Social selling research

LinkedIn Confidential ©2013 All Rights Reserved

Robert KoehlerSales Performance Consultant

LinkedIn

Social Selling Research

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“Best-in-Class sales reps (reps that deployed social selling) companies saw a 16.3% average year-over-

year increase in total company revenue, compared to a 4.1% increase for the Industry Average and a 8.7%

decrease among Laggards”

“Social Selling: Best-in-Class Targeting of the Right Message, at the Right Time, for the Right Person” Aberdeen Group, July 2012.

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“Sales professionals are 79% more likely to attain their quota than those that don’t use social selling”

Aberdeen Group, May 2012.

ORGANIZATION NAME

Aberdeen Research BriefSocial Selling Research

I In April and May 2012, Aberdeen Research surveyed 173 end-user sales organizations to understand how the top performers among them use Social Media. They used performance metrics to differentiate between Best-In-Class (top 20%), Industry Average (middle 50%) and Laggard (bottom 30%). What they found:

Reps achieving quota in last calendar or fiscal year: BIC=79%, Ind Avg= 43%, Laggards= 15%

YOY increase in total company revenue. BIC= 16.3% incr., Ind Avg= 4.1%, Laggards= 8.7% decline

YOY increase in average deal size or contract value: 0.7%, Ind Avg= 1.7% increase, Laggards= 6.6% decline

Average sales cycle: BIC=0.7%, Ind Avg= 0.2%, Laggards= 5.3%

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ORGANIZATION NAME

Aberdeen Research BriefSocial Selling Research

In Best of Class companies, 70% of respondents engage customers through personalized social experiences

“Keeping sales professionals engaged by providing them with not only the most contemporary social tools, but also with proof that they are effective, is surely a welcome sales enablement best practice”

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Two out of three CXO level decision makers want to engage digitally vs. in person with sales

(Sirius Decisions Summit, Scottsdale 2012)

LinkedIn Sales Solutions



SBI conducted over 12,500 Buyer Surveys last year across 19 different industries. We’ve synthesized the output into our Annual Research Project. (August 20, 2012)

In almost 75% of sales situations, your Customer would prefer not to spend time meeting face to face. Our research shows they want to engage virtually. Why aren’t you making it easy for them?

By eliminating travel time, your sales force can become up to 150% more efficient

You are no longer a slave to geography, and can re-align your team by vertical, by tier, or by type of product sold

Inside Sales drives Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) out of your business model, which increases your profitability and may even allow you to re-evaluate your Average Sales Price (ASP) so you can gain entry into the marketplace at a more attractive point. How much does your outside sales force add to your costs?




As noted in the recent Harvard Business Review article, “Tweet Me, Friend Me, Make Me Buy”, “more than 90% of C-level executives said they ‘never’ respond to cold calls or e-mail blasts,” but sales people are seeing a high rate of response to social media

(www.ASTD.org, August 13 2012)


http://www.astd.org/



Frost & Sullivan 2011 Sales Leadership Priorities Survey Results; 119 sales executives in North & South America

http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/cio/234345213

Top challenge: Identifying and qualifying high-potential prospects (36%)


http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/cio/234345213


What is social selling?

That is what social selling really means. ~80% of purchase decisions are based on recommendations. You need to be part of that "recommendation Chain". If you and your products are not recommended, you need to settle for the 20% of the deals that where based only on price or other random mechanism you have no control over.

In other words, here is my definition of social selling: "Social selling is a sales technique, leveraging social media, to get and maintain a 360 degree picture of the clients and their influencer on an ongoing basis. It allows sales people to manage and maintain 5 times as many active customers compared to traditional techniques. Social selling allows an average sales person to become a top performer simply by using tools and techniques that allows them to socialize in a way that was only accessible to the top sales guard in

Source: Axel Schultze, www.customerthink.com, October 23, 2009 (also Chairman of the Social Media Academy)


http://www.customerthink.com/


Sales tool that provide insight about prospects see results

Businesses that invest in sales tools to provide more insight about prospects see results:

71% year over year improvement in sales cycle time 51% year over year improvement in lead conversion rates 54% year over year improvement in the percent of sales reps

achieving quota

Source: Aberdeen Group, Sales Intelligence: The Secret to Sales Nirvana, January 2009



The New Buying Process

“Buyers aren’t just more informed, they’re busier. A 2012 survey by International Data Corporation found that B2B technology buyers receive an average of 6 phone calls and 14 emails per day from vendors. Since they’re inundated with data and sales pitches, it’s not surprising that the IDC’s respondents return a paltry 10.5% of phone calls and 9% of emails from new vendors. Now that informed buyers can thoroughly research their own options, a call from a new sales representative can be more of a nuisance than a service”

“The number of people involved in a large technology purchase increased from five in 2010 to seven in 2012”.

Hootsuite blog, February 28, 2013


http://event.l3.on24.com/event/50/30/29/rt/1/documents/slidepdf/wc09132012.pdf

http://event.l3.on24.com/event/50/30/29/rt/1/documents/slidepdf/wc09132012.pdf


The Rise of Social Selling_Sales Benchmark Indexhttp://www.salesbenchmarkindex.com/bid/100894/The-Rise-of-Social-SellingAugust 14, 2013

4.4% - email open rates (source: Google). Batch and blast email campaigns don’t work. Your buyers (and you) are saturated with emails every day. If you think you can outshout hundreds of others via email, good luck.

1-3% - cold calling appointment rate (source: American Association for Inside Sales Professionals). When was the last time you answered your desk phone? An unknown call to your mobile phone? If you’re spending on tele-prospecting, you’re better off throwing it out the window.

84% - # of B2B decision makers who begin their buying process with a referral (source: Edelman Trust Barometer). Ask yourself what you did the last time you entered the market with a need. Maybe a new sales or marketing leader. A potential venture capital or private equity firm. Did you take a cold call? Respond to a recruiter’s email? Or, did you pick up the phone and call someone you know for help?


http://www.salesbenchmarkindex.com/bid/100894/The-Rise-of-Social-Selling

http://www.salesbenchmarkindex.com/bid/100894/The-Rise-of-Social-Selling

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Evolve IP

www.evolveip.net

http://www.evolveip.net/


“80% of sales leads are wasted and 80% of sales time is spent cold-calling and prospecting”

“30% of sales reps turn over every year”
