Sales Training Press Release
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Jill Perez Marketing, CustomerCentric Selling®
jperez@customercentric.com, +1.800.993.1228, ext. 706
CustomerCentric Selling® Launches Its Benchmark Index and Uncovers Key Findings and Predictions for 2015
Trending General Pessimism and Social Media Naiveté Contradict Sales Managers’ Positive Assessment of Their Teams
Boston, MA, November 17, 2014
Over half of all salespeople do not meet their revenue numbers and a third does not believe social media has an impact on selling efforts. This is according to the results of the first CustomerCentric Selling® (CCS®) benchmark index survey, referred to as the “CCS® Index”, showing key sales trends to watch going into 2015.
In addition to missing goals and an apparent naiveté regarding social media’s impact on the sales cycle, a general pessimism regarding 2015 reverberated throughout the report. Key findings of the Fall 2014 CCS® Index include:
- 58 percent of those surveyed admit that they do not consistently make their top line revenue numbers.
- 39 percent say their cycles are longer than six months.
- 15 percent of sellers actually admitted to just “winging it”.
- 40 percent indicated that they’re “not sure” if their organization will be able to make their number in 2015 based on past and current performance.
- 48 percent of all respondents believe that prospects have already done some sort of research on their company before contacting them.
- Only half consider social media to have a “moderate” impact on selling efforts, while 34 percent report it has no impact at all.
- Yet 47 percent believe social media will play a bigger role in their selling efforts in 2015.
On a more positive note, almost 70 percent of respondents said they would classify their sellers as either “world class” or “solid contributors.”
“We aren’t surprised, actually, by the contradictory nature of the data. Generally speaking, we know that sellers aren’t making their numbers, and we constantly witness firsthand the ‘head in the sand’ mentality when it comes to fixing that. You can’t be a ‘world class’ sales person and not make numbers,” says Frank Visgatis, President and COO of CustomerCentric Selling®.
The CCS® Index gathered a tremendous amount of data from primarily sales and sales executives across several industries, including software, high technology, manufacturing and financial services. The full report and a visual overview presented in an infographic form is available at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vxc7pregucpdka0/CCS%C2%AE%20Index-%20Key%20Trends%20to%20Watch%20in%202015.pdf?dl=0
Keeping its pulse on industry trends, CCS® plans to issue an Index report on a semi-annual basis. The next Index will be delivered in summer 2015.
“It’s critical that we take a hard look at sales trends on a regular basis, so that we can better understand what trends are evolving in the profession across a wide range of organizations and industries. The CCS® Index shows our continued efforts to produce forward-thinking thought leadership in the sales performance space that is designed to help our audience improve and grow,” says Visgatis.
About CustomerCentric Selling® – The Sales Training Company
CustomerCentric Selling® (CCS®) specializes in world-class sales training. Providing a proven methodology for predictably improving revenue growth and sales performance has been key to the company’s success since its founding in 2002. CCS® is based in Boston, with offices in Atlanta and Denver, and more than 50 certified business partners and consultants worldwide. TrainingIndustry.com has named CCS® as a Top 20 Sales Methodology Training Company for six consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.customercentric.com
Media Contact:
Kira Perdue, Trevelino/Keller
+843.971.1614
kperdue@trevelinokeller.com