Statistics are a wonderful thing, they allow us to use data and experience to create unique insight that if used correctly, can help us become far more effective sellers.

In the same way that elite athletes analyse every detail, go through all data and use it to make sure they’re as efficient as possible, the same can and should be done in sales.

Note – It’s important to note that these statistics are pulled from a variety of different surveys, reports and data collection. They are not gospel and shouldn’t be seen as 100% fact for every industry and sales team. However, let’s not deny that they are pulled from real data and there is fact and logic behind them.

Just like the British cycling team invested their focus into marginal gains, if you can use these statistics to take a different look at your sales process you may just be able to find a few inches here and there that create or close those extra sales.

I’ve searched through the world of sales and found what I believe to be the best and most powerful 25 sales statistics out there right now:

1 – On the phone, tone is 86% of our communication. Words we use are only 14% of our communication. (ContactPoint)

2 – 70% of people make purchasing decisions to solve problems. 30% make decisions to gain something.  (Impact Communications)

3 – 78% of decision makers polled have taken an appointment or attended an event that came from an email or cold call. (DiscoverOrg)

4 – 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up. (Scripted)

5 – The best times to email prospects are 8am and 3pm. (GetResponse)

6 – The average sales person only makes 2 attempts to reach a prospect. (Sirius Decisions)

7 – 93% of converted leads are contacted by the 6th call attempt. (Velocify)

8 – If you follow up with web leads within 5 minutes, you’re 9 times more likely to convert them. (InsideSales.com) 

9 – Only 25% of leads are legitimate and should advance to sales. (Gleanster Research) 

10 – At any given time, only 3% of your market is actively buying. 56% are not ready, 40% are poised to begin. (Vorsight) 

11 – In a typical firm with 100-500 employees, an average of 7 people is involved in most buying decision. (Gartner Group)

12 – After a presentation, 63% of attendees remember stories. Only 5% remember statistics. (Dan & Chip Heath)

13 – Visuals are processed 60,000x faster in the brain than text. (Mammalian Studios)

14 – Tuesday emails have the highest open rate compared to other weekdays. (Source: Experian)

15 – An average buyer gets 100+ emails a day, opens just 23%, and clicks on just 2% of them. (Tellwise)

16 – 40% of emails are opened on mobile first – where the average mobile screen can only fit 4-7 words max. (ContactMonkey)

17 – Only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment. (Leap Job)

18 – In 2007 it took an average of 3.68 cold call attempts to reach a prospect. Today it takes 8 attempts. (TeleNet and Ovation Sales Group)

19 – The top salespeople use LinkedIn at least 6 hours per week. (The Sales Management Association)

20 – 80% of calls go to voicemail, and 90% of first time voicemails are never returned. (RingLead)

21 – The best time to cold call is 4pm – 5pm. The second-best time is 8am – 10am. The worst times are 11am and 2pm. (InsideSales)

22 – The best days to call are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:45 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. (RingDNA)

23 – 91% of customers say they’d give referrals. Only 11% of salespeople ask for referrals. (Dale Carnegie)

24 – 73% of salespeople using social selling as part of their sales process outperform their sales peers and exceeded quota 23% more often. (Aberdeen)

25 – 50% of sales time is wasted on unproductive prospecting. (The B2B Lead)

Like I said at the start, take what you want from these statistics. I’m not recommending you change everything you do based on them, but I would highly recommend reading them and looking at which ones may apply for your sales process.

It doesn’t shock me at all that 91% of customers would give referrals and only 11% ask for them! There are some amazing statistics in this post that could significantly influence success for you as a sales person. If you weren’t asking for referrals but on reading that statistic, starting asking, imagine how many more opportunities you’d create and close?

About The Author:

Daniel Disney is one of the world's leading Sales, Social Selling and LinkedIn experts. With over 15 years sales experience, Daniel has mastered how to use social media to generate exceptional results, both in social engagement and in revenue generated. His brand new Online Social Selling Masterclass Course is helping salespeople all over the world generate MORE sales with LinkedIn and Social Selling.

Daniel is also a highly in-demand international keynote sales speaker, is the UK's leading sales blogger and is also the Founder and Owner of LinkedIn's most popular sales publication, The Daily Sales. With an audience of over 450,000+ followers and growing by thousands each week, his content reaches millions of salespeople far and wide.

To inquire about Daniel keynoting or speaking at your company or event, or to find out more about his 1-day and online LinkedIn/Social Selling Masterclass please email contact@thedailysales.net.