50 Sales Prospecting Statistics to Help You Prospect Like a Pro in 2024

As a salesperson, meeting (and exceeding) your annual quota requires more than a persuasive pitch and a charming demeanor.

The needs and buying behaviors of prospective clients change rapidly and it’s your job to stay updated about these changes and adapt accordingly.

To do that, you have to know what the sales prospecting landscape looked like in recent years and use that information to predict what it’ll look like in the future. 

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of 50 sales prospecting statistics for 2024.

Before we look at these statistics, though, we’ll examine what sales prospecting is, what a typical sales prospecting process looks like, and why it’s an important part of the sales process.

Then we’ll cover how to improve your sales prospecting efforts (according to experts).

What is sales prospecting?

Sales prospecting is the process of identifying potential customers or clients who may be interested in purchasing a product or service that a company offers.

This process involves researching and reaching out to individuals or organizations that match your ideal customer profile (ICP) via methods like cold calling, emailing, and texting. 

Prospecting is the first stage of the sales cycle; it helps you identify people or businesses with problems and needs that your product can solve (or provide). This way, you can reach out to them and position your offer(s) as a solution, which increases your chances of making a sale. 

Here’s what a typical prospecting process looks like: 

A sales representative (let’s call him Peter) works for a tech company that provides CRM solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. His primary responsibility is to generate new leads and convert them into paying clients. 

Peter starts his day by reviewing his list of target industries, including healthcare, retail, and finance. He uses tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator and B2B contact databases to identify companies within these sectors that may benefit from the company’s software solutions. 

After conducting thorough research, Peter discovers a mid-sized retail chain experiencing problems with their inventory management system. He notes down the email addresses and phone numbers of the decision-makers within the company, including the CEO and Head of IT.

Next, he crafts a personalized email highlighting how his company’s software can streamline inventory management processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. He then makes a phone call to the Head of IT to introduce himself and discuss the potential benefits of the company’s software solution further. During the conversation, Peter listens to the IT head’s concerns and provides helpful information.

Based on the positive response he receives, Peter goes ahead to schedule a product demo with the retail chain’s IT team, leadership, and other stakeholders. He prepares a compelling product presentation showing the product’s features and capabilities, and how it can solve the retail chain’s challenges. 

Peter continues to nurture the relationships with the chain’s decision-makers by gathering feedback, providing additional resources, and answering their questions. Before long, Peter converts the retain chain into a paying client and helps them fix their inventory management challenges.

Why is sales prospecting important?

The way you conduct yourself when you send an email or put a phone call through to a target company’s decision-maker(s) will determine whether you win a valuable customer or chase them away. 

When done correctly, sales prospecting techniques can help you form a great first impression and connect an already-interested lead with your company’s offerings.

They also allow you to give potential customers all the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision.

This way, you can build a pipeline filled with high-value prospective customers — which is the lifeblood of any successful business. 

Sales prospecting statistics in 2024

The advent of new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning is rapidly changing how sales teams prospect and convert leads into paying customers.

To avoid being left behind, it’s crucial to keep up with recent prospecting trends and figure out ways to apply and improve them in the future. 

That being said, here are 50 sales prospecting statistics that encompass the state of prospecting (and sales, in general) in 2024. 

Sales prospecting statistics

1. 96% of prospects do their own research before speaking to a sales rep. (HubSpot, 2023)
2. 82% of sales pros say building relationships and connecting with people is the most important part of selling. (HubSpot, 2023)
3. There’s an average of five decision-makers involved in every sales process today. (HubSpot, 2023)
4. In 2023, the average sales win rate is 21%. (HubSpot, 2023)
5. Hybrid teams are 28% more likely to outperform fully in-person or fully remote teams. (HubSpot, 2023)
6. 88% of prospects know about the company, services, and competition when a sales rep first reaches out to them. (HubSpot, 2023)
7. 47% of all deals are between $1-5k. (HubSpot, 2023)
8. 91% of sales pros upsell, and they say it brings in an average of 21% of company revenue. (HubSpot, 2023)
9. There are an average of four stakeholders in the decision-making process — up from 3.6 in 2023. (Sopro, 2024)
10. 71.4% of salespeople say that only half (or fewer) of their initial prospects turn out to be a good fit. (Sales Insights Lab, 2022)
11. 62% of buyers want to hear from sellers when they’re actively looking for a solution to solve a problem. (Rain Group, 2023)
12. Top sales performers generate 2.7x more conversions than the rest. (Rain Group, 2023)
13. 82% of buyers look up providers on LinkedIn before responding to their outreach efforts. (Rain Group, 2023)
14. 58% of sales meetings are not valuable to buyers. (Rain Group, 2023)
15. 96% of buyers say they prefer meetings where the seller focuses on the value they can provide to the buyer. (Rain Group, 2023) 
16. Salespeople who do social selling are 51% more likely to hit their quota (LinkedIn, 2022)
17. Sales professionals spend less than one-third of their time (30%) selling; they spend more time on administrative and other non-selling duties. (LinkedIn, 2022)
18. About 31% of sellers have closed deals over $500,000 without ever meeting the buyer face to face. (LinkedIn, 2022)
19. 89% of buyers say they are more likely to consider a brand if a seller changes the buyer’s way of thinking. (LinkedIn, 2022)
20. 76% of top performers say they “always” perform research before reaching out to prospects (compared to just 47% for other sellers). (LinkedIn, 2022)

Sales prospecting email statistics

21. 75% of B2B companies say results are better when email prospecting is combined with other outbound marketing channels. (Sopro, 2024)
22. 72% of companies say prospecting significantly enhances their understanding of customer profiles and target markets. (Sopro, 2024)
23. 68% of sales pros say email prospecting complements inbound marketing channels well. (Sopro, 2024)
24. Buyers that received personalized emails were 23% more likely to open a subsequent email than those that hadn’t. (Sopro, 2024)
25. 67% of buyers prefer to be contacted via email more than any other channel. (Sopro, 2024)
26. 88% of salespeople say email prospecting delivers “good to excellent” ROI. (Sopro, 2024)
27. 57% of companies rate their email personalization as “basic” or “intermediate” (only using a prospect or business name). (Sopro, 2024)
28. 44% of companies use LinkedIn InMail for their prospecting. (Sopro, 2024)
29. 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. Conversely, 69% of email recipients report emails as spam based solely on the subject line. (Optinmonster, 2024)
30. Only 5% of sellers say sending bulk emails is effective. (Rain Group, 2023)

Sales prospecting phone call statistics

31. Top sales performers have discovery calls that last 33.6 minutes on average, while the rest of the team has calls that last an average of 19 minutes. (Sales Insights Lab, 2022)
32. 69% of buyers accepted cold calls from new providers in the last 12 months — showing that the phone is still an important part of the prospecting process. (Rain Group, 2023)
33. 67% of C-level and VP buyers prefer to be contacted by phone. (Rain Group, 2023)

Sales team challenges statistics

34. 70% of sales pros say budgets are more scrutinized in 2023 than in 2022. (HubSpot, 2023)
35. 25% of sales teams are dealing with budget restraints and find it hard to do more with less. (HubSpot, 2023)
36. 54% of sales pros say selling has been harder this year than before. (HubSpot, 2023)
37. 28% of sales pros say the sales process taking too long is the biggest reason prospects back out of deals. (HubSpot, 2023)
38. 46% of sales leaders say it’s difficult to generate enough leads. (Sopro, 2024)
39. Almost half of sellers (45%) say their biggest data challenge is incomplete data. (LinkedIn, 2022)
40. Almost 9 in 10 sellers say they’ve lost deals (or experienced delays) in the past year by a decision maker changing roles. (LinkedIn, 2022)

Sales artificial intelligence (AI) tools statistics

41. Sales professionals who use AI tools to accomplish administrative tasks save at least two hours a day (HubSpot, 2023).
42. 78% of sales pros say AI can help them be more efficient in their role (HubSpot, 2023).
43. 81% of sales pros say AI can help them spend less time on manual tasks (HubSpot, 2023).
44. 63% of sales leaders say AI makes it easier to compete with other businesses in their industry (HubSpot, 2023).
45. 45% of sales pros are overwhelmed by the amount of tools in their tech stack (HubSpot, 2023).
46. 55% of sales pros say that the use of AI will make it easier to make sales. (HubSpot, 2023)
47. 66% of sales pros say that AI tools help them personalize their cold outreach efforts. (HubSpot, 2023)
48. 41% of sales reps use AI to recognize and respond to buyer emotions or sentiment — and 83% of them say it’s effective. (HubSpot, 2023)
49. 51% of salespeople believe that AI-supported email marketing is more effective than traditional email marketing approaches. (Statista, 2023)
50. 91% of sellers at large companies use sales tech tools once a week. (LinkedIn, 2022)

How to improve sales prospecting in 2024 (according to experts)

As you might’ve noticed, sales prospecting is an evolving vertical. We’re steadily moving from traditional lead lists and outdated data to using professional networks, contact databases, and AI-based sales tools to reach and convert potential customers. 

As such, it’s pertinent to stay up to date on the latest sales prospecting statistics and different ways to improve your sales prospecting and outreach efforts. I spoke to a couple of sales experts and here are five sales prospecting tips they gave:

Listen to your prospects 

In research done by Sales Insights Lab, top performers were found to have discovery calls that lasted about half an hour. These calls don’t last this long because the salesperson keeps prattling on about their product’s features and capabilities. It’s because they let the prospective buyer talk about the challenges they’re facing, while the seller listens keenly.

“Never underestimate the power of active listening,” urges James Cunningham, the Health Optimization Coach at Total Shape. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking too much and trying to pitch your product or service right off the bat. 

However, by actively listening to what prospects have to say, you can uncover valuable information that can guide your approach and tailor your pitch to better meet their needs. Not only does this demonstrate that you value their input, but it also allows you to position yourself as a trusted advisor rather than just another salesperson.”

Use social media for prospecting

LinkedIn’s 2022 global sales study showed that social selling is at an all-time high right now — and for good reason, too! Salespeople are now realizing that, while social media is great for increasing brand awareness, it’s also a great way to find and connect directly with prospective buyers. 

This is especially true for B2B companies as LinkedIn, the largest professional network in the world, has become a goldmine for digging up target companies and their key decision-makers.

Alexej Pikovsky, the CEO at NUOPTIMA shares: “We encourage our sales team to use social media platforms, especially LinkedIn, to research and connect with potential leads. For example, one of our salespeople noticed a prospect frequently discussing sustainability in their LinkedIn posts. By initiating a conversation around our eco-friendly marketing solutions, they quickly gained the prospect’s interest, leading to a fruitful partnership.”

Personalize your emails

When sending emails to prospective customers or clients, you’re likely to get better results if you tailor them to address the recipient’s industry, pain points, and needs. People generally don’t like being sold to, so offset the sales-y vibe that comes with these emails by explaining how your offer is going to provide value to the prospect.

“When communicating with prospects, avoid generic messages; personalized emails or calls that reference specific pain points or interests can significantly increase response rates,” Alexander Havkin, the Regional Sales and Project Manager at Ecoline Windows explains. “In a campaign I led, follow-up emails were personalized based on the prospect’s industry, leading to a 25% increase in responses compared to our standard outreach.”

Use a CRM tool to manage leads 

In this technology-heavy era, it’s no longer sufficient to just make lists of prospects in Google Sheets and mark them down as you reach out. Now, businesses use customer relationship management (CRM) tools like HubSpot and Salesforce to keep track of all interactions with leads, follow up with them, and ensure that no lead falls through the cracks. 

Speaking of following up, Gabrielle Marie Yap, the culinary entrepreneur at Carnivore Style explains that“it’s not enough to establish an initial connection and then wait for the prospect to contact you. Instead, stay in touch regularly, provide valuable insights or resources, and address any concerns they may have. This proactive approach demonstrates to prospects that you are committed to their success and will go above and beyond to earn their business.” 

Build relationships with prospects

People are more likely to trust and buy a product from their friends than from total strangers. While you might not be able to ‘befriend’ decision-makers in the traditional sense of the word, you should try to build relationships with them. Prove that you’re not another shill trying to take their hard-earned money and that you actually care about solving their problems. This is how you get them to trust you. 

Andrew Grella is the CEO and founder of Formen Inc., a company that creates professional grooming and makeup products for men. Speaking about relationship-building, Andrew posits that selling isn’t just business transactions; it’s about building strong, trusted relationships. 

“My initial success with Formen was directly tied to my ability to build relationships with clients who initially had minimal interest in men’s makeup,” Andrew explains. “Framing my pitches in a way that connected to their needs turned prospects into customers, and with attention and support, customers into brand advocates.”

This experience isn’t unique to Andrew Grella. Mark McShane, the Sales and Marketing Lead at AED Training shared an anecdote with me: “By hosting monthly webinars on AED training and first aid knowledge, we’ve positioned ourselves as thought leaders. A webinar attendee, inspired by the compelling stories of lives saved with prompt AED access we shared six months prior, equipped their entire office with AEDs—spurring a $10,000 sale that originated from a complimentary yet genuinely valuable webinar. Invest in relationships constantly: the returns, though not immediate, are frequently significant and enduring.”

Prospect like a pro in 2024 

As these sales prospecting statistics will tell you, the sales prospecting landscape is changing — and salespeople have to change along with it to stay on top of their game.

This means no more use of outdated data, cold calling without research, mass email blasts, and ignoring social media.

Now, you have to be proactive and use the platforms and tools available to you to get as much information as you can about companies that fit your ICP. 

A great place to start is by using Wiza.

With Wiza, you get access to a database of 830+ million B2B contacts and 30+ filters to help you narrow down the right leads to reach out to.

When you find viable companies, Wiza helps you extract and verify the email addresses and phone numbers of their key decision-makers, so you can start your cold outreach efforts. 

What’s more, Wiza has a Chrome extension that integrates seamlessly with LinkedIn and its products, i.e. Sales Navigator, Freemium, and Recruiter.

So if you’re using these platforms, Wiza can extract accurate contact and company information right from their LinkedIn profile in seconds.

Wiza also integrates with various CRM and sales tools, so after making your prospecting lists, you can export them right into your CRM for better management. Want to try Wiza out? Sign up for the free plan today.