By now you have probably already heard of sales triggers or trigger event selling. Maybe you even went as far as setting up a Google Alerts system to track specific keywords or accounts. But do you actually use that information in conversations with your prospects or customers? As we’ve discovered from our interviews with customers and prospects the answer is “Probably not.”
In case you just need a little nudge, here are 8 stats that might help you take the next step .
But, before I get into details, let me tell you a story how InnoPath discovered the value of sales triggers by accident.
When InnoPath was just starting up, the founders were trying to match their algorithm with the right application. By talking with NEC, one of Japan’s then leading feature phone manufacturers, they found out the corporation is concerned about costly device recalls on account of several firmware malfunctions and bugs. That made InnoPath founders realize they could leverage their algorithm to build a solution which uncovers hidden firmware bugs. Demo with NEC went great and InnoPath’s first deal was signed.
Now that InnoPath figured out who their ideal customers are, they set up a system that tracks keywords revolving around firmware bugs appearing in news articles or forums. In the next 3 months they closed a number of major handset manufacturers, such as Samsung and Sharp.
Eventually, InnoPath achieved over 90% market share in Japan. Deals were closed within months at high-margin prices and competition couldn’t come close.
An inspiring success story.
Now, without further ado, here are the stats:
- Prioritising your prospects by key trigger events lifts conversion rates. Companies where key trigger events occurred are 400% more likely to buy. (Source: B2BLeadBlog)
- Connecting with companies that have recently received funding is a great first step to sales triggers adoption. Those who recently experienced a financial event and can now afford your services, are now up to 8x more likely to buy. (Source: SHIFT! By Craig Ellias)
- Depending on industry and geography, the data suggests that a change in vendors is triggered by changing managers 28% of the time. (Source: PersistIQ)
- Frustration with the existing vendor is one of the greatest motivators for change. Organizations recently dissatisfied with the status quo are up to 10x more likely to switch vendors. (Source: Craig Ellias)
- Always be on the lookout for trigger events at target accounts and start a conversation with them before anyone else. Sales reps have a 74% chance of closing the deal, if they engage a prospect first in a consultative manner. (Source: DestinationCRM)
- 70% of customers want to talk to sales during the early stages in the buying process: when they’re information-grazing, when they first learn what you can do and when they put you on the shortlist. (Source: ITSMA)
- You can close that event-triggered account, even though your solution wasn’t budgeted for at the beginning of the year. 80% of B2B purchases are unplanned and unbudgeted. (Source: DemandGen)
- Segment your accounts by trigger events to gain a better conversion rate. Event-triggered campaigns will see their messages receive, at minimum, 5x the response rate of non-targeted push messages. (Source: Gartner)
