18 New Sales Statistics from a 2018 Groundbreaking Study! [Infographic]

The new sales statistics show it all, 2018 is gone, let’s learn for 2019. “Do you see the world of selling shifting around you? You probably do, because your fellow salespeople definitely do.”

“Gurus say that selling is changing, but they don’t cite good data to support that claim. So I put my social science degree from Harvard to work and decided to get real data about what’s happening today in sales. We surveyed about 400 salespeople to get insight into what’s really going on, and I want to share the highlights with you. Hope you enjoy it” – Marc Wayshak Sales Strategist from Marc Wayshak Sales Research & Insights.

1. At least 50% of your prospects are not a good fit for what you sell

In other words, find the right client, do not waste time on people who want to be entertained or keep you entertained. In the study it was mention: 71.4% of respondents said that 50% or fewer of their initial prospects turn out to be a good fit.

2. Budget is the most common reason that stronger sales opportunities fall apart

I say it on a daily base to my team. Validate in the early stage that budget was allocated for a project and if you are talking to the right stakeholder who is in charge of the budget. Often enough we waste our team, motivate and excite people with our knowledge and offering, but they are simply not in the position to spend a dime. Also in the study, 55% of respondents said that the budget was either the first or second most common reason that stronger opportunities fall apart in sales.

3. Most salespeople just aren’t getting in front of enough prospects

A sales pipeline cannot be large enough. We know that not 100% of people we talk with can turn into a solid sales. A 1 to 10 ration is common in most business, better ratios are only achieved by good salespeople. 66.7% of respondents have reached out to
250 or fewer leads in the past year. Only 15% reached out to over 1000 prospects.

4. Most companies are providing at least ¼ of salespeople’s lead

Fresh seeds are mandatory and do not rely on demand generation departments, telesales or internet sales. Digital Sales is still not replacing a face to face person as sales manager. 77 .3% of respondents said that their company provides at least¼ of their leads.

5. Sales are getting tougher than before

I strongly believe that no good salesperson can be stopped if he is serious selling. 61% of salespeople consider selling harder or much harder than 5 years ago. Does this mean lack of knowledge, experience or wrong ways of approaches?

6. It’s a little bit harder to get in front of new prospects than it was 5 years ago

Well, well. Yes, it is true, the decision makers have changed. The overwhelming offering on the market, higher competition means we need to get more cozy with our contacts. It is a generation change in the decision making management era. If salespeople cannot adapt to this culture they will fail. 54% of respondents thought it was harder or much harder to get in front of prospects than it was 5 years ago.

7. The phone is still our best tool for selling

Sales on email only? No way, we are not there. People want to hear a human voice, want to have a feeling to talk to someone and not to a robot.  With a robot, you can not exchange emotions and discussions. 41.2% of respondents said that the phone is the most effective sales tool at their disposal.

8. The vast majority of salespeople barely ask for referrals

Don’t be shy. If you scratch my back, I scratch your back says an old saying not without having a good meaning. 57 .9% of respondents ask for fewer than one referral per month.  40.4% report rarely asking! 18.6% ask every person they are in front of.

9. Most salespeople don’t love their job

Let’s fix this quick, find another job you love. You can not work in a job you don’t stand for. Only 17 .6% of respondents rate their job satisfaction as outstanding. 47 .1 % rate their job as just good.

10. Those salespeople who spend more time on sales-related activities enjoy their job more

There is a notable jump in job satisfaction between 3 hours spent on sales-related activities and 4 hours. People who spend 3 hours or less on sales-related activities have an overall average job satisfaction level of 3.45 (out of 5), while people who spend 4 or more hours a day on sales-related activities have a job satisfaction level of 3.8.

11. Company culture and management effectiveness matter most to salespeople

In the infographic, you can find a graph which shows company culture and management effectiveness were rated as the most important, while base compensation was rated significantly lower.

12. Even salespeople know that people don’t like them

Are we old school? Yes, we are, what the salesperson is trying to sell needs to be assisted by a talented sales support, pre-sales or product specialist. How are salespeople recognized? The word cloud shows the most common words that respondents used to describe the average buyer’s perceptions of salespeople. Those words were: Pushy > Untrustworthy> Pushy > Untrustworthy> Annoying > Time> Greedy

13. Most salespeople aren’t crushing it

It was a hard year correct? The economy is shaking, markets are crashing and also the results of individual salespeople. Only 24.3% of salespeople exceeded their quota last year.

14. Non-performers do a lot more pitching

Is this true? Yes, but remember quantity is maybe not quality. Only 7% of top performers report pitching, while 19% of non-top performers pitch their offering.

15. Top performers are asking for a lot more referrals

About 47% of top performers ask for referrals consistently (every day, or with every person, they are in front of), versus only 26% of non-top performers. Non-top performers were much more likely to report asking for referrals “never” or “rarely:’

16. Top performers are surfing the web way less and are driving to way more meeting

While they spend a similar amount of time on CRM and paperwork, top performers are much less likely to note “surfing the web” as the main activity they waste time on (12% of top performers vs. 24% of non-top performers).

Instead, top performers tend to spend more time driving to meetings (25% of top performers selected this vs. 12% of non-top performers).

17. Top performers tend to spend more hours per day on actual sales activities

81.6% of top performers spend 4 hours or more on sales-related activities (prospecting, sales meetings, presentations, proposal work, sales follow-up, etc … )

Only 60.8 % of non-top performers spend 4 hours or more on sales-related activities.

18. Top performers know they are experts

51% of top performers report being seen as “an expert in their field” while only 37% of non-top performers see themselves as an expert.  Top performers were less likely to be seen as vendors (8% of top performers vs. 24% of others) or as salespeople (7% of top performers vs. 20% of others).

Summary

Are you surprised by the New Sales Statistics of 2018? Let’s keep in mind. Salesperson or not it is still a human to human interaction, and this seems to vanish from time to time. If a person is not extrovert and can’t talk to strangers, or is not able to get in contact easy he/she can not succeed in a sales role. Being an expert in a field is perfect, being a human is easy. Let’s be a human salesperson.

Who is in your opinion the best salesperson you have ever meet? Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or maybe Donald Trump? Your own Dad or Mother? Share your thoughts and let us know why you see them successful.