Craig Rosenberg
Distinguished VP-Analyst,
Gartner
Sales resources
Customers & partners
Support
State of Sales Spotlight - Trend #1
According to LinkedIn’s Fifth annual State of Sales report, global edition.
say that salespeople are trustworthy
describe the salespeople they ultimately do business with as “trusted advisors.”
Yet buyers say that trusting a salesperson is a top factor in selecting which salespeople they do business with. Buyers ranked “trustworthy” as the No. 1 trait they value in a sales professional at 43%.
Sales professionals are getting past that initial distrust to get deals done by harnessing the power of sales technology. No wonder 75% of sales pros say they use sales technology at least once a week and almost one-third (30%) use it every day.
74% of Sales professional say their org plans to invest more in sales intelligence tools.
With in-person meetings limited by COVID-19, sales technology proved essential to gaining insight and understanding into potential customers.
Even before the pandemic, sellers were able to use sales technology to understand the potential customer before any outreach had taken place. The value of sales technology has only risen.
of sellers say sales tools enable them to build stronger relationships with buyers.
of sellers say sales tools help them close more deals.
“Overall, virtual selling has driven rapid digital transformation in sales. Early adopters were ready technologically for the sudden move to virtual, and now laggards are investing in technology infrastructure to support their reps. The early days of the pandemic were really the ultimate test.”
Craig Rosenberg
Distinguished VP-Analyst,
Gartner
The tools helping sales professionals close deals
Global average percentage of survey respondents who say these technologies are “very important.”
It’s no surprise sales professionals say they plan to use these technologies “significantly more” in 2021: CRM (42%), sales intelligence (40%), and sales planning (39%).
of sales pros globally expect to invest more in sales technology in the next 12 months
sales professionals say they anticipate investing “significantly more” in a CRM system, sales intelligence and sales engagement tools.
“Top-performing salespeople are willing to take the leap of faith and embrace new technologiesin order to educate and engage with prospects and customers. This is key as more millennials now begin to enter the job market; these individuals have a new way of communicating. Salespeople need to change their ways and embrace new technologies or face being left behind.”
Paul Lewis
Global Social, Digital Marketing, and Sales Enablement Lead,
Pitney Bowes
Ready to dive into the report to explore how LinkedIn can help you ahead with these industry trends?