If you are looking to have more success working b2b sales leads and ultimately closing more deals in 2020, here are some interesting statistics to be aware of, along with suggestions in light of these facts.
1.) Most buyers want to talk about pricing and see how the product works on the first call, while only one in four want to talk about goals, authority and timeline. {HubSpot}
Comment: This is the opposite of what many salespeople are trained to do, which is to stay away from a demo & pricing and focus more of the discussion on the companies goals, plans and timeline.
Suggestion: Thoughtful discovery questions and answers are of course crucial to a customer's long-term success and in making sure you bring on good clients, but this doesn't mean you can't incorporate at least a partial demo on the same call and discuss at least some preliminary pricing.
By focusing on the buyer's objectives and keeping these wants in mind, you will provide a better customer experience and by modifying your sales process, likely close more deals, faster.
2.) Budget is the #1 reason most stronger sales opportunities fall apart. {Marc Wayshak}
Comment: Despite many reps best qualification efforts, many companies just wont tell you until the end that they just can't afford to purchase what you are offering.
Suggestion: Make sure you confirm early with prospects (and multiple times) that there is budget to move forward with what you are offering, should it make sense for them. Better yet, prioritize prospecting just funded companies, so you know there is not a hidden issue when it comes time to pull the trigger.
3.) 90% of buyers are willing to engage salespeople earlier in the buying process {CSO Insights}
Comment: There is a what appears to be a contradictory fact to also be aware of. That is that most prospects also spend an increasing amount of time researching your product or service (around 80% of the total time invested before purchasing), before they are ready to "speak to a sales rep."
Suggestion: "Willing to engage" and explicitly asking to "speak with sales" are two different things. The secret is to offer to help first, feel out where they are in their buyer's journey and if you can, offer something of value until the timing is right.
Harvard & Berkeley researchers have shown that people will buy more often from the first salesperson encountered, even if the difference is merely seconds. Why is this? According to the study, what is experienced first is remembered better, drives attachment more strongly, creates stronger association with the self, influences impressions more decisively and persuades more effectively.
4.) Most decision makers want to read sales email between 5am and 6am. {Baydin}
Comment: Many B2B salespeople send tens or hundreds of thousands of emails per year, yet statistics show only about half are not deleted. Most of the other half are often just skimmed, so the key is to make sure you send the email when decision makers want to read them, which study show is between 5am to 6am.
Suggestion: Use email scheduling software such as HubSpot Sales, to make sure important messages are delivered at just the right time. This probably wont help you as much for general or introductory emails, but for a prospect that already has you on their mind, emails delivered at this time can be very helpful to your success.
5.) Emails with 1-3 questions and 50-125 words get the best response rate. {Boomerang}
Comment: While most sales and business development reps give up after only one or two attempts, the reality is that it takes several emails and 8 calls on average to get a response from a prospect. Even then, you need to make sure the emails and voice mails are effective.
Suggestion: As stated by HubSpot, for voicemails, lead with something interesting to the prospect (not your name/company and why you are calling), keep it to 20-30 seconds, ask a question not in your email and leave them more near the end of the day. For emails, check out this email template that won 16 new B2B customers.
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