Stunning Study Reveals How to Increase Sales by 29-49%

Posted by James Obermayer on Dec 17, 2014 2:41:00 PM

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iStock_000032834380Large.265Stephen Covey said, “The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” Of course, Covey’s message is a good one for all of us, but especially true for salespeople as pointed out in “The Power of Prioritization Report”i published by Velocify (A Sales Optimization Study).

This study is one of the most significant research studies I have read this year. And it makes the most sense of any sales tactic by any sales manager I know. Powerful words, I recognize, but I believe it. When the study was first released this past summer, SLMA Radio interviewed Jorge Jeffery, the Sr. Manager of Strategic Intelligence at Velocify, on August 5th. The program player is below. Click to listen to the interview, but this is the scoop.

The Premise: 

Companies that install a prioritization approach based on a sales process and contact strategy save valuable sales time and provide focus on the best activities, which greatly improves productivity and sales results.

Salespeople using a prioritized list of leads and activities were able to work more leads, and also able to increase their engagement with each lead—almost doubling their total talk time.

The Results (quoted from the study):

  • Why_its_important.How_to_Increase_Sales.v3.215Salespeople who use prioritization to determine their daily sales activities are able to manage more leads.
  • The leads they do manage also get more attention—as seen by the number of actions and contact attempts and total talk time per lead.
  • Salespeople using prioritization took 22% more actions per lead.
  • The number of contact attempts per lead, one of the most important action types a salesperson can take, was 33% higher for salespeople who used automated prioritization.
  • When compared to their counterparts who did not use prioritization, salespeople using prioritization were able to take 37% more actions, make 49% more contact attempts, and increase their talk time by 88%.
  • Salespeople working off of a prioritized list were 19% more likely to call new leads in less than five minutes and 26% more likely to call new leads in less than one hour.
  • The faster speed-to-call times result in higher contact and conversion rates for users of prioritization.
  • On average, salespeople who use prioritization had 15% higher contact and conversion rates than those who didn’t use prioritization.
  • The average conversion rate for companies that used prioritization was 97% higher.
  • 83% of companies not using prioritization had below average conversion rates.
  • Companies whose salespeople used prioritized lists more than 70% of the time had conversion rates that were 29% greater than average.
  • Companies whose salespeople used prioritized lists almost exclusively (more than 90% of the time) enjoyed conversion rates that were 49% greater than average.

These are just some of the results the study quotes. What is compelling is that this was a large study of 400+ companies and a million leads. The numbers are solid. To get your own copy, go to this link.

The study recommends putting in place a prioritization strategy. (Hint: It’s more than lead scoring.) You’ll have to read the whole study (16 pages). Don't worry. It's simpler than you might imagine.


Jim ObermayerThis blog was submitted by James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting. James is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint.







iSales Optimization Study, “The Power of Prioritization,” July 2015 http://bit.ly/12Wjxaa

Study Methodology: This study includes the analysis of data collected from more than 400 sales organizations who met minimum lead volume requirements during the time period selected for the study. The organizations studied represented more than a dozen industries and all were Velocify customers. Due to the breadth and size of the sample, we believe the findings from this study will be applicable to most high velocity sales organizations. In this study, approximately one million leads, distributed during a one month period, were followed through sales cycles for a minimum of 90 days in order to track their outcomes. .

iiVelocify is a significant sponsor for the Sales Lead Management Association. Their CEO, Nick Hedges, has been named one of the Most Influential people in Sales Lead Management (#4) in 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011.


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Topics: Sales Process, Sales Leads


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