73 important sales statistics for 2023

Sales teams love numbers. Given the many ways to measure success—KPIs, ROI, quotas, sales pipeline velocity, and churn—it’s easy to get overwhelmed by raw information. And that’s not even considering outside data and statistics that inform trends across the entire industry.

With the avalanche of internal and external sales statistics out there, it can be difficult to know which ones are mostrelevantto yoursales strategy. And with more sales teams going back to the office in 2022, we’re all wondering: What’s changed? What’s important to know? And what do best practices look like as we make the transition back to cubicles and swivel chairs?

Get ready for the ultimate list of sales statistics and facts. From follow-up stats to sales productivity figures, here are 73 important sales stats that should be on your radar for 2022.

Follow-up stats

Prospective customers have notoriously short attention spans. A difference of five minutes can plummet your chances of qualifying a lead by400 percent. So needless to say, the way that you respond to prospects matters.

Let’s take a look at some sales follow-up statistics you should know.

Sales statistics for emails

1. Only8.5 percent of all outreach emailsget a response. If you reach out to the same contact multiple times, you’ll receive 2x more responses.
2. To construct the most successful outreach campaign, you should plan to contact multiple prospects multiple times. This type of sequence willboost your response rates by 160 percent.
3. Most prospects are happier to communicate through email than via phone, text, social media, or in person.8 out of 10 prospects prefer emailsto other forms of communication.

Cold calling sales stats

4. B2B sellers, however, should call prospective buyers directly. Over50 percent of decision-makersprefer to be contacted over the phone.
5. If your team is part of the48 percent of salespeoplewho never attempt follow-up calls, rethink your strategy: 80 percent of sales require five follow-up calls to be successful.
6. There are certain times of day when cold calls are more successful. Thebest time to qualify leadsthrough cold calls is between 4 pm and 5 pm or between 11 am and 12 pm.
7. There are also certain days when prospects are more willing to talk. Thebest day to make contactwith potential clients is Thursday, with Wednesday close behind. Meanwhile, the most inactive weekday for cold calling is Tuesday.

Social selling sales stats

8. Social selling is bigger than ever, and for good reason. Social sellers are66 percent more likelyto reach their quota than those using traditional prospecting techniques.
9. Additionally,78 percent of salespeoplethat make use of social media outsell their peers.
10. By taking advantage of social selling, companies can increase their win rates by5 percentand increase their deal size by35 percent.
11. Breaking it down bysocial media platform: companies acquire 80.3 percent of their B2B buyers from LinkedIn, 12.7 percent of their buyers from Twitter, and 6.7 percent of their buyers from Facebook.

Response time sales statistics

12. Only7 percent of companiesrespond within five minutes of a prospect’s form submission. Meanwhile, 50 percent don’t even respond until five business days later.
13. But that can hurt you—35 to 50 percent of salesgo to the company that responds first.
14. Live chat is an easy way to respond within five minutes. If you don’t use live chat, you’re behind the curve: It’s estimated that85 percent of companies will offer live chatas part of their support by the end of this year.
Key takeaways:Speed means everything in the world of sales. As the sales follow-up statistics show, prospects are looking for answers when they reach out. But within a few minutes of clicking off of a webpage, you’ll start to lose their attention. If you’re comparingCRM software, look for one that can help your team respond to leads the moment they show interest.

Sales funnel facts

As technology progresses, there are ever-evolving opportunities to increase your team’s outreach and customize the buyer’s journey. Let’s review a fewrecent sales trendsthat are important to know for keeping your sales funnel up to date.

Prospecting sales statistics

15. Prospecting is hard.More than half of salespeoplebelieve it’s more difficult to get in front of prospects than it was five years ago.
16. And when surveyed,40 percent of salespeopleagreed that prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process.
17. That might explain why90 percent of companiesfeel the need to make use of two or more lead enrichment tools to gather information about new leads.
18. The prime stage for connecting with a lead is the consideration stage, once leads already have an idea of what a company has to offer.60 percent of leadswant to touch base during this stage, while20 percentprefer the decision stage, and19 percentfavor the awareness stage.
19. If you’re using blogs and articles for your sales funnel, make sure the information you want your prospects to know is near the top. The average Internet userspends only 37 secondsreading an article.

Lead qualification stats

20. Over30 percent of salespeoplesay that budget is the number one reason deals fall apart for their clients, followed by timing (25.5 percent), decision-making (18 percent), value (12 percent), and connection (12 percent).
21. Sales leaders believe50 percentof the clients they speak with aren’t a good fit for the product or service they’re selling.
22. Only25 percent of leadsthat sales teams generate from marketing strategies are ready to meet with a sales rep.

Inbound vs. outbound sales statistics

23. 59 percent of marketing professionalsbelieve inbound marketing strategies lead to the most high-quality leads. Only 16 percent of marketers believe outbound strategies offer more high-quality leads.
24. Inbound marketers tend to have more confidence in their strategies than outbound marketers.68 percent of inbound marketing professionalssee their efforts as “effective,” while only 48 percent of outbound marketers could say the same.
25. 52 percent of outbound marketerssay their strategies are “ineffective,” while only 32 percent of inbound marketers have the same belief.
Key takeaways:For a long time, inbound sales have slowly outpaced outbound sales in terms of lead quality. Even outbound marketers aren’t finding enough value in their systems. Prospecting and pipeline management are more effective when the client shows interest on their own.

Inbound sales will continue to grow in 2022. Make sure your team is staying on top of their inbound sales leads and reaching out at the right time with the help of aCRM.

Sales call facts

We’ve reviewed howcold callingaffects the sales industry in sales follow-up statistics, but there’s more to sales calls than just cold calling. While Zoom took over in 2020, phone calls are still the primary form of communication between prospects and reps.

Here are some sales statistics for phone and video calls that can help inspire yoursales strategiesin 2022.

26. Cold calling isn’t dead.27 percent of sellers说打电话新联系人很效率ective.
27. Don’t give up just because your clients say no at first.60 percent of customerswill say no four times before they agree to a deal, but only 12 percent of sales reps are willing to keep trying after the fourth no.
28. Also bear in mind that, “Sorry, it’s a bad time” doesn’t always mean no. If sales reps call back at a pre-set time and date,42 percent of peoplewould be more willing to make a purchase.
29. That said, don’t be too insistent. If your sales tactics are overly aggressive or pushy, you could drive84 percent of buyersaway.
30. By opening with the phrase, “Did I catch you at a bad time?” your success rate for booking a meeting drops by 40 percent—down to a meager0.9 percent. Meanwhile, opening with a more personal, “How have you been?” increases your success rate by660 percent.
31. Successful salespeople talk for54 percentof each sales call, while less productive salespeople talk for only42 percentof any given conversation.
32. Try making your language more collaborative. By saying “I” instead of “we,” you could be lowering your success rates by35 percent. This is even more important for possessive words. The use of the word “our” instead of “my” is55 percenthigher in successful cold calls.
Key takeaways:Sales calls are a difficult balance. Your team needs to be persistent, but they should always know when to stop pursuing a lead. If your team is struggling to walk this line, try using asales app. This will help your reps organize their info and save time so they can try more effectivesales techniques.

Sales email figures

We’ve mentioned a few follow-up stats for sales emails, but email as a lead nurturing tactic is still extremely relevant in 2022. With more resources for remote work than ever before, mastering emails is a great way to boost your team’ssales performance.

Here are a few sales statistics that can help shape your team’s email communication and marketing strategies going forward.

33. Personalizing the body of an email can boost that client’s response rate by32.7 percent.
34. There arefour main reasonswhy prospects sign up for email campaigns: 34 percent seek special offers, 29 percent are looking for discounts, 22 percent want to learn more about a company’s products, and 15 percent simply like the brand.
35. 42 percent of prospectsare likely to take a look at a brand’s website once they receive an email. But a surprising38 percent of prospectsare willing to go further and make a purchase after seeing an email.

Sales email subject line facts

36. Personalizing the subject line of an email increases the response rate by30.5 percent.
37. Certainbuzzwordsin subject lines can have a huge impact on email open rates. Words likeapply,demo,connect,conference, andopportunityincrease open rates. Meanwhile, words like确认,join,press,social, andinvitecan deter a prospect from opening emails.
38. Lengthening email subject lines can improve response rates. Longer subject lines have a24.6 percenthigher average response rate compared to shorter ones.
39. The best response rates for emails were seen when the email had a subject line with acharacter length between 36 and 50.
Key takeaways:Proper formatting and personalization are two factors that sales teams need to consider when building email campaigns. Prospects have different reasons for signing up for email outreach, so if you’re looking toimprove your sales process, personalizing their experience can make all the difference.

Inside and outside sales statistics

In today’s technology-driven world, there’s not always a need to meet a client for lunch to close a sale.

Inside salescontinues to be one of the fastest-growing areas of sales in 2022. Between faster response times and fewer opportunities to spread germs, inside sales has a wide range of benefits.

Let’s take a look at a few sales facts that demonstrate how inside sales overshadows outside sales in 2022.

40. Over 70 percent of B2B buyersno longer want to meet sales reps in person, but they are open to remote meetings.
41. Traditional in-person B2B sales have plummeted by52 percentsince COVID-19.
42. The good news is that digital meetings typically cost less. Between travel fees, meeting schedules, and business lunches, the average outside sales callcosts $308. On the other hand, the average sales call for inside sales reps costs $50.
43. Inside sales reps who worked from home during the pandemic spent about24 percentof their day selling. The rest was spent on administrative work, prospecting, and internal meetings. But teams that make use ofsales force automationcan reduce the time they spend on tasks that don’t require human interaction.
44. 41 percent of sales leaderssay their prospects are more willing to communicate digitally, and 38 percent say their customers want to make purchases through ecommerce stores.
Key takeaways:Inside sales is on the rise in 2022. Companies spent the last two years discovering the effectiveness of inside sales, and they’re hesitant to go back to how things were before 2020.Sales technologyis constantly evolving, and there are more ways than ever to connect with prospects without meeting them in person.


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Sales statistics for referrals

Marketing strategies require resources to bring in more prospects. But when your team gets referrals, there’s very little cost involved. It’s like free advertising. As such, referrals are a great way to get in touch with high-quality leads.

Here are a few sales figures that will show you how your reps can take advantage of referrals in 2022.

45. Odds are, your team needs to ask for more referrals. About40 percent of sales repsrarely ask for referrals, and only 18.6 percent stay on top of referrals for every client they come in contact with.
46. 92 percent of consumersare willing to trust companies when referrals come from people they know.
47. When consumers are acquired through referrals, they have a37 percenthigher retention rate, and they’re four times more likely to make a purchase.
48. In B2B sales,65 percentof a company’s new sales result from referrals.
49. Referred customers have an18 percentlower churn rate than customers acquired through other sources.
Key takeaways:Referrals result in more high-quality nurtured leads—with less advertising. Between higher retention rates, more purchasing potential, and increased spending, sales teams need to place more focus on asking for referrals in 2022. Even if an incentive is necessary, companies will need to spend only a few resources to gain valuable clients.

Sales facts for onboarding

With more sales reps willing to work in an office environment after the pandemic, sales leaders need to stay on top of their sales onboarding strategies. Without the right training, new employees can cost companies a large chunk of resources.

Let’s take a look at a few sales facts for hiring and training.

Sales statistics for training

50. On average,reps at winning organizationstake four weeks to complete an onboarding program and are fully ramped in four to five months.
51. Over 90 days, new hires will retain just16 percentof all sales training they receive.
52. Companies spend an average of$2,020 per sales repon training.
53. Ongoing training often includes role-playing, which can be beneficial. The average company requires sales reps to do two to three role-play sales scenarios per year, but top-performing companies averagefour role-plays per year.
54. Long-term training is important and—unfortunately—overlooked.85 percent of reps报告被教练关闭开放的交易,但ly 24 percent report being coached on long-term skills.

Sales statistics for hiring

55. 44 percent of companiesmake use of AI-driven software to discover top salespeople.
56. And70 percent of recruitersagree that virtual recruiting will become the new standard.
57. Most companies will spendbetween $10,000 and $15,000on hiring a single sales rep.
58. 19 percent of salespeoplewill work from remote locations permanently post-pandemic.
Key takeaways:Many salespeople are underperforming in their roles. Setting clear goals and providing consistent training can help prevent turnover and assure a good ROI from your sales team.

With one in five salespeople looking for remote sales work, it’s crucial to implement online hiring and training strategies. Not everyone is fully willing to come back to an office environment, so making those accommodations can give you access to top-performing sales reps.

Sales statistics for productivity

Similar to training and hiring, sales reps are still adjusting to remote work, and they’re starting to come back to the office. With these location changes in mind, it can be difficult to see what average productivity looks like in the workplace.

So, let’s take a look at some productivity-based sales statistics so you can focus on important KPIs for your team.

59. Quota attainment dropped6.6 percentbetween 2018 and 2020—possibly due to adjustments to remote work.
60. In 2021,53 percent of salespeoplereported working from home more than half of the time.
61. Only24.3 percent of salespeopleexceeded their quota in 2021.
62. That may be because reps are simply not getting in front of enough people.66.7 percent of salespeopleadmitted they made contact with 250 or fewer prospects in the past year. Meanwhile,15 percentof salespeople made contact with over 1,000 prospects in the same year.
63. Conversational selling—where reps chat with prospects, as opposed to pitching—appears to be a successful tactic among high performers. Top-performing sales reps “pitch” their offer only7 percent of the time.
64. The most productive sales tool for41.2 percent of salespeopleis their phone. Between cold calls, warm calls, and hashing out details, calling prospects continues to be the best means of communication.
65. 81 percent of sales and marketing teamsdon’t take the time to review and correct their sales processes.
66. One in five sales repsbelieves they don’t have the right resources to keep their sales processes on track.
Key takeaways:Within the last two years, sales reps dealt with ups and downs in their performance. It’s beneficial to review your team’s sales materials, KPIs, and resources.Sales dashboardscan be a great way to organize this information into a single place. That way, reps can stay on top of their prospects and make their sales processes more consistent.

Sales technology stats

With most sales processes going digital in the last two years, companies are slowly starting to incorporate different types of sales technology into their day-to-day. As the hybrid workplace is now more prevalent than ever, here are some statistics that will highlight how quickly sales technology has grown over the last two years.

67. 43 percent of salespeoplemade use of intelligence tools for theirsales trackingand pipeline, which was a 54 percent increase from two years earlier.
68. 77 percent of sales professionalssay their company has plans to invest more heavily in sales intelligence tools.
69. 54 percent of sellersbelieve sales technology is a great resource for building stronger relationships with their buyers.
70. 54 percent of sales repssay digital sales tools help them win over more prospects.
71. Of the technologies that sales reps identified as “very important,”70 percent同意一个CRM系统都属于这个类别。
72. 49 percent of sales professionalssay they plan to rely on CRM software “significantly more.”
73. 85 percent of sellersadmitted they lost or pushed back a deal in 2020 due to a key client at a company changing their role—sales technology and access to automated contact data would have solved this problem.
Key takeaways:Sales reps are starting to use technology in their day-to-day, and they don’t have any plans to stop in 2022. Between CRMsales softwareand data, teams are understanding the powerful tools that sales technology has to offer.

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