Buyer behaviour is constantly evolving, and it’s about time your sales teams changed with it. But, in order to move forward, we must first look back. Here are five sales stats you need to know from 2023 that will change the way you sell in 2024. In this blog post, we’ll break down each one to understand what it means, and how you can use this information to crush your targets in the coming year.
1: More than 70% of salespeople missed target
Source: B2B Sales Benchmarks | H1 2023 Update
This number might come as a shock, but it makes more sense when you consider what’s changed for buyers.
Buyers’ budgets have shrunk, but they are still expected to deliver results. On top of that, their buying decisions are under increased scrutiny by senior colleagues. These changes are making them both change, and risk averse. Ultimately, this is what’s making them harder to sell to. Salespeople need to adapt their approach if they are to succeed.
How long has it been since you re-assessed your sales approach? If you needed to think, it’s probably outdated. Being able to respond accordingly to ever-evolving buyer behaviour requires fresh insights. In order to succeed, we must learn to adapt. Take buying groups as an example…
More people are involved in the buying process than ever before. Where there was once one person calling the shots, there are now an average of 11.2 people playing a part in that decision-making process. Your point of contact must report back to the wider business and build consensus before even considering any kind of deal. They will likely have to deliver their own sales pitch internally in order to get buy-in from their colleagues. This not only emphasises the importance of ensuring they’re fully equipped to do so successfully, but also the fragility of that chain. It only needs one weak link; one “no” answer, and the opportunity is lost.
Building relationships with the buyer groups early in the process, often known as multi-threading (we’ve got more on this later), is essential in helping reduce pipeline lag, adding value in the sales process and helping with the internal business case.
2: 70% of sales pros say budgets were more scrutinised in 2023 than in 2022.
Source: Hubspot’s 2024 Sales Trends Report
The bottom line: salespeople are finding it harder to sell because buyers are finding it harder to buy. For buyers, where they spend their money is closely monitored. And this has a profound impact on what does and doesn’t work as part of the sales experience. The same old approach simply isn’t going to cut it in 2024. And by old, we mean the one that might have worked even just a few short years ago. Now, however, the customer gaze is fixed on achieving what they need to within budget, meaning salespeople have to work even harder to deliver an exceptional sales experience, in order to convince them to spend more. As human beings, we are hardwired to resist change. So, in order to increase their spend, your buyers need a good reason, and it’s your job to help them realise what that is.
💡 This isn’t just about ROI for the business, either. There’s something larger at play here. Sales approaches that are aimed specifically at the individual customer are twice as effective as those targeting the business as a whole. We’re all starting out 2024 hungry for success, and, as a result, we’re far more likely to gravitate towards salespeople, products and services that we are confident will help us achieve our own goals. Therefore, your buyers are far more likely to try and find more budget, or choose a vendor based on whether they think it will help them win personally.
3: 23% of sellers are contributing 83% of revenue
Source: B2B Sales Benchmarks | H1 2023 Update
We already know the vast majority of salespeople are underperforming against target. But then we’ve got this cohort of sellers who are not only hitting, but smashing their targets. So, what are these top performers doing differently? By codifying and then scaling winning sales behaviours, you can emulate this 23% across your entire team for sales success in 2024, turning your average performers into high performers.
We worked with Stats Perform to establish a consistent sales approach, regardless of experience or geographic location, to help hit higher growth numbers. The result? They made more progress with our training programme than with their previous sales process over the last two years.
Designed for sales leaders, our Sales Team Scorecard is all about turning your average performers into high performers, analysing how they measure up next to the best in the business, and providing tailored tips to help take your team to the next level.
4: Buyers aged 25-44 will make up 75% of buying teams
Source: Forrester predictions 2024
This one is particularly interesting, and here’s why. Buyers are getting younger on average, and, of course, have grown up in an entirely different world to their predecessors. This not only means their wants are different, but also the way they work. In much simpler times, there was buyer and seller. But as the number of people in buying groups increases, there is once again more work to be done to deliver a great sales experience. Instead of just one person, salespeople have to win over that average of 11.2 people in the buying group – a mammoth task for just one salesperson to take on alone. In fact, these numbers reinforce the necessity of assembling a team on the selling side in response. What’s more, 40% of younger buyers will rate person-to-person meetings with product experts as their most meaningful personal reactions, outlining the importance of bringing these individuals into the sales cycle earlier.
5: Deal slippage is at a record breaking 39%
Source: B2B Sales Benchmarks | H1 2023 Update
There is pressure on salespeople to generate pipeline, however they are often overly optimistic with their forecasts. The idea of a sales funnel, where as long as it’s filled to the top, the law of averages dictates enough will come through to hit target, simply isn’t sustainable. It also doesn’t give the C-suite an accurate view of the forecast and genuine opportunities.
At Flume, we’d say that’s old school thinking. Any sales leader would value quality over quantity. Expecting to lose 75% of the “opportunities” in your pipeline can’t be a good thing. In fact, as we’ve learned from talking to our clients, it can cause serious problems with forecasting and board confidence in those numbers. Most salespeople want a lot of opportunities, but in reality this often leads to a waste of time and resources chasing leads that will never close. Which is why we believe it’s just as important to qualify ‘out’ as well as ‘in’, and that needs to be done throughout the entire sales process – not just at the start. This allows sales reps the time to focus on the deals that will actually come through, increasing opportunity to close earlier and reduce pipeline lag, thus creating more capacity for growth.
You might be interested to read about the “Sales Nail”, an alternative view to the traditional sales funnel, in our popular article The sales funnel is dead. Long live the sales ‘nail’!
But even quality leads aren’t safe from deal slippage. You might only have a line of communication with one person, but it’s unlikely they’ll be making that decision in a vacuum. Therefore, salespeople should be proactive in trying to forge relationships with additional stakeholders. We call this multi-threading – think of it like not having all your eggs in one basket. If you are in conversation with some of those other members of the buying group, you can minimise the risk of that one “no” answer we discussed earlier.
The sales landscape is often complex, but equipped with the insights from these sales stats, as well as adaptable strategies, you can navigate these shifts with confidence and drive success in 2024 and beyond. If you’re interested in finding out more about the sales training programmes we offer at Flume, we provide sales training that actually works for every customer facing rep.
Get in touch and book a call and let us share our ideas and show you how to drive lasting behavioural change with Flume Sales Training Courses.
