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 This means that nearly half of sales professionals do not cite selling as their main activity.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

21% of sales professionals who sell remotely say emails are the most effective channel for remote selling

2% is the average success rate for cold calling

80% of new leads never translate into sales

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

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

60% of customers say no four times before saying yes.

Top Performers’ Discovery Calls 76% Longer and Presentation Meetings 55% Longer than Average Performers

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

50% of buyers say working remotely has made buying easier.

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%.

More Sales Trends Stats

64% of sales professionals who cross-sell say email follow-up is the most effective cross-selling strategy.

According to a study by Salesforce, the total close rate for B2B deals increased by 10% in 2021 compared to the year before. This is due to an increase in remote selling and sales teams investing more time on proactive outreach.

Salespeople Unhappy Despite Meeting Targets

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

40% of sales reps still use tools like Outlook or Excel to store customer and lead data

40% say getting response from prospects harder now than 3 years ago.

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

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

In fact, 77% of sales leaders say their company’s digital transformation has accelerated since 2019.

Today, 97% of consumers go online to research products and services.

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