As the end of the year approaches, you might be wondering about the overall quality of your database. Companies today are looking to sales enablement technologies, analytics, CRM systems and learning technologies to make their sales teams more effective and more efficient. Businesses are considering cutting-edge tools that will make their team better. Something they often don’t spend enough time on that can make the most significant impact on a sales team’s efficiency is data.
Use Data Analytics
A McKinsey&Company survey of more than 1,000 sales organizations around the world, found that 53% of those that are “high performing” rate themselves as competent users of advanced analytics. However, it also revealed that 57% of organizations today do not view themselves as qualified users of advanced analytics.
It’s clear that to be a top performer you will need to implement some level of data analytics. Having a CRM system in place is essential, but know where you win – ask yourself, what data is making my team the most effective? Put a system in place where they can access data specific to your buyer profiles, phone numbers, emails, or any information from past conversations that is crucial for your team to be more effective and more efficient.
Know the Industry Averages
Improving “call to connect” rates is critical for today’s sales reps. Often, those who fail to hit the phones hard, are the ones wondering how they’re missing their goals. That said, while hitting the phones, not all sales outreach is created equal.
In regards to direct dials, you need to understand the call to connect rate-or the average number of calls a rep makes to get a prospect on the phone. On average, it takes 18 calls to get connected with a prospect, and 23% of these conversations result in a meeting. So in other words, if you want your sales team to reach ten meetings per week, this will take about 43 phone calls. Below, we take a look at the impact of having poor data.
Consider the following statistics from a recent eBook published by ZoomInfo:
- It takes 22 minutes to connect using switchboard numbers, but direct dials it only takes 5 minutes
- When dialing a direct dial phone number at the director level, your sales rep is 46% more likely to connect
- When dialing a direct dial number at the VP level, your sales rep is 147% more likely to connect
- 38% of meetings (about every three) lead to a sales opportunity
- The average close/won ratio for qualified sales opportunities is 27%
Knowing the industry averages and how you compare is essential, so you can see where you are falling short in your outreach. The best thing business leaders can do to make their sales team more effective is to truly know the industry targets that matter, pinpoint the buyer personas and improve the data and contact information they have in their call lists.
Partner Effectively
Have questions about gathering data or managing data analytics to make your sales team more effective? Give us a call at 800.966.3051 or fill out our simple contact form.
