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Study Shows Connections Significantly Increase Callbacks and Sales Productivity
PALO ALTO, CA – June 5, 2012 - As all good salespeople know, leveraging contacts to generate leads and close deals is a highly effective approach. However, the results of a new study reveal that personal connections can increase the likelihood of receiving a call back five-fold and improve sales productivity by more than 240 percent. These findings are presented in the Value of Connections infographic released today by Reachable (see below), an online solution that empowers business people to leverage all contacts within their organizations to broaden their professional networks.
 
The research analyzed survey responses from a random sample of 300 business professionals involved in the purchase process at their companies. The findings show a high degree of correlation between the caller's and call recipient's common personal connections and the likelihood that sales calls will be returned. Overall, callers with a personal connection – direct or otherwise – are more than 5 times more likely to receive a return call than those without any connections. For callers with direct connections, the likelihood of receiving a return call increases 11 times.
The research also revealed that for every 1,000 calls made, only 345 are returned if the caller doesn't have a connection, whereas 849 calls are returned for callers who do have a connection. Overall, the research found that personal connections led to a 243 percent increase in sales productivity, which delivers maximum ROI for prospecting activities.
Sales professionals have always used personal connections to improve results, but social media, email and CRM technology platforms offer new opportunities because connections are now documented in digital form.
According to Gartner, business-to-business applications for sales use will have the fastest growth and will account for 30 percent of all social CRM spending by 2015, up from five percent in 2011. Gartner analysts also said they expect the worldwide market for social CRM software licenses and subscriptions to total $2.1 billion in 2012, up from $850 million in 2011.
The new study underscores the value of personal connections in the sales process. It also demonstrates the advantage all sales professionals can gain when they leverage their own and their connections' personal contacts.
Reachable offers a free trial of its technology in both online and CRM versions. To sign up for a trial or to view a demo on how Reachable works, please visit www.reachable.com.
Reachable is the developer of a social business solution that enables professionals and organizations to leverage their collective relationships and extend their professional networks to reach more people and close more business faster. Reachable helps sales reps close more deals, recruiters find more talent, and professionals establish new business relationships. Reachable is backed by Rho Ventures, Signal Peak Ventures, and Parkview Ventures, and is based in Palo Alto, CA and Salt Lake City, UT. For more information, please visit www.reachable.com.
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