There is a sales adage that says: Your chances for success increase in proportion to the number of sales calls you make. It’s amazing how the truth can be so simple. If it’s so simple, why don’t you do it?
Good fundamental sales skills and solid product knowledge are meaningless unless you see and follow–up the proper number of prospects. A quick check of your numbers will reveal why your sales are booming or slumping.
If you appoint and present to ten prospects, two will buy no matter what you do and two won’t buy no matter what you do. The other six are on the fence and will buy or not buy as a result of what you say or don’t say. A sale will be made either way.
Either you sell them on yes, or they sell you on no.
Your follow–up habits and skills are responsible for 80% of your sales.
It boils down to your self–discipline. How good is it? How consistent is it? Without it you should consider an assembly line job, because you won’t make it in sales.
Here are some rules–of–thumb numbers to keep your sales pipeline
(and wallet) full:
- Make ten new prospect calls per day.
- Make ten new appointments per week. Preferably by Monday.
- Make ten follow–up calls per day.
- Make one strong presentation in the morning and one in the afternoon.
- Take prospects or customers to lunch four times a week.
- Attend at least one networking function per week.
- Keep accurate daily records.
If you don’t record what you do each day, your ability to follow up is nil.
Your daily sales log (or computerized sales records) should keep and total the following statistics:
- calls out by type (new, follow–up)
- number of follow ups made today
- new appointments made today
- appointments seen today
- sales made today
- dollars contracted for today
- dollars collected today
- commissions/dollars earned today
Answer these questions. They are the truth about your potential for sales success:
- Do you have a hot prospect list daily?
- Are you doing (and recording) the numbers it takes to make your sales goals a reality?
- Is your sales pipeline full?
- How many prospects are you working on?
- Are you working on enough prospects to fill your sales goals for the next month? If not, your pipeline isn’t full is it? Go back to the seven steps listed above, they hold the key to your sales backlog (and your success).
You know what to do, why don’t you do it?
Here are some reasons why you don’t (the answers are provided in parenthesis):
- You’re on your own, and don’t know how to do it (poor training, get some soon)
- You’re lazy (find new employment)
- You have poor work habits (you can change them with thirty days of doing it differently)
- Bad boss (this is no reason to fail if you are determined enough to succeed)
- No or ineffective reporting system (make a form and do it yourself)
- Low, poor or unfair compensation package (change jobs)
Proof? Go back to the best week you ever had and look at the numbers that made it happen. I guaranty if you work those numbers every week, your sales (and earnings) will soar. All it takes is self–determination and hard work.
Selling success is a numbers game… if you see and call enough prospects, per day, per week, per month… you will make sales, and make money.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerLearningAcademy.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or email Jeffrey at editorial@mhwmag.com.
