29 B2B Sales Stats Shaping the Future of 2024's B2B Selling

“Depth of knowledge combined with good judgment is worth a lot”-- Seth Godin.

Is that aforementioned statement equally applicable to ace the competitive edge of B2B sales in 2024? Well, it’s a big yes.

With dynamic marketing values, your B2B business is also encountering advanced requirements that demand your attention to nail B2B sales engagement best practices. However, lacking in-depth knowledge and the analysis of the latest B2B sales statistics could result in your business being submerged in the sea of competition. And this reason alone is sufficient to prompt you to stay informed about every statistical detail. 

Through my article today, you'll address all your needs, not only providing you with the 29 B2B sales statistics numerical figures but also enabling you to comprehend why they are vital for excelling in your endeavors.

What is B2B sales?

Business-to-business (B2B) represents the process of one business selling products or services to another. This encompasses everything from marketing cutting-edge software to tangible items like SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) products, IT (Information Technology) support, and office supplies, etc.

In B2B sales, multiple stakeholders may be interconnected, and each sales rep should possess expertise in product knowledge. This enables them to construct a step-by-step sales enablement ecosystem, applicable to both remote and hybrid modes.

B2B sales statistics: All you need to know

The era has passed when volume-centric approaches were effectively tailored for using customer engagement to increase sales. In today's landscape, consumers have grown so sophisticated that they no longer respond favorably to unsolicited sales pitches.

This is precisely why you need to familiarize yourself with the dynamic world of B2B sales stats, complete with figures, to obtain a clear understanding of how your customers prefer to maintain connections with you, why you need to incorporate a sales automation tool like Zixflow and along with that pinpoint area for improvement. This knowledge is crucial to stay aligned with the trends and construct each component of the B2B sales engagement model.

B2B sales statistics: General B2B market

76% of B2B sales players made a structured marketing strategy

1. B2B marketers ought to place greater emphasis on their marketing research to augment sales efficiency before casting a wide net in their audience targeting. Recent data reveals that approximately 76% of B2B businesses have developed a structured plan, while surprisingly, the remainder have not.

(Source: WebFX)

73% of B2B marketers analyze each stage of their marketing plan

2. The above statement gains significance when considering the involvement of millennials. According to recent data, 73% of adept B2B participants are those who meticulously track every stage of marketing strategies, and over half of them are regarded as top-notch decision-makers.

(Source: Harvard Business Review)

61% of B2B transactions have been done online 

3. In the era of modern technology, you can't take a single step without using the Internet, which is equally applicable in B2B sales as well. Recent data shows that 61% of B2B transactions start their process online, while most B2B retailers carry out at least two years online to impress sales prospects.

(Source: BigCommerce)

B2B sales statistics: Content marketing

10% quality content alone can drive half of the customer engagement

4. To remain competitive in the realm of sales engagement strategies, enhancing customer engagement content is regarded as paramount. Data reveals that a mere 10% of quality content can independently drive half of the customer engagement. To sustain this trend and uphold quality, 10% of B2B marketers update their content every 3.25 months.

(Source: Mindtickle)

84% of B2B professionals are outsourcing the quality content

5. In B2B sales, sales players are more focusing on lead qualification and lead generation, still they also can’t avoid the importance of quality content. To simplify their process, they love outsourcing. Data states that 84% of B2B marketing teams outsource content from top-notch providers while 86% of them are targeting quality content for brand awareness, and 62% followed content marketing strategy.

(Source: Content marketing Institute)

B2B sales statistics: Technology

85% of B2B marketers are incorporating email marketing software

6. When it comes to reaching a broader audience simultaneously, email marketing software can be your closest ally because data indicates that 85% of B2B organizations utilize email marketing software for mass content distribution and data management.

(Source: Content marketing Institute)

39% of B2B organizations are exploring chatbots for conversational marketing

7. Utilizing sales automation stands out as the top choice for streamlining B2B sales in the next generation. This has been proven by data from 2020, which clearly illustrates that 39% of B2B organizations have already integrated AI chatbots for lead generation, while 33% are shifting their monotonous sales approaches towards conversational sales to drive conversions.

(Source: MarketingCharts)

B2B sales statistics: Sales process & strategies

46% B2B sales reps are utilizing social media

8. B2B is more up for trying its sales presence through the omnichannel market. Recent data says that to nurture their leads more effectively, 46% of B2B teams utilize social media, while 35% prefer personalization to engage. Additionally, 33% engage their customers through content, and 31% choose event marketing to interact with their prospects or leads. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

Top B2B e-commerce players are precisely utilizing different areas of technological aspects

9. When it comes to the B2B e-commerce selling process, there are precise annotations of technological aspects. As the data indicates, prominent B2B e-commerce enterprises encompass a significant portion of the landscape. Specifically, 48% include the Internet of Things (IoT), another 48% engage with third-party online marketplaces, and 47% utilize AI for sales.

(Source: Digital Commerce 360)

B2B players are utilizing each kind of connecting method to smooth buyers experience

10. To create a smooth buyer experience throughout the whole process, B2B organizations are availing new tactics. As data shows, 50% are incorporating sales emails, 49% are sales calls, 45% are videos; while 44% are email newsletters, and 40% are using real-time reviews with case studies to build a long-term rapport. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

57% of B2B marketers are well-known with the opportunities of having nurture leads

11. On one side, data from 2021 shows that 57% of sales reps find the opportunities that make a huge difference between nurtured and non-nurtured leads. On the other hand, in 2023, the figure rose to 83%, which points out how nurturing leads can improve sales processes. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

Only 16% of sales reps find nurturing leads to be an excellent task

12. After generating the lead, the most challenging task comes into the picture: nurturing and managing them. This is truly a different task, which is why only 16% of sales reps find this task excellent. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

In B2B sales CTR through emails play a crucial role

13. Articulating sales metrics and applying them to drive conversions is essential nowadays, as the data shows an email click-through rate of 34%, an email open rate of 32%, and a conversion rate of 32% which generates revenue at 43%. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

31% of B2B marketers are using CRM to nurture their leads

14. ‍Lead generation versus lead nurturing is a distinct procedure. However, 31% of savvy marketers are utilizing a CRM tool to track every step, from generating valuable leads to nurturing them, and from marketing to conversions. You can achieve the same with convenient access to a sales CRM tool like Zixflow.

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

Five most important factors every B2B solution provider follow

15. From the buyers' perspective, they evaluate each step of the sales engagement, and a smart sales rep like you needs to follow those. So, the five crucial factors that have already been counted by many, according to recent B2B stats, are features and their functionalities (73%), pricing module (72%), seamless deployment (56%), and, most importantly, solution providers' accountability to address their customers' pain points (47%).

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

97% of B2B buyers expect vendors’ websites to get content

16. To obtain informative content including product information and purchasing plans, 97% of B2B buyers expect to have everything under one umbrella instead of a fragmented source, while 96% of buyers consider direct access to a vendor's website as a crucial factor in demonstrating industry expertise. Furthermore, 97% of buyers believe that they have the simplest access to content when using vendors' websites.

(Source: DemandBase)

B2B sales statistics: Lead generation & lead qualification

53% of sales reps get directly connected through hosting webinars

17. A webinar, where you can educate an entire marketing segment and address all sales qualifying questions, is the best practice ever to generate leads. This is why 53% of sales reps find hosting webinars one of the top methods for generating leads. 

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

53% of sales reps are following a step-by-step guide for lead generation

18. The process of lead generation using email, coupled with the utilization of a CRM automation tool, streamlines the tasks of identifying emails, establishing connections, and presenting optimal solutions. This approach is preferred by 53% of B2B professionals for early-stage lead generation.

(Source: Cleverly)

Maturity in lead generation converts B2B marketing revenue by 133%

19. Maturity comes in the sales process when a sales rep prioritizes tasks with updated versions, where workflow automation and lead generation come hand-in-hand. Most B2B firms apply this maturity to enhance revenue by 133% in their sales. 

(Source: Intellistart)

The lead qualification checklist has many features for generating quality leads

20. To place the right checkmark next to each point on the lead qualification checklist and drive conversions for the highest ROI, B2B sales representatives are currently employing email (50%), content marketing (34%), live events (32%), and social media (23%), as indicated by recent data.

(Source: Chief Marketer)

44% of the allocated time is well utilized by sales reps to make the conversion when they talk

21. Converting target prospects into hot leads through interesting sales engagement questions is not as easy as it may sound; it necessitates the collection of data to identify their pain points. During interactions between B2B sales representatives and prospects, an average of 36 minutes is allocated, within which approximately 11 questions are posed by the sales reps, and they receive around 13 questions in return to facilitate the deal-closing process. This distribution translates to roughly 44% of the total talk time being utilized.

(Source: Mindtickle)

B2B sales statistics: E-commerce

The B2B market is estimated to earn revenue of around 6 trillion dollars by 2024

22. Amidst the burgeoning trend of e-commerce businesses, B2B enterprises have not lagged. According to data, in 2023, B2B e-commerce sales surged to 1.77 trillion dollars, marking a notable 12% increase compared to the figures from 2021. Moreover, it is currently projected that B2B will secure a share of 6 trillion dollars by the year 2024.

(Source: BigCommerce)

Easiest payment methods plays the real game in B2B e-commerce

23. Offering your B2B prospects the simplest payment options can truly be a game-changer in B2B e-commerce for improving sales performance. According to B2B statistics, 94% favor credit cards, 51% opt for checks, 50% prefer easy purchase orders, and only 26% choose mobile wallets, as these are still catching up to their increasing popularity.

(Source: BigCommerce)

Adjustment with B2B buyers’ choice is becoming need of the moment

24. Given the evolving landscape, B2B e-commerce priorities must be adjusted by you. Recent data reveals that when it comes to B2B buyers' preferences, 80% of them prefer ordering via e-commerce websites, 77% prefer email, and only 72% opt for mobile phones.

(Source: BigCommerce)

B2B sales statistics: Challenges & solutions

Both buyers and sellers in B2B are facing a wide range of difficulties

25. In B2B sales statistics, evaluating difficulties in overcoming objections in sales is a crucial point to note. In most cases, B2B sales require a longer duration, as shown by recent statistics, where various difficulties emerge. Around 29.57% face challenges related to internal information sharing, 32.62% experience delays in building understanding, 37.96% disagree with pricing modules, 22.71% hold disagreements over ROI, 22.87% lack trust in the productivity of products, and sometimes, an additional 12.96% of sales reps lack in-depth knowledge.

(Source: Showpad)

68% of B2B buyers are finding extension in the deal closing statement 

26. According to recent B2B statistics, 68% of buyers believe that the purchase cycle has extended. Moreover, 61% of B2B buyers have indicated that this extension in the purchase cycle also leads to an elongation of the decision-making process, owing to the involvement of numerous stakeholders.

(Source: Demand Gen Report)

A list with numbers is present to cater to challenges in B2B sales

27. To remain in the realm of B2B sales trends, it is imperative to address both buyers' and sellers' challenges. Numerous strategies can be employed by you, as indicated by recent data. Notably, 32% concentrate on resolving systemic issues, 24% prioritize enhancing designation productivity, 19% focus on empowering customer-facing employees, and only 13% center their efforts on addressing employee feedback.

(Source: Accenture)

B2B sales statistics: Growth 

ABM marketing is a new-gen approach to drive the growth of around 208% in the B2B market

28. Account-based marketing (ABM) plays a crucial role in constructing customer-centric selling processes within B2B marketing. Through the ABM marketing strategy, wherein a business must emphasize sending pertinent content with the appropriate intent at the precise moment, B2B can elevate revenue by an impressive 208%, as indicated by recent data.

(Source: Warc)

The biggest U.S B2B market is expected to grow by 15.1% in 2023

29. Advertising for brand promotion or brand awareness remains a consistent marketing trend. Based on recent data, in 2023, U.S. B2B digital marketing spending reached around 14.57 billion dollars, and it is estimated that their market will experience a growth of 15.1%.

(Source: Insider intelligence)

Try out Zixflow & make your business count in B2B sales statistics

Are you pondering how your business will fit into these statistics?

Well, you need to become slightly smart.

Why? Because you'll need to leverage the best AI-powered sales automation tool like Zixflow.

From automating your sales workflow to handling repetitive tasks on your own, sending relevant emails, SMS, or WhatsApp messages to engage and establish rapport with the target audience, managing sales pipeline stages, and offering insightful data of marketing campaigns with the utmost accuracy – everything you'll acquire in a single platter with Zixflow.

No more contemplation. Go now and try Zixflow for free and make every digit count of the aforementioned B2B sales stats to reach your desired ROI.