The LinkedIn
State of Sales Report 2020
United States Edition
The LinkedIn
State of Sales Report 2020
United States Edition
Change is an inescapable reality for sales organizations. In the current environment, the pace of transformation is only accelerating, and new challenges are driving significant short-term changes. At the same time, trends that were already in motion before coronavirus are only gaining strength.
In LinkedIn’s fourth annual State of Sales report, you can explore both the emerging and enduring trends and what they mean for your sales organization. One of the most telling findings is that leading through change is now a required skill for sales managers. Seventy percent of sales managers agreed that a manager’s capacity to navigate change is more important than it was five years ago.
This skill is even more critical today as leaders work to understand what the current uncertainty means for their teams and businesses. A LinkedIn survey of more than 200 salespeople in early March found that 55% of survey respondents anticipated a decrease in pipeline — with 14% expecting a significant decrease. In this difficult environment, an emerging trend is that sales organizations are embracing virtual selling, with LinkedIn data showing, for instance, that 81% of sales professionals are conducting more video conferencing with face-to-face meetings limited.
As sales leaders navigate the change precipitated by coronavirus and other factors, here are five enduring trends they should keep in mind:
Sales technology is transforming the sales org
The transition to virtual selling has radically accelerated in light of coronavirus. When face-to-face meetings are limited, sales technology has increasingly moved to the forefront of how sales professionals strengthen existing relationships and begin to build new ones.
Trust gets deals done
More than ever, buyers value trusted relationships. They want to know that salespeople are supportive consultants even in tough times. Our survey data indicates that buyers want trust in the sales process, but find it in short supply. For sales professionals, achieving trust with buyers is often the first step to getting deals done.
Building a sales team with the right skills is challenging
Active listening is the skill that buyers prize most in salespeople, but managers are not prioritizing this trait in their hiring. LinkedIn research also shows that sales teams are embracing video learning in this difficult time to acquire new skills.
Long term metrics are coming to the forefront
Many sales teams are leaning into customer relationships right now, focusing on how they can help and add value. This is an acceleration of an existing trend, as we found that sales organizations are embracing long-term metrics of sales success, such as customer satisfaction.
Top performing salespeople continue to do things differently
We’ll share how top performers differ from their peers in usage of sales tech and in reliance on data and what these insights mean for your sales team.
Here are some of the most illuminating numbers from this year’s State of Sales survey:
The percentage of salespeople who say they use sales intelligence tools, a 54% increase compared with 2018.
The rank of “active listening” among the attributes that buyers most value from salespeople. This trait didn’t even rank in the top five for sales managers in their hiring process for sales reps.
The percent of buyers who agree that the salespeople they ultimately do business with are “trusted advisors.” At the same time, just 40% of decision makers describe the sales profession as “trustworthy.” So, while buyers may distrust the sales profession in the aggregate, they do trust the salespeople they eventually buy from.
FOR MORE INSIGHTFUL STATS, DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF SALES 2020.
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