In 2020, many companies sought shelter under digital transformation to survive the pandemic. Businesses had to bring some changes in how sales used to work till now. Salespeople have to reach a quota, and digital transformation enables them to achieve it from anywhere.
Today, we are going to discuss some statistics about sales to help you strategize your next moves. These will help you understand how COVID has affected the sales process. Not only the process but how every sales rep feels in day-to-day life. The article will follow this structure:
- A Peek into Salesperson’s Day
- Closing Statistics
- Perception and Aspiration in Sales
- The Aftermath of COVID-19
- The Challenges with Lead and Technology
- What Customers Want
A Peek into Salesperson’s Day:
- 53% of salespeople spend most of their work hours on the sales process. While 47% do not count selling as a major activity.
- 46% of sales reps are spending the majority of their time lead-prospecting.
- 36% say that they gather leads most of their time during work hours.
- 88% of salespersons are improving their soft skills on a regular basis.
- In 2019, 62% claimed that selling is their major day-to-day task. This percentage fell to 54% in 2020.
- With automation, a sales team can save 5 hours a week on average.
- 63% of sales representatives say that they work more than 40 hours a week.
- 48% of the sales managers regularly work on weekends.
- Three-quarters of salespersons who are working on weekends do not receive compensation for their work.
- At least one out of 10 salespeople is working 60 hours a week.
- 59% of salespeople claim that they have improved their sales skills in 2020.
- 81% of salespersons are expecting a hike in their sales for this year.
- 28% of B2B organizations have adapted hybrid sales roles.
- Despite the long hours, most sales professionals are satisfied in their current role (81%).
- 62% of sales reps wish to own a business, while 54% wish to become a sales manager in the future.
Closing Statistics:
- To close a deal, 70% of salespeople label CRM as “Very Important.”
- 72% of high-performing sales reps (sellers who met 125% or above of their quota) “always” put customers first.
- 71% of buyers think that hearing early in the sales process is important to close the deal.
- To build a stronger relationship with their customers, 54% of sellers recommend sales tools.
Impact of COVID-19
- For most, it was difficult. For 6% of reps, it was easy to sell during COVID-19.
- 1 in 5 sales professionals has taken advantage of the crisis by increasing demand and the number of potential customers.
- To maintain their sales, 74.6% of managers, executives, and sales assistants have had to make adjustments to the value proposition of their business.
- Nearly 9 out of 10 sellers feel that it is currently more difficult to sell, making it difficult to meet sales quotas.
- 4 out of 10 believe that the impact of this crisis will last at least the rest of 2020.
- Half of the companies consulted have not considered it necessary. The other half indicated that salesforce personnel had to be reassigned (29.1%) due to a drop in sales.
- 18.3% indicated that for the same reason, they had to lay off some employees. Only 1.6% of those surveyed said that, due to the increase in sales, it was necessary to hire more salespeople.
- 41% of salespeople still prefer to work from home.
- After COVID-19 hit, 55% of the businesses have reduced their budget. (Source)
- The omnichannel strategy was favored by 83% of sales reps as equal or more effective in customer reach and service during the pandemic. (Source)
- With their field agents working from home, 77% of B2B companies have faced challenges.
The Challenges with Lead and Technology:
- When it comes to choosing a CRM, sales reps working from home are 8% more likely to choose a CRM than reps not working from home.
- 79% of the sales representatives use CRM to track sales and customers, behavior as a standard practice. (Source)
- Nearly two-thirds of the sales representatives say that buyers are “always” first for them. (Source)
- But, only 23% of buyers agree with the two-third of representatives mentioned above. (Source)
- Overseeing a remote sales team is challenging for 67% of sales managers more than they anticipated. (Source)
- Only 24% of the sales emails are opened. (Source)
- Almost half of the salespeople faced struggle regularly (24%) or usually (21%).
- Spending on new and existing technology is in continuation and increasing by 78% of companies.
- Investment in omnichannel solutions has skyrocketed from 20% to 80%. (Source)
- To assess the performance of salespeople, 43% of companies are using reports and data. (Source)
- For lead generation, 40% of salespeople are not using any tech or automation tool.
- People using tech or automation tools were 14% more likely to reach their yearly target.
What Customers Want:
- Remote working has made the purchasing process easier, claimed by 50% of buyers. (Source)
- 89% of the buyers see sales agents they do business with as “trusted advisers.” (Source)
- To learn more about the products and services, 90% of buyers have attended industry conferences and events.
- Half of the companies think Identifying the behavior of purchase from buyers is a necessary skill.
Main source: Pipedrive State of Sales Report 2020-2021
