LinkedIn Sales Navigator B2B sales playbook

The habits, technologies, and practical advice to help you crush your quota and boost revenue as a deep seller.

We found that the glass ceiling in sales is real. Get infographic.

What is deep sales and why does it matter?

Deep sellers are nearly 2x more likely to exceed their quota than shallow sellers.

We analyzed 104 seller behaviors to identify the 3 habits, that are the real needle movers — the ones that are most highly correlated to your chances of exceeding quota. Sellers who exhibit most, if not all, of these behaviors routinely excel within their sales organizations as top performers, or what we call deep sellers. The sellers who do the least of these behaviors are low performers or shallow sellers.

Here's the good news. Becoming a deep seller is as easy as adopting some new habits and you will become nearly 2x more likely to crush your quota.

Deep sellers do these things. We recommend you do, too.

Here are the three habits — comprised of 10 behaviors — that are proven to impact B2B sales success.

icon of a person working on a laptop with a dollar sign

Habit 1: Prioritize high-potential accounts

Research customers and prospects, and use sales intelligence tools to prioritize high-potential accounts.

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Habit 2: Identify and build key buyer relationships

Establish and build a high number of contacts within an account, create warm paths through connections, identify and research key people using social networks, and spend more time nurturing relationships.

icon of a couple of people being examined with a magnifying glass

Habit 3: Find hidden allies and timely intel for relevant outreach

Gather intel from hidden allies and monitor social networks and the news, to reach out with timely and relevant information.

Sales use of AI and tech
Buyer-seller relationship
Best-practices playbook

Deep sellers embrace AI and sales intelligence technologies

We found that deep sellers overwhelmingly use AI to save time, conduct research, and engage in account planning. They are also using sales intelligence tools, such as Sales Navigator, to glean information to supercharge all 3 deep sales habits.

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Top performers are primarily using AI to save time

The bigger question is how they are using it: nearly 2 in 5 sellers using AI are creating efficiencies and automating tasks, which frees up more of their time to do more of the human parts of selling.

75% of B2B salespeople globally who exceeded quota use AI.

Base: Sellers who exceeded their revenue target n=637 Q. Are you currently using Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in your sales efforts?

Sales intelligence tools are game changers for deep sellers

62% of deep sellers utilize sales intelligence solutions to prioritize high-potential accounts — based on signals that suggest that they have a higher likelihood of closing. That’s significantly higher than shallow sellers (15%).

62%, Deep sellers vs 15% Shallow sellers

Sellers using sales intelligence tools to identify whitespace within current customer accounts.

Base: Total Sellers n= 2187 Q. How do you identify white space, or lucrative areas of opportunity including cross-sell and upsell, within current customer accounts? Select all that apply.

“Although we use the term artificial intelligence, nothing about the buyer-seller relationship should be artificial. It should be genuine. The key question is, “How can generative AI help our account teams become more effective and productive, so they can double down on their relationship skills?”

Barney Brown
Global Head of Sales Enablement at Amazon Web Services

We demystify the buyer-seller relationship

We asked B2B buyers what they expect — and think — about B2B sellers. We found that what B2B buyers want from their sales partners is supported by the deep sales approach.

Expected change in purchasing budgets in the next 12 months

Will stay the same: Sellers 17%, Buyers 26%. Will increase somewhat (1%-24%+): Sellers 63%, Buyers 53%. Will increase substantially (25%+): Sellers 13%, Buyers 11%.

Despite market uncertainty, buyers and sellers both believe that budgets will increase in the next 12 months. While sellers are more bullish, both sellers (76%) and buyers (64%) globally expect budgets to increase in 2024, with most expecting increases from 1%-24%. Interestingly, the percentage of both buyers and sellers who expected purchasing budgets to decrease was in the single digits.

Base: Total Sellers n=2187; Buyers n= 508 Q. Thinking ahead, how do you anticipate the purchasing budget for the majority of your customers to change in the next 12 months? Q. Thinking ahead, how do you think your budget will change in the next 12 months?

#RelationshipsMatter and lead to revenue, over and over again.

Moreover, more than half of buyers say that they bought from the same seller even after they moved to another company (54%). Similarly, 50% of buyers report that they maintained their purchasing relationships with the same salesperson, even after they changed companies. For sellers who invest in buyer relationships, it pays off in spades.

Half of buyers maintain long-term relationships with sellers — and over half purchase from them again.

Almost 3 in 5 buyers say they have purchased from the same salesperson at least twice.

Nearly 2 in 3 sellers say that they have sold to the same decision maker at least twice.

Base: Total Buyers n= 508 Q. Have you ever bought a product or service for your current company based on the following?

“B2B buyers at all levels operate with a simple philosophy — understand how I work, what I care about, and my role in the organization. My advice to salespeople is to really take the time to dig deep because sales is never about the sale itself. Instead, it’s about the relationships you build along the way.”

Neil Patwardhan
Senior Vice President, Sales, Accenture

Here's your deep sales playbook, a practical guide to proven success

Based on our analysis of 104 selling behaviors, we identified the 10 most impactful ways that you — and your team — should invest your time for the highest chance of payoff.

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Deep sellers multithread more often than their peers

46% of deep sellers have relationships with 7 or more decision makers in an account and only 13% of shallow sellers say the same. We see a similar pattern regarding the number of contacts in the buying committee and purchase influencers. the more relationships in an account. That means that the more relationships that sellers have within an account, the higher the chance of closing.

46%, Deep sellers vs 13%, Shallow sellers

Sellers that have 7 or more key decision-maker contacts within an account 

Base: Total Sellers n= 2,187 Q. On average, how many of your contacts at your prospect's company are in the following roles?

Deep sellers tap into hidden allies for inside intel

Deep sellers (68%) strongly agree that connecting with people outside of the buying committee to learn what is happening at a company helps them move a deal forward. That’s significantly higher than shallow sellers (10%). In fact, according to insights from Sales Navigator, hidden allies can shorten the path to deal closing an average of 17% faster.

68% of deep sellers strongly agree that connecting with people outside of the buying committee to learn what is happening at a company helps them move a deal forward.

Base: Global deep sellers n=397 Q. Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements. [I connect with contacts outside of the buying committee to learn what is happening at the company]

“The people in your network — allies — can give you a window into use cases, decision-making circles, and challenges among cross-functional teams, to arm you with even better insights and allow you to be more consultative with your buyers.”