Elite Sales Professionals, Inc. (aka Saleswolves) is a boutique executive search firm specializing in software sales and sales management recruiting. We conducted a "mini" two-question survey with attendees from three major IT conferences and found the following results.

1. Elite Sales Professionals, Inc.®
IT Sales: Recruiting/Consulting
®
Are prospects going to
proactively call you?
Yes, if they think you
can help (12%)
Only if you (the
vendor) are already on
my radar (46%)
Rarely, you need to
reach out to me at the
right time (42%)
© Copyright 2013 - Elite Sales Professionals, Inc. Page 1 of 4

2. Elite Sales Professionals, Inc.®
IT Sales: Recruiting/Consulting
®
Do prospects look to vendors for
research?
No, they do their own
research prior to
engaging vendors (58%)
They start the research
and only engage vendors
who add insight (42%)
Yes, to gather as much
info as possible (0%)
© Copyright 2013 - Elite Sales Professionals, Inc. Page 2 of 4

3. Elite Sales Professionals, Inc.®
IT Sales: Recruiting/Consulting
®
What does this simple two-question survey indicate?
1. If your sales people are not in touch with a prospect, building a
relationship and establishing value, only 12% of your prospects
will pick up the phone and call ANY vendor. Whether or not it is
you that gets the call is a matter of luck.
2. Even if your sales people ARE in contact with a prospect, that
contact better be consistent and frequent. Almost half of
respondents indicated that salespeople who are calling them at
the right time are the ones invited to participate in an opportunity.
3. Your salespeople better bring some critical information to the
prospect. With such easy access to info, they are doing their
research on their own or only with the help of a select few vendors
that offer unique insights. That means for everyone else, the path
of the deal is set before you ever have your first conversation.
© Copyright 2013 - Elite Sales Professionals, Inc. Page 3 of 4

4. Elite Sales Professionals, Inc.®
IT Sales: Recruiting/Consulting
®
Conclusion for Software Vendors?
It is more critical than ever that you have full coverage of your
market with salespeople who are able to convey unique
information to the benefit of your prospects. Without the
coverage, you are missing deals (the phone is not ringing.)
Without the ability to add to the prospects’ research, you will
never be able to influence a deal and your wins will be
predicated on RFP responses – not salesmanship.
© Copyright 2013 - Elite Sales Professionals, Inc. Page 4 of 4