Are Sales Professionals Moving Away from Selling as Their Main Activity?

47% of Sales Professionals Don't Cite Selling as Their Main Activity

Sales professionals are a diverse group, working in various industries and fulfilling different roles. However, a recent statistic from Pipedrive, a customer relationship management platform, reveals that only 53% of sales professionals report spending most of their workday on selling. This means that nearly half of sales professionals do not cite selling as their main activity.

What are these sales professionals doing instead? It depends on their individual roles. Some may spend their time on administrative tasks, while others may be focused on building relationships with prospects and leads. Additionally, sales professionals in certain industries may have different responsibilities than those in others.

While not all sales professionals need to spend the majority of their time actively selling, understanding how to optimize their time is crucial for achieving sales goals. Sales managers can work with their team members to ensure that everyone is focused on activities that will have the biggest impact on the company’s bottom line.

By optimizing the sales process, sales organizations can streamline tasks that can be automated or delegated. This can increase productivity and free up time for sales professionals to focus on activities that directly contribute to achieving sales goals.

The diversity of the sales profession means that not all sales professionals spend most of their time actively selling. However, understanding how sales professionals spend their time is crucial for achieving sales goals and optimizing productivity. By working with sales professionals to ensure they are focused on the most impactful activities, sales organizations can increase their chances of success.

More 2022 Stats

Top Performers Receive 40% More Questions During Discovery and 43% More Questions During Presentations

66% of sales professionals say leads generated from customer referrals are the highest quality leads they work.

Even with a return to in-person lifestyles, only 20% of B2B buyers say they hope to return to in-person sales.

In a recent McKinsey study, 61% of survey respondents said that, before the pandemic, they primarily sold their business’ products through traditional in-person sales — that number has since fallen to 29%.

48% of salespeople never even make a single follow up attempt.

54% of sales leaders say proposals sent is one of the most important productivity metrics to track

LinkedIn is the #1 social media platform for B2B leads.

55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media.

77% of respondents said that their company provides at least a quarter of their leads

71% of sales reps say that building personal rapport has a substantial impact on converting a prospect.

More Sales Trends Stats

38% of sales leaders say their customers want to buy through e-commerce stores

21% Higher Job Satisfaction for Salespeople Spending More Than 4 Hours a Day on Sales Activities

Nearly 13% of all the jobs in the U.S. are full time sales positions

77% of Sales Professionals Now Conducting More Video Meetings

66% of sales reps say they’re drowning in tools

According to HubSpot, the length of a sales cycle decreased by an average of 15% when virtual sales tools were used.

61% believe that salespeople are underappreciated

Salespeople’s Optimism for Economic Recovery from COVID-19

71% of salespeople said they were conducting more than half their sales virtually.

2% is the average success rate for cold calling

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