Post recap: Here are 9 social selling stats that will get you thinking differently about social prospecting, relationship building and opportunity discovery.

The more things change in the world of sales, the more they stay the same. Sales excellence has always been about building relationships. In today’s digital world, it’s just the way we start and develop relationships that has changed.

Social selling has been a popular idea over the last few years, however few organizations have prioritized it for their sales teams (only 8%, according to HubSpot.) Many feel it’s too informal and a poor substitute for talking to prospects.

However if looking at it more closely, you’ll see that social selling can have a significant impact on your sales team, the number and quality of relationships you build with prospects, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Let’s take a look at some of social selling statistics and reasons why you should be using it in your organization (and how you can convince your reluctant sales leaders too.)

9 #SocialSelling Stats on Why It Matters to Sales Pros (And 4 reasons to get started)

Reason #1: It helps you perform better than your sales peers

78% of sales pros using social media perform better than their peers (Forbes)

Social media touches every part of the sales funnel, so it makes sense that today’s sales pro will perform better. Prospects start their research on social media and will appear in every part of your sales funnel: from awareness, all the way through qualification, opportunity, and most importantly, upsell.

source: Kiss Metrics

55% of B2B buyers do their research through social networks (Hootsuite)

They start by reviewing comments from their peers and colleagues. Next they take a look at competitors and start comparing. This is before they even look at your website or speak to someone in your company. So if you’re not looking at the same things on social media, you may be missing information about you, your market, or your competitors.

15% of sales pros who do not use social selling miss their quotas more often (A Sales Guy)

While there’s debate on whether the sales process is more than half done by the time you speak to a prospect, the fact remains, prospects are doing a lot more research on you before you speak to them. Likewise, you’re doing more research on them before reaching out as well. Social selling is a two-way street, with information being shared back and forth between prospects and a brand. Sales pros who do not use this channel are closing themselves off from a wealth of data on their prospects.

“You need to prepare. Before you engage with anyone, do some research on them. Find some information to establish a rapport and find some common ground. Ideally, that would be a mutual relationship; someone who can give you an introduction. Commonality is what builds trust.”

- Peter Kim, Director of Sales, Relationship Management, LinkedIn

Reason #2: It helps you keep pace with the top sales pros globally

90% of the top sales pros use social selling tools today (LinkedIn)

Sales pros view LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram as relationship building tools and that they have the highest impact on revenue. They use it to build their company’s brand, share information with prospects, do research on what prospects are talking about, and use the information they find there to collaborate on marketing campaigns with the marketing colleagues.

98% sales pros who have at least 5,000 LinkedIn contacts reach or surpass their sales quotas (Sales Benchmark Index)

Simply put, the number of connections a sales pro has is directly linked to their attainment of sales quotas. This matters because on LinkedIn the creation and maintenance of contacts is still a manual process, which means people are getting personally involved in that relationship. Whether it’s the sales pro that individually reaches out to someone or the prospect who reviews the request and approves the request, it’s the individuals that matter.

39% of sales pros in APAC and EMEA prioritize social selling in their organizations (HubSpot)

Sales pros working in the APAC and EMEA regions who don’t use social selling are falling far behind their competitors who are. Prospects and customers are starting to expect a social aspect in their sales journey and may wonder why your company doesn’t have one.

Social media is the perfect channel to demonstrate the value your company brings to customers.”(Customers) want to know that you’re client-centric, that you have a passion for delighting the customer,” says Peter Kim, Director of Sales, Relationship Management, LinkedIn.

Reason #3: It builds a stronger relationship for your company by humanizing your brand

62% of sales pros at large companies agree social selling helps them build stronger & more authentic relationships (LinkedIn)

Large enterprise and B2B companies are often seen as large entities that don’t care about the individual prospect or customers. Prospects don’t see them as having a human face and may ignore their value and benefit.

Credit: LinkedIn

Reason #4: It shows how your organization embraces modern sales techniques

25% of executives say they prioritize social selling, however only 18% of sales pros agree (HubSpot)

Social selling may not be new to your organization and therefore may not require much to implement. Adoption rates by middle sales management and sales pros may be lower in an organization because they are not aware of any strategies or programs that may already exist.

Sales leaders must publicize any social selling programs already in place in order to promote it within their organizations. A Sales Guy‘s Keenan stresses this in an interview with other sales pros including Jill Rolwey, Koka Sexton, and Jamie Shanks. “If social selling is going to be a substantial part of the selling process (at your company), then leadership will have to make it happen,” he says.

20.9% of sales pros spend 5-10 hours per week using social selling tools (LinkedIn)

Technology has become more embedded in our professional lives. They know we’re spending more time commuting to work and viewing more content on mobile devices, whether it’s checking brand mentions on social media or taking a video conference call from their home office. Social selling strategies and tools just make good sense today.

What’s your reason for using social selling?

Have these social selling statistics convinced you (or your boss) to use social selling today? Why not?

Tweet us your comments!