- Sales Talent Leadership Group finds 83% of firms expect growth in 2022
- Cost-of-living crisis hasn’t yet fed into most companies’ sales figures
- Companies taking cautious approach nevertheless, with 67% cutting costs
PRESS RELEASE, 16TH JUNE 2022
UK sales transformation specialist Sales Talent has reported confidence in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, after consulting with business leaders across a range of sectors. A survey of business leaders through the Sales Talent Leadership Group has found that 83% of firms are expecting to grow in 2022, despite the economic landscape. Broken down further, 66% of firms expect to grow between 1% and 25%, while 17% anticipate growth of 26% or more.
“Given the grim economic headlines and the increasing whispers of ‘recession’ in the media, it was a surprise to find that so many firms are so confident about what 2022 holds in store. Company growth is more common than level performance or reductions in expected revenue, while sales teams are larger than they were before the pandemic. The cost-of-living crisis certainly isn’t feeding through to sales figures yet for many firms.”
Paul Owen, MD, Sales Talent
The survey found that 67% of firms are seeing no signs of reduced spending due to the cost-of-living crisis. That said, the same percentage is cutting costs, to account for the possibility of reduced spending in future – a hint of caution despite the general air of confidence. Could it be that negative media coverage and political comments are putting a little too much fuel onto people’s fears, running the risk that early economic warning signs turn into longer-term and bigger problems?
“We have been very pleasantly surprised recently on finding that our clients have much bigger and healthier budgets than realised. And if you can offer the right product and solution for their business needs, they are more than willing to pay for it!”
Sian Burton, Commercial Director, Kyero.com
Business leaders also reported that the majority of their sales teams (57%) are larger now than they were pre-pandemic. Not only that, but 50% of sales teams are finding it easier to sell now than at the end of 2021 (compared to 33% who are finding it harder to sell and 17% who report no change). Sales figures show that people are spending money more freely than they were six months ago, despite all the bad economic news.
“We haven’t yet seen the huge knock-on effects that we were expecting as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and looming recession. A lot of firms we speak to are doing quite well as a result of the economic situation – those in energy and finance in particular.”
Bill Goode, Director, SHB Real Estate
Business leaders also shared insights into the post-Covid return to the office. Of those participating in the Sales Talent Leadership Group survey, 71% of workforces now split their time between working from home and office-based working, with some teams in the office more than others. Just 14% of companies are now working from home all the time.
In terms of sales teams, 58% are now office-based either some or all of the time (split evenly between those who are office-based fulltime and those who have a hybrid home/office working arrangement).
“Companies are continuing to adjust their working patterns and practices to find the best balance between working from home and working in the office. It is reasonable to expect that this will continue over the coming months and years, as we continue to adapt to living with both Covid and the new economic realities of the post-pandemic world.”
Paul Owen, MD, Sales Talent
The Sales Talent Leadership Group is a collection of sales leaders within our client base across several industries including both B2B and B2C sales teams. At Sales Talent, we survey them each month to understand sales performance, market trends and business sentiment about the months ahead.
