Although sales teams are still contending with the enduring consequences of the extremely difficult climate in 2023, there is hope that the ordeal is nearing its resolution. Salespeople are finding new ways of connecting buyers and sellers. The report on sales trends for 2024 provides insights into how success will be achieved for many sales organisations.
The primary objective of sales professionals is to surpass their targets or quotas; however, in recent times, achieving this aim has required increased effort. 54% of sellers report that selling has been more difficult this year than the previous one. They attribute this to inflation, intense competition, a shortage of high-quality leads, difficulties in reaching decision-makers, and extended deal cycles.
In extensive research by HubSpot, these are some of the top insights for sales pros and sales leaders to know going into 2024.
- 54% of sales pros say selling has been harder this year than before.
- 96% of prospects do their research before talking to a human sales rep — and 71% prefer to do their research instead of talking to a rep.
- Sales reps only spend 2 hours per day selling.
- Sales reps spend ~1 hour per day on administrative tasks.
- 82% of sales pros say building relationships and connecting with people is both the most important part of selling — and the most enjoyable part of their job.
- 52% of sales pros say B2B customers use self-serve tools more than last year.
- 62% of sales pros say their org is taking fewer risks in 2023 than in 2022, and 70% say budgets are more scrutinised in 2023 than in 2022.
- 28% of sales pros say the sales process taking too long is the biggest reason prospects back out of deals.
- There is an average of five decision-makers involved in every sales process today.
- 72% of company revenue comes from existing customers, with 28% from new customers.
- In 2023, the average sales win rate is 21%.
- Lead generation has changed, and the top sources for high-quality leads across our survey participants were as follows:
- Social media
- Referrals from existing customers
- Email marketing
- Telemarketing
- Website/blog/SEO
- Tradeshows and events
Bonus insight: This year, webinars were at the very bottom of the list. This strategy seems to have slowed down since the height of the pandemic, and buyers now favour independent research.
These sales trends for 2024 have a direct impact on the performance of a sales organisation. Let’s look at a few of the highest impact points.
- The trend shows that customers are investing in more research before speaking with a salesperson to an unseen level of 96%. The investment in marketing and marketing collateral must be increased significantly to be included in the selection process. This level of research has lifted from 63% just a few years prior.
- Average win rates are down to 21%. This means the pipeline needs to be five times your forecast number to deliver over-sales goal results. It will require a lot of deals in play.
- 28% of business comes from new business, and the rest is from existing customers. If your existing base is light, you will require a high level of lead generation to fill the gap.
- There are five decision-makers on average in every deal. This means more appointments to close one deal.
- Deals are taking longer to close. Pipelines can easily be full of deals now that are being pushed back on a few occasions. The push for a decision will be relentless as it is harder to close deals.
- Leads are becoming harder to get. This is a challenge for both sales and marketing. The lead cost will increase for marketing, and sales must be better at following up on those leads and working with them.
The sales trends for 2024 will have a direct impact on your sales planning. This data directly impacts the appointment numbers required to win a deal and the lead requirements for opportunities to fill a pipeline.
The alignment of sales and marketing will be pivotal to your success. The CRM will become a powerful central tool for sales and marketing to manage connections and relationships and provide leads and follow-up in alignment. The communication between sales and marketing with prospects and customers must be seamless.
These sales trends for 2024 will potentially lead to one of the toughest sales years for many salespeople who are not seasoned in economic change and the shift to these harder and longer deal timelines.
To read the full report, go to HubSpot Sales Trends Report, which surveyed 1,400+ sales professionals in August 2023 from B2B and B2C organisations in the U.S., U.K., Japan, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany.
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