12 Facts About Sales that Will Keep You Up at Night
The following post was originally written for The Ruby Group Sandler Sales, an Ohio sales training organization, and is shared with permission.
What keeps you up at night? If you're passionate about your business or your sales job, it's likely got something to do with work! Here are 12 facts about sales that may very well keep you up at night.
1. If you follow up with web leads within 5 minutes, you're 9 times more likely to convert them. (InsideSales.com)
LESSON: If your company gets leads from the web, jump on them quickly!
2. Top sellers use LinkedIn 6 hours a week. (Jill Konrath)
LESSON: LinkedIn is a serious player when it comes to sales. Six hours may seem like a lot; but the most successful salespeople are using it effectively to build their business.
3. Email marketing has 2x higher ROI than cold calling, networking or trade shows. (MarketingSherpa)
LESSON: Email can be one of your best sales tools if used properly. At The Ruby Group, we have a cold email process that works wonders. Contact us to find out more.
4. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. (The Annuitas Group)
LESSON: Nurture, nurture, nurture.
5. After a presentation, 63% of attendees remember stories; only 5% remember statistics. (Chip & Dan Heath)
LESSON: Whether you're making a one-on-one sales call or a presentation to 400 people, stories stick. Learn to integrate stories into your sales process.
6. 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the meeting. 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up.
LESSON: Don't give up. Just because someone doesn't respond right away, does not mean they're not interested.
7. 91% of customers say they would give referrals. Only 11% of salespeople ask for referrals. (Dale Carnegie)
LESSON: Ask for referrals!
8. Every year, you'll lose 14% of your customers. (BusinessBrief.com)
LESSON: Always be prospecting. And, do your best to reduce the number of lost customers by genuinely taking care of the ones you have.
9. 63% of people requesting information on your company today will not purchase for at least 3 months, and 20% will take more than 12 months to buy
LESSON: Plan ahead. The person you're talking with today will likely not make a purchase for months.
10. Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.
LESSON: If you're dependent on manual follow-up systems, you're only as effective as the person responsible for the follow up. With marketing automation, you'll know the follow up is happening as it should.
11. 95% of buyers chose a solution provider who gave them ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process.
LESSON: 95% is just about ALL of them! So, use content (blogs, videos, whitepapers, infographics, etc.) to answer questions, address concerns, share expertise, explain complicated systems, discuss pricing, anything that will help your buyer make an educated decision.
12. Sales reps using social selling are 50% more likely to meet or exceed their sales quotas.
LESSON: "Social selling" is when salespeople use social media to interact directly with their prospects. Find out what social channels your prospects are using, and get involved there.
And a BONUS to really keep you up tonight: 57% of the buyer's journey is completed before the buyer talks to sales.
LESSON: More than half of the buyer's decision takes place before you even know they exist! What are you doing to address this?