The first edition of the State of IT Sales in Bulgaria report prepared by the sales development agency Out2Bound in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT) shows that despite COVID-19 the sector is growing. 

The State of IT Sales in Bulgaria 2020 is based on a survey of 98 founders, CEOs and C-level Executives from Bulgarian IT businesses (most of them operating in Sofia) and reports data on issues related to sales results and their dynamics in times of crisis.

75% of IT companies focused on selling their own products reported growth in revenue in 2020. Just as the world was entering its first lockdown, demand was keeping steady or rising. There has been some loss of clients but it has been limited. Around 32% of respondents reported losing less than 1/4 of existing clients, mainly citing economic uncertainty as a reason.

Only 4% lost more than 1/4 of their existing clients, the rest experienced no loss. Even with these good results, the Bulgarian IT industry clearly wanted to achieve more as only 29% reported achieving the goals they set.

Europe and North America account for the majority of the external markets that respondents listed. Western Europe is a key region for new business development. ‘Looking at the results, we see that Germany and the Nordics (besides UK) are the go-to territories for Bulgarian tech companies’, Out2Bound’s CEO Teofil Shikov commented on the Report. Surveyed companies that could be affected by Brexit share they are not exclusively reliant on the UK, as a majority also work with EU and North American clients.

The known high-level personnel turnover is still present in the IT sector. 83% of companies that expanded their teams plan to hire even more in the near future. In terms of sales tools, only 11% of respondents rely on one exclusive channel to sell. 31% of respondents used expos and those were mainly the bigger companies. When it comes to sales personnel – 63% of surveyed companies shared these roles earn an annual income below € 30 000. In terms of the structure of their remuneration – most often salespeople cite earning between 11% and 49% of it as a bonus.

Looking forward, most companies seem positive, according to the Report. 80% of the respondents expect their company revenue from new clients to increase. They plan to put in more work and adjust their approach to foreign markets. There is a newfound optimism from the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Executives are even expecting the return of trade shows and conferences in the third quarter of 2021.

You can find the full report here.

Out2Bound is a Sofia-based sales development agency helping technology companies generate B2B leads and access new markets around the globe. The company also has an office in Geneva and was recently named a top business consulting firm in Bulgaria by the platform Clutch – a data-driven field guide for B2B buying and hiring decisions.

The Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT) is among the leading organizations in the field of information and communication technologies in Bulgaria, and its members include companies from all sectors of the ICT industry. BAIT actively works for the development of the information society and the Bulgarian ICT industry, as well as the ICT market as a whole. 

For more information or commentary on the State of IT Sales in Bulgaria 2020, you can contact Out2Bound at survey@out2bound.com.