“50% of sales success is showing up.” The Science of Sales
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There is an old saying that is still true today. “50% of sales success is showing up.” It is a great quote because it reflects the science of sales. “Showing up” has nothing to do with being persuasive or charming or handsome or pretty. It is part of being methodical. It is about being in front of a prospective customer. It is part of the science of selling and sales management.
Is there a scientific component to the way your company addresses sales and sales management? It is surprising how many small to medium sized companies do not have any methodology to support their sales efforts.
“Yes, there is a science to selling. In fact, there is a science to just about everything. Science is defined as a “branch of knowledge conducted on objective principles involving systemized observation of and experiment with phenomena.” Sales can be treated as a science. The most successful businesses in any industry do just that. They give their salespeople very good direction and excellent selling tools to use with customers. In the Sales Manager’s Problem Solver, publisher Gerhard Gschwandtner of SellingPower.com says, “There is no such thing as a ‘Natural Born Salesperson,’ like there is no ‘natural born surgeon.’ Research has proven that good selling skills are the result of ongoing learning, professional coaching and continuous practice.” He is talking about implementing what we call the science of sales.”
From the book Sales Careers: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a High Paying Sales Job by yours truly – Ted Newill and my co-author Louise Kursmark.
Applying basic sales science is not difficult. And, it is not expensive. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be effective. It does requires effort and follow through. Examples of tactics companies should employ in their sales management system are:
- Salespeople create their own sales plan and sales forecast for the year. Believe it or not, you may have to reduce the forecast they create because salespeople typically over-forecast. That’s OK. They end up owning their plan.
- Sales compensation tied to company revenue, profit and activity goals.
- Closed loop sales management system that includes coaching and reporting. This may be the most important tactic to implement yet the most difficult to employ consistently (consistency is a scientific element of sales).
- Define a clear sales process for all products. While defining the sales process, decide on the tools needed to help the salesperson succeed in implementing the process.
- Employ a customer management and/or data system. Some call this a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
- A recognition program with regular updates. Even for a sales force of one or two or three people.
- Profile based recruiting of salespeople.
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