Shocking Statistics That Will Change How You Do Business

The following statistics may be jarring and even counterintuitive, but they are based on solid research. Reading them could make you question your business model and even lead you to a better, more successful one. Who doesn’t want a successful business model?

Customer interactions over the phone could be better.

This is a combination of two equally informative statistics. Salesforce found that over 90% of customer interactions happen over the phone in the past decade. Clearly, there’s a significant opportunity for businesses to improve their customer retention, and that’s what makes the second statistic even more surprising.

According to the same salesforce study, 85% of potential customers aren’t satisfied with their over-the-phone experience. One recommendation was to give employees more training, so they are prepared for every possible scenario during the call.

Leads are more likely to answer the phone immediately after submitting their contact information.

The saying, ‘no time like the present’ rings true here. This statistic makes sense because the lead is still thinking about your business after submitting their contact information. They are probably expecting your call. The longer it takes to call back, the more likely it is that your lead has moved on. They may have even found a competitor’s product.

Most customers say ‘no’ four times before saying ‘yes.’

What’s even more jarring is that 92% of salespeople give up after the fourth ‘no.’ This means that your sales team needs to get comfortable with getting no’s and maybe’s. It may help to think about it like this: The no’s are simply leading up to the yes; they aren’t an immovable obstacle.

Email is more effective at cold contact than social media.

Credit for this finding goes to the McKinsey group who found that a simple cold email is more effective than an encounter with your brand on all the social media combined. One possible reason for this is that cold emails can be personalized in ways that social media posts never could.

You could add the recipient’s name, business name, and even finetune the message to suit their industry. On top of that, you send the message straight to their inbox! The lesson is simple – concentrate your lead-generating efforts on email marketing.

Every year, over a million accountants are hired to help with taxes.

No surprise here! But then, instead of hiring an accountant for your tax purposes, consider using online tools. These are often more affordable, and you can learn to do your taxes. Taxfyle has an amazing income tax calculator that can get you started. Click here to learn more.

Email marketing is twice as effective as cold calling.

If you’re like most people, you probably felt a bit of relief on reading this statistic. It means you may not have to make cold calls after all. However, cold emails will only yield the desired results if they are done right. To get the best results, you should use standard templates and personalized messages. Another statistic says that over 30% of recipients use the subject line when deciding to open a cold email. You need to make the subject line count.