{"id":12003,"date":"2024-01-05T14:56:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T13:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/le-grand-benchmark-de-la-vente-b2b-2023-une-annee-fascinante-pour-les-sales\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T16:12:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:12:01","slug":"the-major-benchmark-for-b2b-sales-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/en\/the-major-benchmark-for-b2b-sales-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The great B2B sales benchmark: 2023, a fascinating year for Sales!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"h-sales-benchmarks-in-2023-are-you-meeting-the-average\">Sales Benchmarks in 2023: Are You Meeting the Average?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The average KPIs of the sales function come from a survey by HubSpot, conducted among 1,477 sales professionals worldwide (including France). Here are some benchmarks to <strong>evaluate your sales performance in 2023:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The average conversion rate (sales) is around 21%\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The average closing rate revolves around 29%\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The median amount of a sale is $4,000 (with 47% of all transactions falling between $1,000 and $5,000)\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>91% of sales professionals practice upselling, and upselling tactics contributed to 21% of company revenue in 2023\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>87% of sales professionals practice cross-selling, with cross-selling tactics also contributing to 21% of revenue\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consequently, 42% of the revenue for the majority of companies was generated from existing client portfolios through cross-selling or upselling efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let&#8217;s move on to the <strong>trends that emerged or consolidated in 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"h-the-b2b-super-buyer-is-becoming-even-more-independent-with-ai\">The B2B super-buyer is becoming even more independent with AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even before the advent of AI, we witnessed the emergence of a more autonomous, well-informed, and demanding super-buyer, driven by several macroenvironmental factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The rapid digitization of the purchasing journey during and after the pandemic period;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The arrival of millennials and Generation Z in procurement roles (75% of decisions are made by these generations according to a PYMNTS study);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These buyers, now accustomed to online shopping in their daily B2C experiences, expect the same standards in B2B (intuitiveness, ease, speed, and even entertainment);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The uncertain economic climate pushes them to be even more vigilant, <strong>as they have even less room for error than in the past.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>According to HubSpot, 96% of sales professionals stated that prospects they engage with for the first time have typically already conducted research on the product or company offering it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, 71% of buyers prefer to gather information themselves before contacting a salesperson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_486204550-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>AI only enhances the capabilities of the super-buyer, making them more informed and confident than ever before. Gartner predicted three years ago that B2B sales roles <strong>must shift from &#8220;promoters&#8221; to &#8220;sense-makers.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to HubSpot, salespeople should position themselves as &#8220;consultants&#8221; to regain their role in the buyer&#8217;s journey. A consultant helps buyers <strong>prioritize <\/strong>collected information, <strong>derive relevant insights<\/strong>, confront realities with case studies provided by the salesperson, make comparisons, <strong>anticipate <\/strong>ROI, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Salespeople must now prioritize building strong relationships, enhancing buyer trust, understanding their specific needs and challenges, and leveraging AI to deliver highly personalized experiences,&#8221;<\/em> stated in the HubSpot study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In summary, AI should benefit both parties to finally align the B2B buying experience with expected standards, whether it&#8217;s in terms of relationship quality, conversation productivity, or shortening the sales or purchasing cycle, depending on the perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"h-the-year-2023-has-been-challenging-for-sales-professionals-but-they-have-over-performed\">The year 2023 has been challenging for sales professionals&#8230; but they have (over)performed!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is, in any case, what emerges from the <a href=\"https:\/\/offers.hubspot.com\/sales-trends-report?hubs_post-cta=pillar&amp;hubs_signup-url=blog.hubspot.com%2Fsales%2Fhubspot-sales-strategy-report&amp;hubs_signup-cta=Download%20for%20Free&amp;hubs_post=blog.hubspot.com%2Fsales%2Fhubspot-sales-strategy-report\">2023 edition of Sales Trends Report<\/a>. Indeed, 54% of sales professionals report that selling was more difficult in 2023 than in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some challenges exacerbated by COVID-19 are <strong>still very present three years later:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Inflation <\/strong>tops the list of challenges faced by sales professionals in achieving their goals in 2023 (25%);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supply chain<\/strong> issues follow closely (21%);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Competition <\/strong>ranks third (19%)\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of <strong>high-quality leads<\/strong> is noted by 17%\u00a0;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accessibility of decision-makers and prolonged sales cycles<\/strong> (an average of 5 decision-makers) are both mentioned at 16%;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alignment issues with marketing round out the list at 15%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about the quality of leads provided by marketing, <strong>41%<\/strong> of sales professionals express dissatisfaction. However, amidst these challenges, there are positive outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these difficulties, 56% of sales professionals <strong>exceeded <\/strong>their sales targets in 2023, and 29% met the goals set by top management. AI played a significant role in this achievement: <strong>two-thirds of surveyed sales professionals state that AI helped them better understand their target audience in 2023<\/strong>. Several applications of AI seem to have become indispensable in their daily work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Better understanding of the prospect&#8217;s industry sectors to refine the pitch;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Self-training on sales and persuasion techniques;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Refining the <em>wording <\/em>of the pitch and strengthening storytelling;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Analyzing and interpreting data on the fly, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Even better: <\/strong>AI has found its place in sales efforts for the existing client portfolio. Indeed, sales professionals state that AI will enable them to improve the effectiveness of <em>upselling <\/em>(86%), <em>cross-selling<\/em> (86%), and <em>down-selling<\/em> (92%) in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Finally, <\/strong>AI allows sales professionals to reclaim <em>two hours per day<\/em>, previously spent on manual or repetitive tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\" id=\"h-the-profile-of-the-sales-professional-who-stood-out-in-2023\">The Profile of the Sales Professional Who Stood Out in 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What behaviors, skills, and tactics distinguished the sales champions of 2023? HubSpot shares its findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>They are <strong>35%<\/strong> more likely to have emphasized Sales-Marketing alignment for at least three years;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are <strong>19%<\/strong> more inclined to analyze their data to optimize the sales process;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are <strong>17%<\/strong> more likely to consider CRM as &#8220;very important&#8221; in the sales process;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They work in companies where Sales and Marketing departments are &#8220;strongly aligned&#8221; (+14%);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They are <strong>12%<\/strong> more likely to use social media in their sales approach;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They work in companies with a Sales Enablement team (+12%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>* A practice that involves convincing a customer who has declined to purchase a product to opt for a cheaper alternative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sales Benchmarks in 2023: Are You Meeting the Average? The average KPIs of the sales [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":9084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"thematique":[100],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.5 (Yoast SEO v19.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The major benchmark for B2B sales in 2023<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Difficulties (inflation, demanding buyers, etc.), and opportunities (AI, existing customers, etc.). 2023 has been a fascinating year for the sales function!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.infopro-digital-media.fr\/en\/the-major-benchmark-for-b2b-sales-in-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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