This list of sales statistics to boost selling results can also be used to shape your sales strategy implementation. Sales statistics and data are factors now important in defining any selling activity or investment from social selling to inbound sales. Sales statistics are also critical for sales channel selection and how to drive deeper customer engagement. GENERAL SALES STATISTICS Selling today is now more complex as there are an average of 7 decision-makers involved in the B2B buying process. Nearly two thirds of B2B buyers state that prior to completing any purchase they researched at least two but as many as seven B2B sites plus between 50 and 90% of the buyer’s journey is complete before they interact with a salesperson. A B2B buyer experience survey recently reported that B2B buyer’s believer that the purchasing process is more tedious due to more detailed ROI analysis (77%), more extensive research activity (75%), and increased buying group members (52%). While, 77% of B2B purchasers said that they would not even speak to a salesperson until they had done their own research. Add in the fact that the average B2B buyer uses six different channels to engage with potential vendors along their journey purchase. Then a recent Wharton survey found that 65% of buyers surveyed had experienced a level of frustration interacting with vendors along their journey. The impact of the internet and social media of both B2B and B2C sales cannot be underestimated. Online sales in both B2B and B2C have not only expanded the reach and volume of traditional sales methods but have also changed entire sales models across numerous industries. The potential of online channels has enabled small and medium enterprises to take a more global approach to their sales strategy. As soon as 2024, over 3.0 billion people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services online, up from 1.7 billion online buyers in 2016. In fact, in 2016, 58.3 percent of global internet users had purchased products online while this figure is expected to grow to near on 70 percent by 2025 – McKinsey. When it comes to the impact of the internet of B2B sales, in the US B2B online sales will hit $1.8 trillion and account for approx. 17% of all B2B sales in the US by 2023. Gartner is forecasting a compound annual growth rate of 10% for B2B eCommerce over the next five years. Today, just north of 49 percent of total B2B sales are still conducted by salespeople in person. While some types of customers and the more complex sales will still be best suited to this channel, expect to see a decline in SaaS and Transaction type sales involving salespeople especially where they don’t add value. To prove this point, 52% of B2B buyers view self-service features as the most important factor when assessing a vendor’s overall sales experience. According to Adobe, nearly 50% of high-tech B2B sales are expected to come from digital channels over the next 3 years. A recent survey from Accenture showed that nearly 73% of B2B senior executives stated that the expectation for more personalized experiences when interacting with brands or salespeople is high on their agenda. While other important factors that influence B2B buyers are value-added services (31%), product features (19%), product reliability (18%), price (17%), and sales experience (15%). In larger, some complex sales, 91% of C-level executives expect their business partners to play a more significant role in their operations. For customer acquisition, the top selling points to get B2B customers to consider change are 1. vendor reputation at 53%, 2. price at 47%, 3. existing customer loyalty/references at 43%, and 4. help with making buying easier (38%). It is hard to believe that in less than 50 years the B2B software market has grown from nearly zero into a multi-billion-dollar industry. According to Statista the B2B software market is expected to grow to over $800 billion by 2025. This category includes business productivity software, business software, and security software. SALES STATISTICS AND BUYERS They may not be your target customer right now, but Gen Z is the future. Gen Z are categorized as those who were born after 1998 and they already command $44 billion in buying power. In fact, by 2020 it is forecasted that will account for approx. 40 percent of all consumer shopping. Gen Z will also be a large portion of the B2B buying group within the next 10 years. They are digital natives who have grown up with the internet, social media and mobile technology. Then we come to Millennials. These are people who were born from the 1980’s to the mid 90’s. A recent Gartner research study into B2B buyer profiles found that over 45% of the 430 B2B technology buyers surveyed were millennials, plus 73% of millennials who work in business are involved in the technology purchasing process for their companies. This is the biggest of any age group involved with the purchase of B2B products and services. Social media is a major influence on product discovery and purchasing decisions for millennials, with 40 percent of them ranking social sources (social media, family, friends) in their top three channels for ideas on products to buy. A survey from CSO Insights found that in the modern sales process 79 percent of buyers feel it is important for salespeople to act as trusted advisers. However, a report from Forrester reports that 62% of B2B buyers say they can now develop selection criteria or finalize a vendor list based solely on digital content. This begs the questions – What is the role of salespeople moving forward? Boston consulting group believe that 70% of B2B search queries will be happening on mobile devices within the next 2 years. So, a sales strategy that includes an “online sales channel” will remain a priority for most B2B companies who compete online lead generation or sales. Another survey by Gartner found that sales teams with a high year on year revenue growth sharedSALES STATISTICS TO BOOST SELLING RESULTS