B2B 'Deep' Sellers Tap Contacts More

B2B sellers who prioritize high-potential accounts; identify and build key buyer relationships; and find hidden allies and timely intel for relevant outreach routinely are top performers in their organizations, according to a B2B sales playbook report from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn calls these salespeople “deep sellers,” but the report notes that only 18 percent of B2B sellers are at this level.

“Sellers who adopt the deep sales approach are nearly two times more likely to beat their numbers vs. shallow [low-performing] sellers,” say report co-authors Gail Moody-Byrd, LinkedIn vice president of marketing, and Alyssa Merwin, LinkedIn vice president of sales.

The deep sellers are 75 percent more likely to use artificial intelligence technologies and 60 percent more likely to use sales intelligence tools that employ AI, according to the report. The research also found that 59 percent of salespeople’s skills can be augmented by generative AI. These include cold calling, retail sales, and inside sales.

“Outsourcing routine but important tasks to generative AI will enable sellers to spend more time flexing the people-centered, human skills—like collaboration, problem solving, and sense making with customers—that ultimately lead to the outcomes we all want to see,” Merwin says. “These are the things our very best sellers are already doing. GenAI, when used well and built on the right kind of data, will augment the science of selling, allowing salespeople to focus on what they do best—the art of selling.”

There’s a marked difference in their performance, too, according to the data. While deep sellers are twice as likely to exceed their sales quotas as shallow sellers; shallow sellers are six time more likely to miss their sales quotas than deep sellers.

The report also found the following:

Meeting in-person is still important for both B2B sellers and buyers. While sellers stress the importance a bit more, both sellers (87 percent) and buyers (67 percent) agree that it’s critical to meet in-person before a deal is signed.

Half of buyers maintain long-term relationships with sellers, and 54 percent buy from them again. Half of buyers say that once they have established a relationship with a seller, they maintain it even if the seller changes companies. And more than half of buyers will buy from that same seller even after the seller has made a switch.

Despite market uncertainty, buyers and sellers both believe that budgets will increase in the next year. While sellers are more bullish, both sellers (76 percent) and buyers (64 percent) expect budgets to increase in 2024, with most expecting increases of up to 24 percent.

Conducting industry research is the difference maker. Sixty-two percent of deep sellers conducted industry research vs. only 20 percent of shallow sellers. Buyers say that demonstrating a clear understanding of their industry is one of the top ways to increase the likelihood of closing a deal with them.

Deep sellers multi-thread more often than their peers. Forty-nine percent of deep sellers—compared to only 18 percent of shallow sellers—have seven or more contacts with purchase influence within an account. This pattern also holds true for decision makers and buying committee members.

Deep sellers also cultivate hidden allies, someone with a connection to the solution they are selling, making them much more likely to take a call with them or champion their latest proposals. Hidden allies lead to referrals, and referrals are diamonds in terms of closing deals. Deep sellers understand how valuable hidden allies are and that it’s worth the time to find them. Sixty-eight percent of deep sellers strongly agree that connecting with people outside of the buying committee to learn what is happening helps them move deals forward. That’s significantly higher than average (38 percent) or shallow (10 percent) sellers.

When sellers ask for feedback from buyers, it builds trust. A majority of deep sellers (89 percent) seek feedback following an interaction all or most of the time, compared to just 53 percent of shallow sellers.