Sales Pipelines Up in 2010, But Sales Cycles Longer, Survey Shows

OneSource's recently released 2010 B2B Sales Pulse Survey showed key trends in:

• pipeline growth,
• sales cycle lengths, and
  
• best sources for lead generation.

According to the survey, 47% of respondents reported current sales pipelines are better than last year. However, while pipeline conditions show improvement, sales cycles are getting longer, making it harder for sales professionals to close deals. 59% surveyed said that their current sales cycles are longer than last year.

Results could suggest that even though more B2B sales opportunities are arising for sales pros, tighter prospect budgets continue to hold down spending, causing the competitive evaluation process to take longer, before prospects are ready to close.

The solution? Step up your use of sales intelligence tools and social media. Says Sham Sao, Chief Marketing Officer of OneSource, "despite healthier pipelines reported by sales professionals taking our survey, the majority are still facing longer sales cycles, which makes having the right information to identify hot prospects and accelerate them through the pipeline more important than ever before."

When asked to rate various lead sources, sales pros taking the survey overwhelmingly rated outbound prospecting as the best source of qualified opportunities, followed by the corporate website, inbound calls, e-mail marketing, events & trade shows, and social networking sites, in that order. Sales pros placed the least importance on direct mail and webinars as sources for qualified leads.

The 2010 B2B Sales Pulse Survey was conducted in Q1 2010.

-- Carla Gates, Director, Marketing

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Comments

[call center philippines]

"The solution? Step up your use of sales intelligence tools and social media."
- What a good idea! This is one solution to overcome global financial crisis. Outbound prospecting is one the in-demand service today. Thanks for the info. Nice blog.

[contact center philippines]

This is a good news! This report is the proof that sales industry ,including the outsourcing services, is progressing and is not hugely affected by the recession. Thanks for the post.

[philippine call center]

Interesting topic. Companies today focus on business communication skills to meet the demands of the business environment. Business communication, like telemarketing and the use of call centers services, is an effective way of transmitting your ideas or exchanging information. Good communication skills are essential for any business. In reality, these skills often connote to the success and failure of the company.