We’ve gone from examining the monthly B2B activity trends to the weekly activity trends and now were down to the nitty gritty of the sales day. We stress that your company may not exactly mirror the research* results seen within this article, but it illustrates the importance of examining these trends within your own business.
Please note that ‘conversion’ refers to a website visitor who requested contact and ‘qualification’ refers to conversions qualified using telephone needs analysis and BANT.
1. The highest level of website activity is during work hours (53% above average).
After work, activity falls to 26% below average. Before work, activity plummets to 73% below average. This can be regarded as ‘common sense’ statements, but often company strategy does not reflect these insights. By 9am activity is up 69%, yet often some sales agents are still eating breakfast, checking emails or arranging their desks. Staggering agents’ working days (alternative shifts) to ensure motivated agents are raring to go by 8.30am could be more productive.
2. Lunchtime website activity (12pm-2pm) can be up to 90% higher than average and qualification rates increase by 12% just before lunch begins.Staggering sales agent schedules could help avoid an empty office at lunchtime, or even having a different lunch schedule that fits around this time of rich opportunity. Research suggests the faster you respond to a conversion the more likely they are to qualify, so it’s vital enough sales agents are available.
3. Conversion rates peak in the evening by up to 15% between 9pm and 11.59pm.
The title of this article could have been ‘3 reasons to live in your office’ as research shows that weekday evenings also boast high conversion rates. The sales team is unavailable during these hours but it’s a great time to send out any whitepapers, knowledge documents and blog posts to potential clients. Luckily the use of scheduling devices and automatic email responses enable you to respond immediately without having to set up home at your desk.
So, ‘is timing everything?’
B2B sales have always been aware of the importance of ‘time’, we know that sales are impacted by the amount of time spent on the phones and that weekends are dead. Over the 3 blog articles we have shed light on the ways that time should influence how you schedule your activities, campaigns, sales agents, lunchtimes, holidays… just everything. My recommendation? Research your own peaks and troughs, find the best and worst selling times and incorporate that your marketing programme.
