This article is part of the Hidden Gems series, where we publish findings from our data science team on the impact of buyer job changes on B2B revenue.

Selling to your previous customers when they move to another company is one of the oldest sales playbooks. Most B2B companies have either sold to a previous buyer at some point. Or seen an old customer return on their own to  buy from them again. 

Intuitively we know previous customers are the warmest leads. But there’s barely any hard data on the impact previous customers or relationships have on pipeline generation, revenue, or churn prevention.

So we asked our data scientists to do some digging…and they analyzed over 5,000 sales opportunities.

But first, a quick definition of “Gems”

“Gems” are people who’ve already used your product, bought your product, or at some point, evaluated your product.

They’ve gone through most of the buyer journey  — they’re product aware; they’ve considered your product; and some made it all the way to the purchase. So, they know and trust your product/service. 

Simply put, Gems are your high-conversion, warmest leads.

Okay! Let’s put a dollar value to these Gems.

How much do Gems impact win rates?

You know those endorphin-triggering DocuSign notifications? Well, you are 114% more likely to get those notifications if a Gem is involved in the opportunity. 

These folks know and trust your product - the warmest of high-intent demo request. 

But what we found interesting was the size of the impact: Gems more than double your win rates.

How much do Gems impact deal size?

At the end of the day, only one metric truly matters: Money in the bank.

And opportunities that have a previous champion put more money in your bank account. 

By how much? A whopping 54%.

Intuitively, this also makes sense.

These folks already know your products work. They don’t need to “crawl first, then run”. They are more likely to buy your whole suite of products instead of asking for proof-of-concept.

How much do Gems impact the sales cycle?

Selling to previous customers is like going on second dates. You’ve met before and built a connection. So, you bypass the initial small talk and get to the heart of the matter. 

With previous customers, you get 12% shorter sales cycles.

These Gems often skip the education phase. And move to the middle or bottom of your sales funnel, depending on the size of their buying committee. 

And in times like this, we could all do with shorter sales cycles. 

Want to know how you get more Gems into your pipeline?👇🏻

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