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New research by PandaDoc and G2 finds buyers require a better sales process, not just a better sales rep

The first annual State of Deals report explores the inner workings of a deal, including the relationship between software buyers and sellers, and provides a framework for a successful deal

San Francisco, March 11, 2020 — PandaDoc, the leading document automation software for small and medium size businesses, in partnership with G2, the world’s largest B2B tech marketplace and review site for software and services, today released the first annual State of Deals report evaluating buyers and sellers perspectives on the people, processes, and timing involved in successful deals. Designed to help sales teams close more deals and hit their quota target, the State of Deals 2020: The New Sales Framework for Today’s Buyers provides insights into what successful deals look like, ways to execute them, and how to optimize opportunities to win more deals.

The State of Deals report identified the various elements that make deals dynamic, including the different and often changing stakeholders, one-size-fits-all proposals, and outdated methods for creating, sharing and finalizing contracts. In addressing each of these elements, the report found that sales teams can do more to manage these inherently dynamic deals. For example, the report reveals surprising differences between buyer and seller expectations of a deal:

  • While 86% of buyers expect personalized sales documents, only 65% of sellers believe personalization is important to closing deals.
  • 87% of sellers list trust as an important factor when closing deals.However, only 54% of buyers agreed that corporate reputation and trust influenced their purchase decision.
  • 67% of software buyers state that tech decisions are very often or always made by consensus. In contrast, only 46% of software sellers often or always experience a consensus based decision process with their prospects, but they only have access to one individual.
  • While 65% of sellers and 79% of buyers consider timing an important factor in closing deals, what’s notable is how highly buyers value a seller’s response speed: 77% of buyers said that a vendor’s response speed was important when selecting a software or technology solution.

These industry-wide findings reveal that while most sales teams know how important the buyer and seller relationship is, sellers are still significantly underestimating their buyers’ preferences, which ultimately puts their deal at risk.

“PandaDoc seeks to be the trusted resource for sales teams and help them close more deals. Our research shows that when sales teams recognize and treat deals as dynamic and ever-changing processes, they are prepared and armed with the right tools to execute a flawless personalized experience and win more,” said Nate Gilmore, Chief Revenue Officer for PandaDoc. “We hope the actionable insights in this report will help sales leaders take the steps needed to transform deals into more revenue and shorter sales cycles.”

“The State of Deals 2020 research report is timely, relevant and gets to the heart of some of the same characteristics NetSPI has experienced,” says Garrett Steagall, Manager of Sales Operations for NetSPI, who received an advance copy of the report. “Specifically, we find that tailoring the buying experience for each client is paramount to our success. The growing pressure on sales reps to customize their approach to every deal forces sales and revenue teams to orchestrate the tools and processes together, without losing that personal touch.”

Available for download, the full State of Deals 2020: The New Sales Framework for Today’s Buyers report examines the inner workings of a deal and the relationship between buyer and seller, including:

  • The ways in which deals constantly evolve and how sales teams can be prepared for dynamic deals
  • How sellers can better deliver on buyers’ expectations
  • How to overcome the top hurdles sales teams still face
  • What makes a deal successful and how to win more

“G2 has unique insight into the tech landscape thanks to our collection of over 1 million reviews from real users of business technologies,” said Michael Fauscette, Chief Research Officer for G2. “We know that across the entire business, B2B companies need to adopt transformative tech stacks if they want to be competitive and exceed their customers’ expectations. The data we gathered for the State of Deals report allowed us to highlight the way improved processes, personalization and tech adoption are enabling B2B sales teams to win more deals.”

PandaDoc and G2 will host a joint webinar to discuss the findings on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020.

The online survey of 880 sales reps and sales managers across many industries, as well as tech/software decision-makers and PandaDoc customers, was conducted from November 2019 to January 2020. For more information, check out the G2 and PandaDoc State of Deals 2020: A Framework for a Successful Deal at https://www.pandadoc.com/content-library/state-of-deals-2020/.

About PandaDoc

Founded in 2013, PandaDoc is an all-in-one document automation software that streamlines the process of creating, approving, and eSigning proposals, quotes, and contracts. Backed by Microsoft Ventures, HubSpot, and Rembrandt Venture Partners, over 17,000 customers use PandaDoc’s powerful document creation and workflow capabilities. Using PandaDoc, sales teams can provide their customers a more professional, timely, and engaging experience, which led to over $20B in closed deals in 2019. For more information, visit www.PandaDoc.com.

About G2

Headquartered in Chicago, G2 is revolutionizing how businesses discover, buy, and manage software and services. More than three million monthly users rely on G2 to help them find and buy the best software for their businesses. The platform has over a million reviews and $100 million in total funding invested by IVP, Accel Partners, LinkedIn, Emergence Capital, Pritzker Group, Chicago Ventures, and Hyde Park Ventures, as well as industry leaders and founders. G2’s customers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, and Zoom. Its most recent funding, a $55 million Series C, was in October 2018, followed by the company’s acquisitions of Siftery and Advocately. For more information, visit www.G2.com.