A new study shows high-performing  business-to-business  (B2B) sales professionals are  generating excellent returns  by staying active on social  media. The survey from KiteDesk  revealed that B2B sellers  who are savvy with social  media are 6.7 times more  likely to exceed their quotas  than competitors with basic or  no social experience.

In particular, 74% of B2B  sellers in North America who  exceeded their 2014 quotas said  they are “highly efective” social  media users or “better than  most,” as did 56% of sales professionals  who reached quota

Further, the study showed  that social media’s infuence  on the sales process is growing.  KiteDesk revealed that 64%  of B2B sales pros had closed  at least one deal due to social  media usage in 2014, up from  54% in 2012. Meanwhile, about  25% of sellers said they closed  six or more deals last year; only  11% said the same in 2012. Tellingly,  about seven out of 10 reps  who exceeded quota in 2014 reported that they closed at  least one deal as a direct result  of social, while 41% said they  closed six or more

The survey from KiteDesk  is far from the only research  to suggest that social media is  becoming a more integral component  of B2B sales. A November  2014 study from Huf Industrial  Marketing and KoMarketing  Associates found that nearly  60% of B2B buyers in America  use social media as part of their  vendor discovery process. Similarly,  a worldwide poll from SAP discovered that 35% of B2B purchasers  used social media and  blogs to research products and  vendors.  – CR