A new survey from InsideSales.com looks into sales industry cadences, meaning: patterns, frequencies and methods of responding to inbound leads. The report is the product of an analysis of data gleaned from the sales practices of over 8,000 companies in order to establish the most common number of contact attempts, response types and persistence periods.
‘Sales techniques evolve with new tools and technologies, but one thing that remains unchanged is the need to perfect the cadence in which sales reps engage with a potential customer,’ says Martin Moran, international managing director of InsideSales.com.
‘Analysing data can help sales teams make better informed decisions in how and when they approach a prospect. Combined with artificial intelligence technologies, companies can improve their optimal cadence and boost results by up to 110 per cent.’
Touchpoint patterns
When it comes to outreach practices, email leads the way. The most common touch pattern was a single email with 32 per cent of respondents using that method, accounting for 61 per cent of first contacts.
The second most utilised cadence is a single call and voicemail (six per cent).
Spacing
Finding the sweet spot between reaching out enough without seeming overbearing is vital.
The median gap between the first and second touch is typically the shortest, at around 16 hours, 45 minutes. After each subsequent attempt, the gap reaches its maximum between attempt numbers seven and eight, at six days, 21 hours.
Finally, after eight attempts, the median gap hovers at seven days.
Duration
In engaging with leads over time, the study determined that the median period between first and last contacts was just under five days. However, when broken down by industry, significantly disparate medians emerge. Software representatives, for example, have the longest median duration, at 61 days; while the transportation industry’s median was the shortest at 12 days.
Interestingly, on average, UK companies attempted to contact a lead for almost three days longer than their American counterparts. The median in the UK was 7.4 days while the median in the US was only 4.9 days.
‘Sales reps need to be cognisant of the cultural differences when dealing with international brands,’ says Moran.
‘A subtle change in approach can make or break a deal. Analysing sales data and interactions offers useful insights that can help businesses maximise market opportunities and increase productivity.’
Further reading on sales cadence
