Statistics to Prove B2B Sales Can Benefit from Social Selling

Even though using social media to sell has been widely adopted in many industries, the 2019 Media Sales Report revealed that social selling is currently more hype than reality. Only 12% of sales managers surveyed saying their salespeople are using social media effectively to set appointments with prospects.

Research indicates that sales leaders still aren't convinced of social selling's value. And many salespeople simply don't know how to go about becoming a social seller. If you still need some encouragement when it comes to your social selling initiative, use these statistics for inspiration.

Close More Deals with These B2B Social Selling Statistics

Hubspot defines social selling as “when salespeople use social media to interact directly with their prospects”, with a focus on providing value. We live in an age where human connections are becoming more digital and our sales tactics need to conform as our customers journeys change.

There are several ways in which salespeople can utilize social media, from answering questions and making connections with prospects to promoting your brand or organization and sharing valuable industry content.

Interesting Statistics on Social Selling in 2020

More than 50% of revenue across 14 major industries is generated by social sales (source)
Social sellers acquire new customers (65% vs 47%) and convert more customers (46% vs 31%) compared to those who are not using social media for sales (source)
39% of B2B professionals say social selling reduces their lead search time, while for 33% it increases their number of leads (source)
53% of salespeople want help in understanding social selling better (source)

B2B Social Selling on Social Channels

There are 3.5 billion active social media users across the globe in 2019 (source)
98% of sales reps with more than 5,000 LinkedIn connections meet or surpass quota (source)
Most professionals prefer using LinkedIn for sales (source)
On LinkedIn, 65% of people wouldn’t find it annoying or intrusive if a salesperson sent them a message and they had common connections (source)
74% of B2B marketing companies use Twitter to distribute content (source)
The reach of 135 employees engaged in employer advocacy is larger than that of a company page with one million Facebook followers, likes or fans (source)

B2B Sales Statistics

80% of sales executives believe their salesforce would be more productive with greater social media presence (source)
A lack of confidence about engaging on social networks is the most common problem sales teams face when it comes to social sales (source)
75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level executives are influenced by social media when making purchasing decisions (source)
31% of B2B professionals say they can build deeper relationships with their clients thanks to social sales (source)

Effectiveness of Social Selling

78% of salespeople using social media perform better than their team (source)
Salespeople leveraging social selling experience a 31% higher ROI than those who stick to traditional tactics (source)
54% of salespeople who use social media can track their social media usage back to at least one closed deal (source)
Content shared by employees receive 8x more engagement than the same content shared by company/brand channels (source)
A social selling program can drive 16% better win rates, 2x pipeline, and deliver 48% larger deals (source)

Media Sales Report Social Selling Statistics

The 2019 Media Sales Report found that 72% of media salespeople rarely use LinkedIn (0-5%) to connect with prospects, and out of these, roughly 1 out of 3 (32%), do not use LinkedIn at all. 40% of salespeople say they never use other types of social media to connect with prospects and clients. And, more than 3 out of 4 (78%) use it rarely or never, from 0-5% of the time.

To compare, a LinkedIn study revealed that 78% of social sellers outsell peers who don’t use social media. On the ﬂip side, 75% of B2B buyers now use social media to research vendors. Combine that with the fact that social selling leaders are 51% more likely to reach quota, and the case for social selling becomes even stronger.

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