2020 has gone and now we’re making our way into yet another year. In this episode, Donald talks about the 5 trends that you should know about prospecting that we can use to improve our sales game this year.  Know the sales stats 40% of businesses did not meet their revenue targets last year.  81% of non C-suite employees have some influence in the final purchase decision.  Important sales trends about prospecting   #1 - 40% of businesses did not meet their target revenue in 2020.    The implication: 64% of sales leaders who doubled down on remote selling said that they met or exceeded their revenue targets in 2020. The pandemic has helped us move 30 years into the future in the way we perform and operate the business.  The idea of remote working wasn’t a huge thing in the beginning of 2020. The pandemic, however, forced the global workforce to work remotely.  More and more prospects are now working from their homes, and it’s your job as a sales rep to grab their attention.  Showing empathy is even more important today as prospects are juggling both their home life and work life at the same time.    #2 - 81% of non C-suite employees have some influence in the purchasing decision and 73% of millennials are involved in the decision-making process.    The implication - Sales reps today need to understand how millennials operate.  Millennials use social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Your job is to find ways to connect with these young people instead of just waiting around to be introduced.  Try to be more social in your efforts in reaching and connecting to these young individuals.  Think of ways to connect on a human level. You need to understand what millennials care about and the causes they are drawn to.    #3 AI Automation. Customer-based organization Forrester said that AI and automation will put sellers on a path to fulfill their consultative destiny.    Many salespeople complain that they spend way too much time doing administrative work. This is holding them down from doing the more important things such as prospecting.  Many sellers say that the administrative tasks burden them.  Companies are now focusing on using CRMs with automation such as Monday.com, salesdirector.ai, PipeDrive, SalesForce,and others.  These CRMs have built-in automation tools that connect email straight into the CRM database.  AI adoption by sales teams is projected to increase by 139% over the next three years.  Automation helps sales reps do what’s more important instead of burying themselves in menial administrative tasks.  #4 Personalization.  Due to automation, people have the desire to connect more with others. There is something about interacting with others that uplifts us.  Being able to talk with others personally has its powers.  While automation has its place, there are still certain times and avenues where we can add human interaction into that effect.   Look for ways to add human touch when you’re reaching out to your prospects or doing phone calls. Inject a more humanistic side into your outreach activities.   Tim Cook, CEO of Apple said, “For all of the beauty of technology and all the things we’ve helped facilitate over the years, nothing yet replaces human interaction.”   #5 B2B sellers will become experts in creating engaging videos   In a recent survey, 40% of B2B reps said that they plan to modify their tactics to adapt to remote selling activities.  Sellers are looking for ways to become more dynamic in how to grab their prospects’ attention.  70% of sales reps say that social referrals convert faster than any other lead they’re getting.  Spend more time on LinkedIn and build 10-15 personal connections with potential customers.  Make sure that you connect with people who actually connect with you as well. Send a personal message and have a dialogue with them.  Share content and think about your ideal customer and their challenges, pains, and difficulties.  People are looking for ways to connect.