58 B2B Sales Stats to know for 2024

B2B sales stats are key to understanding buying behavior, implementing a sales strategy, and setting internal expectations.

Sales are the backbone of every business. B2B businesses will fail to reach their sales and growth targets if they’re not investing in the right sales strategies. 

The following sales statistics show how vital to businesses.

B2B Sales Statistics

B2B sales statistics are all cited from credible sources. We’ve compiled sales states for various categories including;

• Inside Sales Statistics
• Sales Prospecting Statistics
• Lead Generation Statistics
• Cold Email Statistics
• Cold Calling Statistics
• Sales Management Statistics
• Sales Productivity Statistics
• Sales Career Statistics
• Sales Technology Statistics
• Sales Referral Statistics
• Other Sales Statistics

Inside Sales Statistics

Inside sales allow businesses to respond quickly to the needs of buyers by selling remotely instead of going to the business in person. These professionals use email, online channels and phones to conduct business with great success. Inside sales consultants can rely on these B2B sales stats to make decisions.

Some of the most enlightening inside sales stats include:

• Inside vs outside sales: inside sales cost $50, while the average outside sales call costs $308 (Pointclear).
• 33% of a sales rep’s time is spent selling (CSO Insights.
• 35% – 50% of sales are made by the first vendor to respond (InsideSales).
• 40% of sales rep time is spent searching for someone to call (InsideSales).
• Average inside sale rep success rate is 18% (IHireSalesPeople).

Sales Prospecting Statistics

Prospecting helps prop up the whole sales process. Inaccurate prospecting can lead to low sales figures, lost revenue and a lack of leads. SDRs can benefit when it comes to understanding these B2B sales stats when undertaking different prospecting strategies. Key sales prospecting stats include:

• 13% of customers are confident that a sales rep understands their needs (Brevet Group).
• 90% of companies use two or more lead enrichment tools to learn about prospects (TopoHQ).
• 40% of sales professionals rank prospecting as the most challenging part of sales (HubSpot).
• 36% of sales professionals found closing to be the most challenging part of their job (HubSpot).
• 22% of sales professionals found qualifying leads to be the most challenging part of their job (HubSpot).

Lead Generation Statistics

Finding new customers and clients keep businesses in operation. Lead generation is the difference between business success and failure. Key lead generation stats to know include:

• 53% of marketers spend 50% or more of their budget on lead gen (BrightTALK).
• 66% of marketers use social media for lead generation (Social Media Examiner).
• 80% of marketers find automation generates higher leads and conversions (APSIS).
• 85% of B2B marketers state that lead gen is their top content marketing goal (CMI).
• 44% of B2B companies don’t qualify leads before sending their sales teams (HubSpot).

B2B Cold Email Stats

Cold email remains a valuable asset for generating leads and sales for businesses. Check out these cold email tips if you need some help. B2B Sales statistics in this segment remain impressive and include:

• 40x more effective than using Twitter and Facebook for acquiring new customers (McKinsey).
• 2x higher ROI vs cold calling (MarketingSherpa.
• 8 am – 3 pm is the best time to send cold emails (GetResponse).
• 23% of cold emails are opened (TopO).
• 21% of a sales professional’s day is spent writing cold emails (HubSpot).

B2B Cold Calling Stats

Cold calling is said to be “dead,” but it’s far from it, according to recent B2B sales stats. A salesperson who uses cold calling properly can achieve impressive results.

• 92% of interactions occur on the phone (Salesforce).
• 70% increase in conversions when sales reps make additional calls to a lead (Call Hippo).
• 75% of execs will make an appointment based on a cold call (DiscoverOrg).
• 42% of reps believe they lack the information necessary to make a cold call (Close.io).
• 52 calls per day is the average for sales reps (Bridge Group).

Sales Management Statistics

Proper sales management can increase overall sales figures whether you’re a VP of Sales for Fractional Sales Manager. The following stats show just how important management is:

• Usage of sales management tools is up 567% (WebinarCare).
• 79% of leads will not turn into sales (WebinarCare).
• 32% of the time, a Sales Manager manages information (Ohio.edu). 
• 15% of the time, a Sales Manager is working on administrative tasks (Ohio.edu).
• 26% of a Sales Managers day involves managing information for their team (Ohio.edu).

Sales Productivity Statistics

A productive sales team is a successful sales team. But are sales reps spending enough time on prospecting? Here’s what the B2B sales stats say:

• Sales reps only spend 39% of their time interacting with prospects and moving deals forward (HubSpot). 
• 60% of sales reps meet their quotas (Forbes).
• 81% of companies report that productivity would improve with better skills, processes or competency training (HubSpot).
• 77% of sales reps say their working hours have increased since the beginning of the pandemic (Dooly).

B2B Sales Career Statistics

Not everyone is cut out for a career in sales. High turnover is an issue for B2B businesses. Understanding the latest stats on sales careers can help B2B organizations prepare for changes and improve their hiring and onboarding processes.

• Businesses spend $2,020 on training a new sales representative (State of Sales Training Report).
• The total cost of hiring a new sales rep is $10,000-$15,000 (Zippia).
• Sales reps perform 94.4 activities per day, including making phone calls, connecting on social, leaving voicemails and sending emails (Sales 4 Life).
• An estimated 1.9 million sales job openings (various sales job titles) are expected per year between 2021 and 2031 (The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Sales organizations saw a 58% higher turnover rate in 2021 compared to the previous year (Xactly).
• It takes 60 days or more to replace an open B2B sales position (Sciolytix and SellingPower).
• 20% of sales reps changed jobs in the last two years to find a better work-life balance (Xactly).

Sales Technology Statistics

Technology streamlines the sales process and allows reps to connect with prospects and customers in new ways. 

Here’s how technology is impacting the B2B sales sector:

• Digital leaders in the B2B sector generate five times more revenue than their peers (McKinsey).
• High-performing sales teams are more likely to use automation to improve the sales process (Sugar CRM).
• 33% of the time, sales teams prioritize their leads based on data analysis of their propensity to buy (Salesforce).
• 46% of sales representatives have data insights on a prospect’s propensity to buy (Salesforce).
• 70% of B2B decision-makers are open to making remote or self-serve purchases in excess of $50,000 (McKinsey).
• 76% of sales reps say sales technology is critical to closing deals (LinkedIn).

Sales Referral Statistics

Referrals are gold for any business. A referral from a happy client is stronger than a sales pitch from even the most talented sales rep. But are reps actively asking for them? Here’s what the B2B sales stats say:

• 91% of customers say they are willing to provide referrals, but only 11% of sales reps ask for them (Dale Carnegie).
• Sales reps who actively seek referrals earn 4-5 times more than reps who don’t (BrevetGroup).
• 84% of B2B decision-makers start their buying journey with a referral (Edelman Trust Barometer).
• 73% of buyers prefer working with sales reps referred by someone they know (LinkedIn).
• Referred customers have a lifetime value that’s 16% higher than non-referred customers (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania).

Other B2B Sales Stats

Some B2B sales stats don’t fit into any of the categories above, but they are still important for everyone to know.

• Improving client retention by just 5% can increase profits by up to 95% (Bain & Company).
• 98% of text messages are opened, compared to just 22% of emails (MobileMarketingWatch).
• 63% of purchases have 4+ people involved, compared to just 47% in 2017 (Forrester’s 2021 B2B Buying Study).
• 44% of buyers say they will not do business with companies that aren’t using their preferred channels (State of the Connected Customer).
• 27% of B2B buyers say competitive pricing is the biggest factor in their purchasing decision (Accenture).
• Sales automation software can increase conversions by up to 14.5% (LinkedIn).

Sales remains the key to a business’s success. Every year, consumer and business behaviors change, but sales remain a necessity to drive business growth and revenue. Hopefully these B2B sales stats can help you grow your business.