This research from 2012 identifies the differentiated sales results of sales people and sales teams that embrace social selling in order to personalize the messaging they deliver all throughout the sales process and the impact that has on results (deal size, close rate, CRM usage and rep turnover).
Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Testing - A Real-World Look, present...
Aberdeen social selling research
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July, 2012
Social Selling: Best-in-Class Targeting of the Right
Message, at the Right Time, for the Right Person
With the recent attention-grabbing IPO of Facebook, the attention of the
business community is squarely focused on how valuable social media has
become to the enterprise. With untold numbers of consumer hours now
dedicated to posting, tweeting, liking and pinning, where is the measurable
ROI for line-of-business executives seeking to monetize this brave new
world? Moreover, has the momentum of social media marketing brought us
to the point where professional salespeople can also benefit from its use?
Setting the Stage: Crossing the Marketing-to-Sales Chasm
Social media marketing has been studied by Aberdeen for some time, and
recognizing the power of user-generated content is quite common among
business-to-business practitioners of marketing best practices. In B2B Social
Marketing: Are We There Yet? (March 2012), the top 20% of performers among
520 surveyed companies represented a Best-in-Class group leading all others in
customer retention, marketing contribution to the sales pipeline, and annual
growth in revenue and marketing leads resulting in closed deals.
Figure 1: Most Effective Points in Sales Cycle to Leverage Social
Media Content, by Best-in-Class
44%
8%
46%
36%
21%
27%27% 27%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Building a list of sales
prospects, companies or
contacts - working WITH
marketing
Building a list of sales
prospects, companies or
contacts - working
INDEPENDENTLY from
marketing
Initiating contact with new
prospects
PercentageofRespondents
n = 520
Best-in-Class Industry Average Laggard
Source: Aberdeen Group, December 2011
Research Brief
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