B2B sales professionals face a raft of obstacles and challenges, from the prospecting stage to pitching a proposal to closing a deal. But it's important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to common presumptions in B2B sales. Keep moving forward with these 21 eye-opening sales & prospecting statistics!

Data decay is a leading cause of data inconsistencies, which can result in wasted time, resources and ultimately can have a negative impact on your bottom line. Plus, working with outdated and inconsistent data is just plain frustrating. But how prevalent is this problem?

You know that data decay impacts your sales & marketing efforts, but do you really know the extent of the damage? See how the costs of data decay might be far greater than you think and learn more about why good data matters in this infographic.

Between distractions and sudden changes in the business environment, it can be difficult to stay on task and be productive.



To get the most out of your business, you need to use productivity tools. There are a vast array of products and services that can help you optimize your time in the office. Below is a description of some of the more critical productivity categories and a list of some solutions that we think you'll find very useful in 2021.

2020 was undoubtedly one for the history books. The manufacturing world was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from supply chain disruptions to labor shortages and widespread shutdowns. In many ways, IndustrySelect's most popular stories for 2020 reflected the efforts of sales, marketing and business development professionals to understand the struggles of their valuable manufacturing clients, improve communications and discover new opportunities amid this remarkable year.

Even with a vaccine on the horizon, the specter of COVID-19 looms large over your operations and those of your customers. So, the adage "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance" is especially true as you solidify your marketing strategy to increase sales in 2021.



In addition to the vaccine, governments and businesses are learning more about mitigating COVID-19's spread, allowing health and economic concerns to be addressed at the same time without adversely affecting one another.



In January 2020, the world was just beginning to experience the pandemic and its widespread effect. As your company approaches 2021, uncertainty remains, but you also bring with you the lessons learned in 2020, allowing you to be more proactive in your sales and marketing initiatives.



In the words of Bill Gates, "Success today requires the agility and drive to constantly rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent."[i]

On May 27 of this year, B2B sales and marketing expert John Coe, provided us with a detailed look at the challenges B2B marketers face when it comes to old or "decaying" data: B2B Data Decay: The Achilles Heel of Marketing.



Today, John is following up on that article, sharing some crucial steps B2B sales and marketing professionals should take to remediate old or aging data.

For many companies in 2020, profit margins are taking a hit. As part of the executive team, you want to have a comprehensive view of the challenges ahead and how to right the ship. Creating a seamless B2B customer experience can help boost your profit margins, putting your company back on the path to success. In this post, we'll explore the concept of the customer experience and provide the four fundamentals for enhancing the experience of your best prospects.

Many of the same factors that motivate individual buyers to choose one product over another also motivate industrial buyers[i] � quality, price, performance, etc. The Harvard Business Review recently published a hierarchy of value propositions from base expectations at the bottom of the pyramid to loftier purchasing goals such as a feeling of social responsibility at the top of the pyramid. Matching these values to each buyer persona helps manufacturers complete more sales[ii].



The following buyer personas are designed to help manufacturing companies motivate industrial buyers to choose their product[iv]:

So much has happened in 2020 that was unprecedented. Simply looking forward to 2021 has become a definite challenge.



The only way to get a handle on what to expect in sales and marketing next year is to study the data from this year, especially during COVID-19, and project using the most likely scenarios.

Using email as a method of prospecting to industrial companies can be challenging. Over 75% of prospecting emails are ignored or deleted without being read. This type of treatment can be avoided simply by attempting to establish a real relationship with your prospect. Here's how.

In order to integrate IndustrySelect with the most commonly used CRMs among our userbase, we recently turned to our thousands of customers in industrial sales, marketing, and business development to find out what CRM they used to manage interactions with their industrial clients. The results of the survey were very revealing, and we thought we would share these results with you today.

Time-tested companies are restructuring, new entities are emerging to capitalize on new opportunities and others are either downsizing or folding altogether.



Companies need to pay close attention to what others in their field are doing in order to stay ahead in this complex game.

"Where can I find more like you?"



We've all said it, whether in reference to a star employee or reliable vendor. And most of us have said this about our customers. Where do we generate more B2B leads that possess the same set of needs for our products and services as do our best customers? We know they are out there, but how do we find them?



It is (and literally can be) the million-dollar question.

You might have a strong sales pitch, a quality product and a competitive price, but sales might elude you until you find the right audience for your message.



Identifying new opportunities for growth is often a matter of figuring out who needs the products or services you're selling.



Read on to learn how.

The HVAC industry is poised to become a $367.5 billion market by 2030. Although this sector is currently feeling the effects of COVID-19, there is a promising future for refrigeration and heating equipment manufacturers.



Marketing your products and services to these manufacturers is a viable strategy, but it's important to understand the unique opportunities and challenges linked to COVID-19.

Despite the overwhelming majority of manufacturing companies being privately held, it does not mean that they are not part of a corporate family. For our purposes, family does not refer to ownership by people who are related to each other. We are referring to parent companies that acquire and retain smaller businesses, usually in a related field.



Understanding company hierarchy can give you an advantage in generating sales in the manufacturing sector.

Knowing the latest information on a manufacturing company can help make introductions a seamless affair.



As a salesperson, you should be educated on your prospects and able to speak comfortably about any current events that may affect their operations.



The more you know about their business, the more confidence they will have in your ability to help them reach more customers.

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented situation for manufacturers, and many have seen their priorities shift as they engaged their crisis response plans over the past few months.



These plans might include changes in leadership, so a different person may be making purchase decisions - especially if you're offering a product or service that supports a manufacturers crisis response.



Your research process should explore how COVID-19 impacts leads, how priorities might be changing, whether or not new competitors have emerged and what kind of emergency response plans the manufacturer is likely to adopt.



These are the challenges executives are currently facing, so understanding their situation is crucial in order to empathize with and sell to them effectively.

Manufacturers are going through significant changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some struggle to stay in businesses, others are shifting production to focus on essential products.



Proper research is more important now more than ever before when reaching out to prospects. Executive contacts might change as manufacturers restructure existing processes, and you need to understand how the current situation is affecting a prospect to identify relevant pain points and explain how your products or services can help.

Businesses are facing an increasingly intricate vendor ecosystem. Products like IT solutions, tools and machinery, and even business services are undergoing significant changes as new digital features appear, making these products more complex to research.



In fact, the process is so complex that for 80% of businesses, the B2B buying process takes more time than it used to. As a result, the B2B buying process is starting to prioritizing research.



Salespeople can help by adopting an approach known as prescriptive selling.

We've all had similar experiences -- email or call a customer or prospect only to be met with a bounced email or wrong number voice message.



Obviously something has changed, and the question becomes not only where he/she went, but what else has changed?



If you were working from your company's database or an outside list, the thought might also have crossed your mind: Hmm, wonder how many of these records are also wrong?

COVID-19 has forced businesses to practice remote working and telecommuting. In many states, economies are reigniting, which means that some employees will be allowed to go back to the office for at least part-time work. However, many companies are maintaining work-from-home policies out of caution.



Remote working may be practical for some occupations, but for sales teams it is exceedingly difficult to be deprived of face-to-face interaction.

As the progression of COVID-19 slows down, more than 30 states are looking into reopening their economy progressively. However, reopening will create a unique set of challenges for businesses that need to keep employees safe and keep up with official guidelines and regulations that might change in the near future.



As such, cleaning is going to be a top priority. If you offer sanitizing services or provide sanitizing products, the U.S. manufacturing sector is an industry to focus on.

The coronavirus crisis has created a new status quo almost overnight. As a marketer, being reactive is more important now than ever, and there is a dire need to find a new communication style that suits your brand and audience as well as the current situation we're facing.



Email marketing is still a relevant and reliable way to connect with your audience, but you need to rethink your content strategy, find the right tone to discuss current events, connect with leads in meaningful ways and avoid cliches.

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting every facet of life and business, forcing industries like manufacturing to upend their usual processes and adapt to this new dynamic. While some manufacturing sectors are increasing production, others are shutting down indefinitely. We're also seeing some manufacturers shifting production toward essential medical supplies.



Between shutdowns and drastic changes in demand, manufacturers are facing an uncertain situation.

If you're used to making your pitch on the shop floor and closing the deal with a firm handshake, social distancing may have you at a loss. You can still find effective ways to approach your prospects.



In fact, as a B2B rep, you could find yourself busier than ever.

Manufacturing in the age of COVID-19 means walking a tightrope. If a facility is deemed "non-essential," what happens to the workers? On the other hand, if a facility is deemed "essential," how can employers ensure the health and safety of their employees? How do they fill the critical staffing gaps between "business as usual" and "business at hyper speed"?



As a staffing agency, it's your job to provide the facts and potential solutions for both the essential and non-essential manufacturers to help stabilize operations. With the right information on their environment (challenges, needs and more), you can properly assist manufacturers and establish a partnership that is mutually beneficial.

As coronavirus continues to reshape the U.S. manufacturing sector at breakneck speed, sales and business development executives are left wondering which industries are most likely to need their goods and services. Multiple economic reports point to a contracting manufacturing sector, yet some industries are busier than ever.



This article will explore some of the potential growth industries as the nation's industrial sector transforms into a coronavirus-fighting machine, gleaning some key insights from the latest reports on manufacturing. These are the manufacturers that may potentially need services such as staffing, software, financial, transportation, janitorial/maintenance and more.

If your business is going to succeed in the manufacturing market, you need to have the right business development approaches in place.



Of course, tackling business development in the manufacturing market is easier said than done. There is a variety of factors that you have to pay attention to when appealing to this market.



Business development, sales, marketing ... what's the difference, anyway?



It's important to note that today, many roles that are technically sales or marketing roles are now "business development" positions, rebranded for a variety of reasons.