20 Sales Follow-up Statistics You Need to Know in 2023
Jess served on the founding team of a successful B2B startup and has used a wide range of sales and marketing tools over the course of her 15-year career. She uses her industry knowledge to deliver the best answers to your questions about sales tools and sales management.
Bianca is a staff writer at Fit Small Business who specializes in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management.
Sales follow-up can be daunting for salespeople, especially after they have made the initial contact and are now waiting for a customer to respond. However, there are data and insights that can guide you on how and when to make the next contact. Using this data as a reference helps ensure your follow-up messaging and techniques are effective. Here are 20 sales follow-up statistics you need to know in 2023.
Sales Follow-up Cadence Statistics
When you include a sales cadence in your sales management strategy, you provide reps with a foundation for how to follow up on customers. The following sales follow-up statistics will guide your team on the appropriate number of customer touchpoints, the right time, and the best communication channels to use when engaging with buyers.
1. The ideal sales cadence based on replies is six touches within three weeks with follow-ups spaced out three or four days apart.
Takeaway: Waiting more than four days to follow up decreases your chance of getting a response. To ensure your sales emails don’t fall through the cracks, automate your email marketing campaigns based on the cadence you have established. The recipients will also be automatically removed from the send list once they reply or set a meeting with you.
(Source: Yesware)
2. The best time of the day to send a sales follow-up email is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., followed by 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Takeaway: There is a marked incline in reply and open rates after breakfast and lunch time. While it’s a good idea to test out different times to see what works best, you can schedule your follow-ups based on this data.
(Source: Yesware)
3. On average, you get a 25% email reply rate if you follow up within 24 hours of the initial outreach.
Takeaway: Based on this data, it pays to “strike while the iron is hot” because the reply rate drops to below 5% if you follow up one to three days after the initial outreach. Promptly after the initial outreach or a discovery meeting, send a follow-up email with a welcome or thank-you message.
Show prospects you care about their needs by offering to answer any questions they might have about your company, product, or service.
(Source: Yesware)
Sales Follow-up Activity Statistics
Sales follow-up stats that relate to rep activity provide sales team leaders with insights into behaviors that contribute to success for top performers. They also highlight the factors in sales that reps can directly control or influence. Below, we list stats involving what top performers are doing differently from average or underperforming sales reps.
4. 81.6% of salespeople who spend 4 or more hours daily on sales-related activities enjoy their job more.
Takeaway: Salespeople who engage in more sales activities have greater chances of succeeding. The sense of satisfaction that they get from their job stems from this success. So, if you want to enjoy your job more, spend more time engaging in activities that help you achieve your sales quota. These activities include prospecting, creating proposals, attending sales meetings, conducting sales presentations, generating sales reports, and sending follow-up emails.
(Source: Sales Insights Lab)
5. Only 7% of top sales performers pitch their services, while 19% of under-performers do so.
Takeaway: Under-performers in sales tend to do a lot more pitching, while the top performers focus more on engaging their prospects in conversation. To engage your customers, find out what they need and offer a solution to their challenges. Instead of just trying to sell a product, you could recommend a certain item based specifically on what they are looking for.
(Source: Sales Insights Lab)
6. It takes an average of 8 touches to generate a conversion, but top performers can do it with an average of just 5 touches.
Takeaway: Better targeting, messaging, and value offers leads to more conversions. In other words, you can achieve more with less effort. Instead of blindly reaching out to 100 leads, you can narrow down your recipients to those who are most likely to make a purchase. Use your customer relationship management (CRM) software’s lead qualification and lead scoring features to automate this process.
(Source: Rain Group)
7. Sales professionals spend 27% of their time actually selling, with more time on administrative & other non-selling duties.
Takeaway: Conducting non-selling duties may sound counterintuitive. However, the same data also indicates that effective sellers are spending more time using technology to research their buyers before a follow-up. So, instead of blindly reaching out to decision-makers, they focus more on the prospects who are most likely to make a purchase.
(Source: LinkedIn)
Buyer Behavior Statistics
Sales follow-up stats relating to buyer behavior help you predict how your buyers will act in certain situations. This data enables you to identify new opportunities to connect with customers before your competitors do. They also help you market your product or service more effectively by giving you a better understanding of how buyers think and make purchase decisions. Keep these stats in mind next time you make a follow-up sales call.
8. 82% of buyers will consider accepting meetings with sellers who reach out to them.
Takeaway: For salespeople, it is often difficult to successfully schedule a meeting with buyers, but it is not impossible. Those who are persistent enough to follow up with their customers will eventually succeed in setting a meeting.
(Source: Rain Group)
9. 71% of buyers who accept meetings want to hear from sellers during the early stages of their buying process.
Takeaway: In the early stages of the buying process, buyers are still forming ideas on how to improve their business and are looking for a solution to fix a problem. Take advantage of their interest in your product or service during these stages by getting in touch with them. When drafting follow-up templates, make sure you offer them the best possible solution to their needs.
(Source: Rain Group)
10. Need (75%) & budget (64%) are the top factors that contribute to whether a buyer connects with sellers.
Takeaway: Buyers may not be aware that they need your offering, but they may want the benefits that your product or service can provide. This is why salespeople must educate buyers and explore ways to connect their goals to what you are offering. When it comes to budget, buyers usually say they do not have the budget for your offering. However, they would often invest in your offering when they are inspired by a good opportunity.
(Source: Rain Group)
11. 61% of buyers with a pre-existing relationship with a provider are likely to connect with a rep.
Takeaway: Buyers who have previously bought from your company are more likely to open their doors once again to you. Take advantage of this previous connection to continue providing them with what they need. You can also go beyond that by upselling and cross-selling.
(Source: Rain Group)
12. 45% of dissatisfied customers open their doors to another provider.
Takeaway: There are buyers who are actually dissatisfied with their current provider but may not know that there are better options. During follow-ups, make sure that you show them the full features and benefits of your product or service to demonstrate that a better solution exists.
(Source: Rain Group)
Contact Method Statistics
There are customers who prefer being contacted by sales reps via phone for follow-ups. Others prefer using non-voice channels, such as email and live chat. With several types of communication channels available, it can be difficult to determine which one is best for your company. Take a look at the sales follow-up stats below to see which channels are the most preferred and used by reps and customers.
13. The top preferred contact channel of buyers is email (66%), followed by live in-person events (35%) & social networking sites (34%).
Takeaway: Salespeople could schedule more of their follow-ups via email, live events, and social media. When you follow up with buyers via their preferred channel, you are most likely to elicit a positive response from them.
(Source: LinkedIn)
14. Cold calling is the method of communication least preferred by buyers.
Takeaway: Only 21% of buyers want to be contacted via cold calls. However, it doesn’t mean salespeople should skip it altogether. You can also use this method for follow-ups, but it is best to apply the best timing and cadence for cold call attempts to reach a prospect.
(Source: LinkedIn)
15. Salespeople use email to connect with buyers 78% of the time & phone calls 70% of the time.
Takeaway: Salespeople use email and phone calls the most when attempting to connect with their customers because they are the most effective. That said, it is best to plan your sales follow-ups using email and phone as your main communication channels.
(Source: Rain Group)
16. Social media comments (24%) & text messages (27%) are the channels least used by salespeople in connecting with their customers.
Takeaway: Only a few salespeople use social media comments and text messages to reach out to their customers because they are the least effective. You can focus on leveraging social media platforms for social selling and marketing instead of sales follow-ups. When doing follow-ups, it is best to send personalized messages via email or a phone call.
(Source: Rain Group)
Sales Follow-up Content Statistics
The content of follow-up messages is just as important as the channel being used to deliver them. There are certain topics that can help open up doors to business-to-business (B2B) sales opportunities. Read the follow-up statistics below to gather some idea on what you should discuss with customers during your next touchpoint.
17. 68% of buyers are unlikely to connect with a seller who presents information irrelevant to their business.
Takeaway: Buyers are more likely to consider connecting with a brand if sellers reach out to them with information that is relevant to their job or business. That said, a salesperson ought to do some research first about their buyer before reaching out or doing a follow-up call. You can also use the email subject line to give the buyer an idea about the topic you are presenting.
(Source: LinkedIn)
18. Content with insights relevant to a business (69%) & those that include a description of a provider’s capabilities (67%) attract buyers the most.
Takeaway: Buyers want to see content that includes a combination of primary research data relevant to their business and a description of what you can do for them. These are the top factors in content that can influence buyers to accept a meeting with you.
(Source: Rain Group)
19. The most effective type of content is the one that is 100% customized to their situation. This is followed by best practices in their area of expertise.
Takeaway: When sending follow-up content, remember that 69% of executive-level buyers are influenced by content that includes primary research data relevant to their business. In addition, 55% of this group loves to know what works and what doesn’t in their area of expertise. Top-performing sellers have more robust B2B sales when they use this messaging to connect with buyers.
(Source: Rain Group)
20. Only 37% of sellers send customized content to executive-level buyers & 33% use best practices methodology in their messaging.
Takeaway: Most sellers focus on client testimonials and insights on the use of their product or service. While these are the most common types of content salespeople use for this particular audience, they are not the most effective. If you want to be among the top performers, start incorporating customized content and best practices into your content for this particular audience.
(Source: Rain Group)
Bottom Line
Top performers in sales always consider the principles and practices that work best, based on follow-up sales data. Use the data in this article as a reference when you’re planning or creating your follow-up communications and content. Keeping abreast of the latest trends helps ensure your messaging is effective and you’re giving your buyers the information they are looking for.
