SMA sales survey results 2021
SMA sales survey results 2021
4P square has been a loyal partner of the Sales Management Association (SMA) for years now. Yearly, SMA conducts market research to find key insights of the past year as well as how this industry is evolving. The most recent edition with the results of 2021 has been published by SMA in March 2022.
Read full SMA survey results 2021
5 key takeaways of 2021
1) Core roles of sales in 2021
Similar to last year, retention and prospection are core roles. In further detail, prospection became slightly less important and retention slightly more important than in 2020.
2) Most popular tools of 2021
33% of respondents are very unsatisfied with the provided sales tools in their organization. However, 7 out of 10 are just satisfied with the provided tools. In addition, the most used tools are:
- CRM systems for sales enablement
- training
- data management tools
- lead generation tools
3) Extra skills needed in the future
As many as 91% of respondents believe that they will need new skills in the future to be successful. According to the respondents, such skills could be:
- digital savviness
- data analytics
- act critically
- social selling
- better alignment between marketing and sales departments
4) Impact of Covid-19 in 2021
Of course, Covid-19 has had a big impact on this year’s activities. 50% of the respondents indicate to have developed more sales activities compared to the same period last year. Overall, 60% even see online sales growing in this period.
5) Popular sales channels and their usage in 2021
LinkedIn is still the most used social selling medium for commercial purposes. A significant difference is that Instagram is now the second most popular channel instead of Facebook. As a result, Facebook has dropped to third place.
In addition, the respondents have also been asked if they believe their company has developed a successful omnichannel approach. Here, the average score is 5.1 out of 10. Conclusion: most respondents feel their company still fails at installing a successful omnichannel strategy.
Do you need help with your omnichannel strategy? Contact 4P square.
Read full sales survey reportWould you like to read more about the survey conducted by SMA in 2020? Read here.
About the author
Géraldine is an enthusiastic marketeer with a can-do attitude, currently working as a Marketing Consultant at 4P square. She has obtained a master’s in International Marketing and started her career as Marketing Coordinator in the automotive sector. Géraldine prefers to work with transparent communication and is a firm believer of teamwork.
Want to know more about Géraldine? Feel free to start a conversation with her on LinkedIn.
