7 Influential Sales Statistics & What to Do About Them

Improve your selling strategy with the latest industry stats.

While the art of selling has remained the same at its core throughout the years, there is always something new to be said about it.

The true essence of selling is about showing the value you bring your prospects that’s different from your competitors. 

Here are seven powerful statistics that can help you sell smarter.

1. More than 70% of sales leaders see existing customers as a key driver of revenue growth.

(Source: Gartner)

There are a few different ways you can grow your book of business; however, cross-selling is one of the most efficient in terms of time and money. In addition to selling more policies, boosting revenue, and saving time, cross-selling can also boost client retention and satisfaction. 

This selling strategy helps you keep your clients aware of the additional products you offer, as well as any gaps in their current coverage. Cross-selling reinforces your expertise and gives your clients peace of mind, which clearly shows the value of your partnership.

What to do about it: Learn how to cross-sell strategically and consider using an industry-specific agency management system (AMS) that has cross-selling reports to easily find these opportunities.

2. Salespeople spend only one-third of their day actually talking to prospects. The rest of their day goes toward administrative work like entering data, writing emails, prospecting, researching leads, internal meetings, and scheduling phone calls.

(Source: HubSpot)

As a life and health insurance professional, administrative work is essential to keep the many other moving parts of your job going smoothly. Emails, scheduling phone calls, and data entry can take from the time you’d like to spend talking to prospects, so it’s important to find efficiencies where you can. 

Automating these processes is a huge time-, energy-, and money-saver. AgencyBloc’s Automated Workflow not only helps you work more efficiently but also enables you to better serve your clients. Ensure clients are kept in the loop by automatically emailing them with important updates and remind your agents to reach out whenever an important date is approaching, like policy renewals, birthdays, and more.

What to do about it: Use an industry-specific AMS that has an Automated Workflow feature to keep regular client communication, year-round.

3. According to buyers, the top three ways to create a positive sales experience are: listening to their needs (69%), not being pushy (61%), and providing relevant information (61%).

(Source: HubSpot)

Ever heard of neuromarketing? This statistic sums up the importance of using it in your sales pitch! Neuromarketing is a tactic that helps you sell successfully by using language that speaks directly to the decision-making part of the brain. 

Before your prospects are willing to make a purchase, they need to know that you understand their needs and have their best interests in mind. The power of neuromarketing lies in the fact that your sales pitch becomes centered around your prospect—not you, your product, or your service. Because of this, you’re much more likely to close the deal. 

What to do about it: Learn how to use neuromarketing in your sales pitch to boost conversions and retention. 

4. Email marketing can generate up to a 4,400% ROI.

(Source: Medium)

Almost 90% of marketers agree that email is their main lead-generation avenue. Couple this with the fact that email is the preferred method of contact for 80% of prospects, it’s clear that email marketing is a powerful tool. 

Why is email marketing so powerful? It keeps your agency top of mind and builds relationships with your current and prospective clients. Email marketing is also a more budget-friendly form of digital marketing. You can create and send your own emails for free, or if you choose to automate the process, the amount of time and energy you save overall is well worth the investment. 

What to do about it: Learn about the different types of email campaigns you can build, their benefits, and how to save time creating them in our blog: Highly Effective Email Campaign Ideas for Insurance Agents.

5. Consumers are four times more likely to convert if they are referred by a friend.

(Source: HubSpot)

Referrals are huge in the insurance industry, and one thing many consumers talk about when referring agencies or other businesses is how they were treated. Provide value and be a true partner and advisor to your clients to ensure they have a good experience throughout your relationship with them. 

Beyond referrals, client success stories, case studies, and written and video testimonials are also great ways to highlight your amazing customer service.

What to do about it: Send out a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey to identify which of your clients are the best options to ask for referrals. Read our Agency’s Guide to Growth to learn more about asking for referrals, and how to improve your relationship with those clients that are less than satisfied. 

When those referrals start coming in, use timely content before, during, and after the sale to anticipate your prospect’s needs and keep them moving through your sales pipeline.

6. Salespeople who contacted their prospects within an hour of inquiry were 60 times more likely to qualify the lead than those that waited over 24 hours to reach out.

(Source: Invespcro)

In addition to a client-centric approach, following up quickly is another key part of providing high-quality customer service. Doing so helps you catch a potential customer while they’re out searching for a solution and are already in the mindset to discuss options. When they fill out your website’s lead form, you want to know ASAP so that you can reach out. 

What to do about it: Make sure submissions on your website’s lead form funnel automatically into your AMS or CRM. Then, use automation to make sure an email is sent to the prospect as soon as they fill it out and that a follow-up activity is automatically assigned to you. 

7. 85% of sales professionals either delayed or lost at least one deal within the past year due to a key client stakeholder changing jobs, and one-third lost or delayed at least three deals.

(Source: LinkedIn)

The relationship with prospects doesn’t end once a policy is signed. Tracking prospective and current client data is a critical part of providing great customer service. This can help your team provide the best customer experience and also reassure your customers that your team knows what they’re doing.

Along with keeping thorough records, you also want to avoid data silos, which can make your team look unprepared (or worse yet, like they don’t care) if they’re caught off guard by a client call. 

What to do about it: Use an industry-specific AMS to keep all of your key client documentation and communication in one, easily accessible place. Ensure all of your team members have access to the same information so everyone is on the same page.

What’s Next?

Overall, the most important insurance sales tip to take from this blog is that providing value from the very first to last touchpoint is crucial to converting and keeping a client. 

These sales statistics are great to know as you work on your sales pitch – but after you’ve won the lead, what’s next? New client onboarding. 

Showing the value of your partnership doesn’t end after the deal is closed. Learn how to continue providing value to your new clients throughout the onboarding process using our free guide below.

This blog was originally published on June 10, 2020, and has been most recently updated and republished on May 31, 2022.

Posted by Kelsey Rosauer on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 in Automated Lead Routing & Assignment

1. client retention
2. selling