The document summarizes data from LinkedIn on the adoption of social media tools among sales and business development professionals in the UK. It finds that building strong relationships is prioritized over a prospect's willingness to purchase. LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform used and productivity tools like Evernote, Google Apps, and Dropbox are important for one in third of salespeople. Younger professionals are more likely to use sales intelligence tools to build relationships with clients. Social selling leaders spend time during the week using sales intelligence tools to boost results, with most spending between 3 to 10 hours online.

1. Data from LinkedIn shows the adoption of social media tools
among sales and business development professionals.
SOCIAL SELLINGH I T S M A I N S T R E A M I N T H E U K
R E L AT I O N S H I P S M AT T E R
Sales
professionals in the UK
prioritise the ability to
build strong
relationships over a
prospect’s willingness to
purchase.
40.9%
Engaging with multiple
influencers involved in
the buyer process
69.1%
Ability to build trust with
a customer quickly
42.1%
Providing unique insights
into the buyer’s
business
55.4%
Finding buyers with
intent to purchase
59.5%
Providing value to the
buyer from the first
interaction
51.9%
Personalise interactions
based on previous
engagements
L I N K E D I N M O S T P O P U L A R S O C I A L
P L AT F O R M F O R B U S I N E S S G R O W T H
More sales and business development professionals
use LinkedIn than any other platform
P R O D U C T I V I T Y T O O L S I M P O R TA N T
F O R O N E I N T H R E E S A L E S P E O P L E
Most popular productivity tools among UK sales
and business development professionals:
M I L L E N N I A L S B I G G E S T A D O P T E R S
O F N E W S A L E S T E C H N O L O G Y
Younger professionals more likely to use sales intelligence
tools to build and manage relationships with clients.
Use of social media platforms for sales intelligence:
81%
72%
58%
Evernote
29%
Google Apps
70%
Dropbox or Box
Under 35 35-54 Over 55
65%
65% 41%56%
Survey conducted by research company Market Cube among an online sample
of 1,000 sales and business development professionals in the UK between
December 21, 2015 to January 12, 2016.
T I M E O N L I N E
Social selling leaders are using sales intelligence
tools throughout the week to boost their results.
7.9%
Less than 1 hour
22.6%
1 to 3 hours
30.5%
3 to 5 hours
24.2%
5 to 10 hours
10%
10 to 20 hours
4.8%
20 hours or more