learn more about how Revegy can help you build the right technology foundation to prepare for change.
