29 sales stats to help your 2024 strategy
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The world of sales is constantly evolving, with new technologies claiming higher close rates and cold calling being replaced by targeted social media outreach. In fact, digital marketing and sales now go hand-in-hand, with prospects doing a lot more research themselves before even speaking to a salesperson. You only have to log onto LinkedIn to know that engaging posts and thought leaders are the way forward…
In such a noisy space, staying on top of trends and speaking to a prospect’s needs is crucial.
Feeling overwhelmed? No need. We’ve put together 29 sales stats that you should know about in 2024.
Our top 29 sales stats for 2024
Marketing and sales – is a strong relationship crucial to success?
- In 2023, 61% of sales leaders automated their CRM software
- 96% of decision-makers do their own research before speaking to a salesperson
- Sales enablement content is a central part of the sales process, with 79% of sales leaders stating that these materials are essential for making a sale
Quick quote: “Sales and marketing alignment is key to driving revenue growth and delivering a seamless customer experience” – Peter Strohkorb – GAICD
Cold calling – effective or outdated?
- 90% of decision-makers never answer a cold call from a salesperson
- After sending an initial inquiry, the best time to call prospects is within one hour
- Only 46% of salespeople engage in cold calls, compared to 88% for warm calls
- Perseverance is key, with 60% of prospects saying no before they say yes
- Are cold emails more effective? Well, research has shown that cold email campaigns with three email rounds have the highest reply rates (7.9%)
Quick quote: “Customers don’t care at all whether you close the deal or not. They are about improving their business” – Aaron Ross
Sales successes – how many leads actually turn into a sale?
- The average close rate for sales is 29%
- The average sales win rate is 21%
- Across all industries, the average conversion rate for sales is around 3.26%
- Only 44% of companies use lead-scoring systems
Quick quote: “Sales acceleration is about maximising every interaction with customers and constantly finding ways to shorten the sales cycle” – Andy Paul
The B2B space – is LinkedIn the place to be?
- 31% of B2B prospects are more drawn to social media content
- 89% of marketers in the B2B space use LinkedIn to generate leads
- Thanks to professional demographic data, LinkedIn can drive higher quality leads (according to 40% of B2B marketers)
- 67 million companies are listed on LinkedIn
- Using images in LinkedIn posts can lead to 2X higher comment rates
- 80% of decision-makers prefer to learn about a company from articles rather than advertisements
Quick quote: “Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win” – Jeffrey Gitomer
Social media – the future of sales?
- As of 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur through digital marketing channels
- The lead-to-close rate is 100% higher in social media marketing than outbound marketing
- Compared to traditional sales channels, social selling provides 45% more opportunities
- 84% of decision-makers use social media in their buying process
- 54% of salespeople can track a sale back to social media engagement
- Thought leadership is key in this space, with 92% of B2B buyers engaging with a salesperson who is a well-known thought leader within their industry
Quick quote: “Every email is an opportunity to test a different benefit or angle” – Heather R Morgan
Technology in sales – helpful or overwhelming?
- 81% of salespeople say that AI tools help them with manual tasks, increasing productivity
- On the flip side, 45% of salespeople feel overwhelmed by the amount of tools available
- Sales leaders who offer prospects self-service tools, like interactive calculators, are 47% more likely to exceed their targets
- Sales companies are planning to invest more in sales tools, including analytics and reporting tools (79%) and sales automation tools (74%)
- CRMs can boost sales by 29%
Sources: Hubspot, Hootsuite, LinkedIn
Quick quote: “Customers have changed way faster than salespeople, especially in the B2B space. That’s a powerful acknowledgement. It means that we need to run faster because customers are needing us less and less every single day” – Alejandro Cabral
