Connecting with potential customers can be difficult but understanding sales follow-up statistics could be the competitive edge you need to win and retain business.
Is immediately calling a fresh lead efficient or off-putting?
Do you keep trying until you get through or quit?
What do customers value in a sales journey?
Our list of follow up statistics and market insight will show you how to avoid the mistakes salespeople make. You’ll also learn how to reach customers when and how to improve your chances of closing the deal.
- Why are sales follow-ups so effective?
- 1. Salespeople make an average of eight attempted cold calls before they reach a prospect.
- 2. The best time to call is between 4:00 and 5:00 PM.
- 3. 30-50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.
- 4. The average person deletes 48% of the emails they receive every day in just five minutes.
- 5. 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes
- 6. Almost six in 10 buyers want to discuss pricing on the first call.
- 7. 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls but 44% of salespeople give up after just one follow-up
- 8. 92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone
- 9. A study of more than 2,200 American companies found those who attempted to reach leads within an hour were nearly seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with decision-makers than those who waited even 60 minutes.
- 10. Drift tested the response time of 433 companies. Only 9% responded in the first hour of a form submission while more than half didn’t respond within five business days.
- 11. Only one in three messages that are longer than 2500 words actually get a reply.
- 12. Why research makes all the difference to your follow up calls.
- 13. Customers are more likely to buy if they’re comfortable.
- Conclusion
Why are sales follow-ups so effective?
Although customers can vary massively depending on the product you’re selling, research into sales statistics and sales trends highlight the market-wide patterns that can give you the best chance to connect with your customer base and convert leads to sales.
Here are 13 sales follow up statistics you need to know for sales success in 2020.
1. Salespeople make an average of eight attempted cold calls before they reach a prospect.
Persistence is key: it may seem like you’re not getting anywhere but stick with it! A properly maintained sales pipeline means that you should have a range of potential prospects just waiting to speak to you.
2. The best time to call is between 4:00 and 5:00 PM.
Research has shown that, on average, people are far more receptive to calls at the end of the working day rather than trying to catch them during their lunchbreaks.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t still try to reach out to them throughout the day. However, scheduling important decision-making calls towards the end of the day may be more rewarding.
3. 30-50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first.
The market has become increasingly competitive and regardless of the industry, customers have never had more choices open to them.
Successful vendors should be aware of this and be mindful that customers are unlikely to just approach one source, which makes timing vital with half of all sales going to the first vendor to reply.
4. The average person deletes 48% of the emails they receive every day in just five minutes.
This one may be frustrating, especially considering how long it can take to plan, draft and write emails but the truth is, the average customer you’re trying to reach deletes half the emails they receive every day.
Try and keep your messages to customers short and snappy with enticing subjects to encourage them to engage.
5. 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes
This may not come as a huge surprise, but customers won’t always say yes straight away, in fact, 6 out of 10 will say “no” time and time again before you get to a “yes”.
The trick is patience and persistence as well as listening and supporting them you until they’re comfortable enough to commit.
6. Almost six in 10 buyers want to discuss pricing on the first call.
Don’t be worried about bringing up pricing in your first interaction, 60% of customers expect and even welcome it.
Rather than avoiding pricing on the first call, leaving it out altogether could seem as if you’re being evasive or deliberately hiding something which may even put customers off.
7. 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls but 44% of salespeople give up after just one follow-up
Sales aren’t quick. Four out of every five sales are the result of at least five callbacks before the customer commits to buying.
Well over a third of salespeople don’t take leads all the way through to sale showing the persistence can be the only thing between closing a sale or not.
8. 92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone
We may be in the most connected time in human history but customers appear to still be quite traditional in how they interact with vendors.
Over 9 out of 10 customer interactions are on the phone which should help to guide you when designing and implementing your sales strategies.
9. A study of more than 2,200 American companies found those who attempted to reach leads within an hour were nearly seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with decision-makers than those who waited even 60 minutes.
Despite it being a virtue as we’ve already covered in some aspects of sales, patience shouldn’t apply to fresh leads.
Being quick off the mark and contacting leads within the first hour of them approaching you makes it seven times more likely that you’ll speak to the right person who can make a decision to purchase.
10. Drift tested the response time of 433 companies. Only 9% responded in the first hour of a form submission while more than half didn’t respond within five business days.
It may be rare that you’re able to respond the second that forms are submitted, but some companies, 55% in fact, take more than five days to get back to leads, if they respond at all.
Reaching leads when they’re still hot, ideally in the first five minutes, means you’re giving yourself a ten times greater chance to qualify a new lead.
11. Only one in three messages that are longer than 2500 words actually get a reply.
Writing long and detailed emails is a waste of time; customers don’t want to read them and you can probably find better ways to fill your time.
Research shows that the ideal message length to get customers to respond is between 50-125 words which prompts a 51% response rate (which is about the length of this paragraph)
12. Why research makes all the difference to your follow up calls.
Understanding your prospect’s individual business pain points and objectives, then asking them relevant questions is closely tied to winning deals.
Asking between 11-14 targeted questions in the discovery phase produced the best results with customers feeling engaged without being feeling interrogated.
13. Customers are more likely to buy if they’re comfortable.
Possibly the most important on the list. Understanding what gives customers a positive sales experience is the first step to securing a commitment to purchase.
What salespeople focus on isn’t necessarily what customers need for a positive experience. Customers prioritised a salesperson that listens (69%), isn’t pushy (61%) and provides relevant information (61%) compared to salespeople who believe they listen to their prospect’s needs (83%), provide value (82%) and are helpful (77%).
Conclusion
Understanding how customers want to interact with salespeople and being aware of the patterns that guide customer behaviour will drastically improve your chance of converting sales.
There are huge sums being invested in sales follow up statistics and trends so being mindful of the science behind consumer activity could make a difference to your sales.
Which one was you most surprised by?
