Illustration of woman at desk on computer

What Top Performing Salespeople Do Differently*

Discover 5 key things they do differently than their counterparts

#1 Embrace sales technology
#2 Place the buyer first
#3 Understand that adapting to change is not optional
#4 Transform the cold call into the warm call
#5 Are ambitious users of LinkedIn

*LinkedIn's recent survey of 7,600 buyers and sellers in 11 countries uncovered several ways that top performers take different approaches than average performers. Top performers were defined as those who said they reached 125% or more of quota. Average performers were all others who took the survey.

"What we're finding more and more is that if you want to have a successful sales organization, you have to understand what good looks like. At Korn Ferry, we have found that world-class sales organizations, the ones who regularly hit their sales numbers, do an assessment of the top 10% of salespeople within the organization on a regular basis.”

Joseph DiMisa

Global Sales Strategy and Rewards Advisory Leader, Korn Ferry

#1
Top Performers embrace sales technology

Top performers are more likely to embrace sales technology, especially in the wake of COVID, which has made it unsafe to travel, virtually impossible to attend in-person events, and highly difficult to meet face-to-face. This situation has placed more emphasis on using sales technology to identify and reach prospects.

Illustration of a woman standing at a desk

32% of Top performers, 28% of Average performers

Used sales tech on a daily basis in 2020

65% of Top performers, 49% of Average performers

Describe sales tech as "very important” to closing deals

Top performers see sales technology is useful in specific ways

56% of Top performers, 45% of Average performers

“Strongly agree” that sales technology connects them to the right prospects

Illustration of shaking hands, 56% of Top performers, 48% of Average performers

“Strongly agree” that sales tech helps them “build strong relationships”

The power of sales technologies

With their belief in the power of sales tech, it only makes sense that top performers are far more likely than average performers to anticipate that their usage of specific sales technology will significantly increase this year:

Bar chart comparing usage of sales tech by Top performers and average performers

Top performers prize two specific technologies:
CRM and sales intelligence

Top performers are more likely to say that sales intelligence tools are “extremely critical” in closing deals.

49% of top performers vs. 29% of average performers

Top performers tend to spend almost an hour per week more than their colleagues updating their CRM. As a result, they are more likely than average performers to be “very confident” in their CRM data.

57% of top performers vs. 39% of average performers

Percentage of salespeople "very confident" in their CRM data

“Top performers are very tight in the way that they set up their CRM.”

Morgan J. Ingram

Director of Sales Execution and Evolution, JB Sales Training

Top performers were more likely than average performers to have closed deals of $500,000 or more without ever meeting the buyer in person.

Percentage of salespeople that have closed deals of $500,000+ without meeting the buyer in person

41% of top performers, 33% of average performers

Illustration of man in wheelchair working at desk

“Top performers are willing to take the leap of faith and embrace new technologies in 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 Social Enablement Lead, Pitney Bowes

See what LinkedIn Sales Navigator can do for you

Learn more

#2
Top Performers place the buyer first

How does taking a buyer first approach reveal itself in action? One way is that top performers understand that as the business world has grown more complex, buying committees have grown in size and also in importance.

67% of top performers, 55% of average performers

say they “always” place the “buyer first."

Illustration of man sitting at desk working on computer

“Top performing salespeople, number one, understand how to build rapport and connection with the client. They know how to do their research, they know how to find even personal things to connect with the client, and they work at building a relationship.”

Samantha McKenna

Founder, #samsales Consulting

Illustration of woman sitting in chair working on computer

Top performers are more likely than average performers to be “multi-threaded” at accounts and believe that engaging with multiple influencers on the buying committee can help win new business.

60% of top performers vs 49% of average performers

“Top performing salespeople are buyer-centric. They can truly understand the buyer and what they are trying to do. Detail-oriented, organized, fearless, storytellers. All of the above, but buyer-centricity trumps everything.”

Craig Rosenberg

Distinguished VP, Analyst at Gartner

#3
Top Performers understand that adapting to change is not optional

It's clear that sales, like all aspects of business, is changing quickly. New ways of using technology and data are only one aspect of the changes hitting the sales organization, and COVID has only accelerated these changes.

Our survey data indicates that top performers are far more likely than their colleagues to adapt to change.

Percentage of sales people who say that a sales managers’ability to adapt to change is “much more important" than it was five years ago

50% of top performers, 34% of average performers

Illustration of man and woman on couch with black cat

As sales organizations grapple with changes in technology, data usage, and more, top performers are more likely than average performers to focus on the cultural aspects of how sales organizations can most effectively adapt to these changes.

#4
Top Performers have transformed the cold call into the warm call

First, let's establish that these top performers are not talking about true cold calls. No salesperson is calling random numbers out of phonebook. The cold call has been transformed.

What's changed is that no top performer is actually engaging in a true cold call; instead, they are turning what once were cold calls into warm calls through research and preparation.

Through tools ranging from search engines to LinkedIn Sales Navigator, top performers gain an understanding of their prospects and their businesses before ever reaching out.

Illustration of woman on laptop laying on couch

Top performers are far more likely than average performers to have experienced a “major increase” in responsiveness to cold calls and emails.

54% of top performers, 27% of average performers

Percentage of responsiveness received to Cold Calls

53% of top performers, 30% of average performers

Percentage of responsiveness received to Cold eMails

"Top sales performers know how to engage and demonstrate empathy with someone's burdensome business issue. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another person's situation and perceive things from their perspective. It's not just about imagining how someone is feeling, but having some knowledge of their situation and what they are trying to achieve. Without empathy, we can't fully understand the problems prospects might be facing in relation to our product.”

Julie Thomas

CEO, Value Selling Associates

Top performers engage more effectively

Our survey confirms this theory. Top performers are far more likely than average performers to engage “most of the time” in a variety of research activities, such as:

Bar chart comparing engagement of Top performers and average performers

Illustration of woman in front of a white board working

This research leads to knowledge, and developing this kind of understanding enables top performers to be empathetic and build trust with prospects.

Ironically, top performers say they spend less time selling than average performers do.

In a typical week, top performers spend about 100 minutes less time selling than their colleagues.

Top performers are, however, spending more time preparing for the time they do spend actually selling — and it appears to make all the difference.

Illustration of man working at standing desk

“Top performers spend far more of their time researching their industry, learning about their competitors, understanding trends, reading about ancillary things that affect their industry and being thought leaders and consultants in their space than they do pounding phones,sending emails, and prospecting.”

Sahil Mansuri

CEO of Bravado

#5
Top Performers are ambitious users of LinkedIn

When compared with average performers, top performers tend to see higher value in LinkedIn.

Percentage of sales people who consider themselves “very active" on LinkedIn

55% of top performers, 46% of average performers

Illustration of woman holding a child working at a desk

In 2020, top performers were more likely than their colleagues to say they were writing their own articles on LinkedIn “much more” by a margin of 52% to 30%.

Top performers are 2x more likely to place a “significantly larger" effort on expanding their LinkedIn network in 2021 than their colleagues.

See what LinkedIn Sales Navigator can do for you

Learn more

What Top Performing Salespeople Do Differently*

Discover 5 key things they do differently than their counterparts

#1 Top Performers embrace sales technology

The power of sales technologies

Top performers prize two specific technologies: CRM and sales intelligence

“Top performers are very tight in the way that they set up their CRM.”

Top performers were more likely than average performers to have closed deals of $500,000 or more without ever meeting the buyer in person.

See what LinkedIn Sales Navigator can do for you

#2 Top Performers place the buyer first

How does taking a buyer first approach reveal itself in action? One way is that top performers understand that as the business world has grown more complex, buying committees have grown in size and also in importance.

#3 Top Performers understand that adapting to change is not optional

#4 Top Performers have transformed the cold call into the warm call

Top performers engage more effectively

This research leads to knowledge, and developing this kind of understanding enables top performers to be empathetic and build trust with prospects.

Ironically, top performers say they spend less time selling than average performers do.

#5 Top Performers are ambitious users of LinkedIn

In 2020, top performers were more likely than their colleagues to say they were writing their own articles on LinkedIn “much more” by a margin of 52% to 30%.

Top performers are 2x more likely to place a “significantly larger" effort on expanding their LinkedIn network in 2021 than their colleagues.

See what LinkedIn Sales Navigator can do for you

#1
Top Performers embrace sales technology

Top performers prize two specific technologies:
CRM and sales intelligence

#2
Top Performers place the buyer first

#3
Top Performers understand that adapting to change is not optional

#4
Top Performers have transformed the cold call into the warm call

#5
Top Performers are ambitious users of LinkedIn