Numbers?

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Selling is Not a Numbers Game

Quote of the Week: "Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." — Aldous Huxley

Publisher's Note: Four whole days off! The wait for Wednesday afternoon is on. Some of the people in our office remind me of fifth graders in those last few moments before the recess bell rings. Thanksgiving is an exciting Holiday. However, friends, family, football and feasting sometimes overshadow expressing our feelings of gratitude. When you sit down for your Thanksgiving dinner, be thankful for everyone and everything that makes it possible. Look your family and friends in the eye and express to them your gratitude for sharing this wonderful time together.

This week's free download entitled You Had me at Hello is a cool audio workshop with Tim Wackel on engaging customers. You'll find a link for the download at the end of this week's newsletter. All the best, Michael

Selling is Not a Numbers Game

by Tim Connor

It's interesting how one little word can make a big difference. For years, sales managers and trainers have been saying that selling is a numbers game. In fact, I can still recall my first sales manager telling me over 35 years ago, "If you see enough people, you will make enough sales." I realize now that he left out one very important word. He should have said, "If you see enough qualified people, you will make enough sales."

Over the years, I've learned that it's not just the numbers, folks; it's about focusing on prospects who qualify for your product or service. I'm not suggesting that you see fewer prospects. What I am suggesting is that sooner or later, focusing on numbers alone guarantees failure. Why? Because the more people you see, the more poor prospects you see, creating more rejection. The average salesperson cannot handle the amount of rejection that results from using this approach, which is why so many salespeople become discouraged and fail—or quit.

Think about it. Suppose you see or call 25 prospects a week. You close one out of five, which means you wasted most of your time on 20 poor prospects. If you took the time spent with those 20 poor prospects and invested it in more qualified prospects, or in cultivating the five sales you made into repeat or referral business, imagine what this would do for your career.

By focusing on the right prospects, you could potentially improve your closing ratio to one-third, or even one-half. Sadly, many managers and trainers still push the notion that you can't identify poor prospects until you see or spend time with them. I don't know why they still teach this nonsense; my guess it is that they don't know how to teach more effective prospecting, so they ask you to make up for it with more sales calls.

Here's a real recipe for success: do both. See or call more prospects and make sure they are qualified before giving them too much of your time and energy. This philosophy won't win me any popularity contests with some of my fellow sales trainers, nor with a few of my clients. But it works for me, and I'm suggesting it can work for you as well.

There are plenty of sales myths out there that simply don't cut it anymore. Actually, they never did—but who was going to question them? A new sales rep? A failing sales rep? I think not! Either way, here are a few myths to ponder:

Myth: People buy from people they like.

Truth: People buy from people they trust.

Myth: People buy because of your enthusiasm.

Truth: People buy because of their enthusiasm.

Myth: People buy what they need.

Truth: People buy what they want.

As you can see, a lot of misinformation is still being perpetuated by sales trainers and managers: outdated ideas that no longer make sense in the real world of selling. But few are more damaging than the notion that you should see as many people as possible in order to make your sales numbers. Instead, focus your time and energy on getting in front of qualified prospects. Then, and only then, will your closing ratio climb to where it needs to be.

Tim Connor is CEO of SalesClubsofAmerica.com, Connor Resource Group, and Peak Performance Institute. He is a world renowned speaker, trainer, and best-selling author. Connor is a results oriented business coach and consultant who helps clients improve individual and organization performance. For more information visit: www.TimConnor.com.

Free Download of the Week. This week's free download is the one-hour audio workshop "You Had Me at Hello" by Tim Wackel. Get it before next week's newsletter when this download will be replaced with a new one. "You Had Me at Hello"

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Try selling without a phone. Go ahead, try. I doubt you'll get far. Sales professionals use the phone to gather information, set appointments, follow-up with prospects, conduct meetings and close sales. Art Sobczak is the Grand Master of doing business by phone. His newsletter covers every phone situation you can think of. You can subscribe here.

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