2020: Impact of the Coronavirus on B2B Sales

We’ve just published an infographic showing the results of a survey we sent out to our network of B2B Sales Managers, Sales Reps, Account Managers, Business Development Directors and Business Owners – about the impact so far of the Coronavirus and lockdown on B2B sales opportunities, quota attainment and general day to day activities.

The results were interesting… Obviously, it’s a tough time for many people, and sales opportunities are lower than before, but there is hope – there are some people out there still finding that customers are willing to buy, and in some cases, more willing to buy than they were before Coronavirus!

In this article, we’ll talk you through the insights from the research we carried out, but if you want to access the infographic in full, then here it is: B2B Sales Coronavirus Statistics Infographic.

73.9% of salespeople say their sales opportunities have decreased since Coronvirus lockdown started

However, it’s not all bad news, because 26.1% of B2B sales reps surveyed actually found the number of sales opportunities increased where demand for products required for homeworking was higher.

65.2% of B2B salespeople reported losing deals due to the Coronavirus outbreak

The Coronavirus has clearly had a big impact on organizations across the world, resulting in lots of businesses deciding to press the ‘pause’ button on purchases. 34.8% of reps said that they hadn’t reported losing any deals to Coronavirus so far, so we will have to wait and see to understand the full impact of the lockdown and virus on B2B sales revenues at the end of the year.

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50% of reps reported customers postponing purchasing decisions as the biggest struggle they are facing

Clearly a lot of customers have decided to put off any big purchasing decisions amidst all the uncertainty, while 25% of respondents highlighted not being able to meet their customers in person as being the biggest challenge they’re facing currently.

16.7% of B2B salespeople said that not being able to meet with their own team and colleagues was particularly challenging.

Not one person said their biggest fear was losing their job

45.8% of those surveyed highlighted the lack of budget currently available to their buyers as their biggest fear, as this was something that was likely to get worse before it gets better. 33.3% said they worry most about losing even more deals due to the Coronavirus, while 16.7% cited the inability to meet with customers as the biggest fear for the future.

Interestingly, although it was listed as an option, not one person surveyed said that losing their job was their biggest fear which should be a positive to many people out there concerned about not hitting their targets and job opportunities.

Unfortunately, a whopping 83.3% said that buyers’ willingness to purchase at the moment was low

Despite that higher figure, 12.5% of B2B sales roles surveyed said that they felt there was no difference in buyers’ willingness to purchase, while 4.2% said they found buyers’ purchasing willingness higher than average.

54.2% of salespeople are now connecting with customers via videoconferencing

In the absence of being able to meet with customers face to face, 54.2% of sales reps are now holding videoconferences with their customers, while 20.8% say they are using calls mainly. 16.7% are connecting over email, and 8.3% report that they are having no contact at all with customers since the lockdown began.

With the majority of organizations’ staff now working from home or being furloughed, some staff will either be unavailable to connect, or their methods of connecting will depend on their company’s remote working procedures and technology.

Confidence in hitting sales targets this year is low overall

66.7% of salespeople said their confidence was low for them hitting their sales targets this year, while 20.8% said their confidence was at a medium level. 12.5% said their confidence was high – clearly showing the stark difference between some businesses affected negatively and positively by the Coronavirus.

50% of salespeople said their confidence in their sales job was ‘Somewhat Confident’

50% said they were ‘Somewhat Confident’ about their sales job prospects, while 37.5% were sadly ‘Not Confident’. The good news is there is a bunch of people out there who are ‘Very Confident’ about their sales jobs’ prospects.

43.5% of salespeople are using the current quiet period to focus on Account Planning activities

58.3% of salespeople said that the Coronavirus has impacted on their typical daily tasks, while 41.7% said it hadn’t significantly impacted on their day to day activities.

So what are people doing with their time now they’re not meeting with customers and colleagues?

Well, 43.5% are dedicating their time to Account Planning, while 21.7% are focusing on Customer Research activities. Unfortunately 13% are getting stuck into Admin, and 21.7% said they are doing ‘Other’ things – we wished we’d asked what those things are!

Check out the full Infographic: B2B Sales During the Coronavirus

Our research was collated through an anonymous survey sent out to our network of B2B salespeople, managers, business owners and business development roles. We aim to update the figures later in the year to see the continuing impact of the Coronavirus on B2B sales people. If you want to contribute your views to the survey, then here’s the link: https://hello238371.typeform.com/to/QEcPb9