This is going to be a slightly longer post as compared to my previous posts because it’s quite important for Sales People to understand
How the ‘Sales is a Number Game’ mindset killing their performance?
How they can adopt the new mindset to convert maximum cold leads into interested leads.
Sales is a Number Game
Sales is a number game if you are selling commodities like oranges as customers thoroughly understand the product, it’s uses, value etc… and it’s ‘No Brainer’ for him/her to decide to ‘Buy or Not’. But if you are selling something costlier, complex, B2b product and/or selling in a competitive market then Sales isn’t a number game for you.
So, I have been approached by this software company in Bangalore to help their Sales Team generate leads. Sales Team have been cold calling international customers but struggling to generate enough leads.
Day 1 - Meet with the Team
I met the team and discuss their problems. Session brought out lots of challenges Sales People have been facing. Sales People said,
We have been Cold Calling from past 3 to 6 months
We dial almost 70 to 100 calls a day and generate 2 to 3 interested leads
Majority of decision makers tells us:
They do not have any requirements
They are not interested
They are already using a solution and happy with it
Drop me an email regarding your proposal etc…
We have tried multiple ways to attract them but nothing works
Changing our scripts,
Highlight different features,
Calling prospects multiple times to see if there is a change in requirements
Inviting them to product demo through email
Day 2 - Live Calls
I join the team on the live floor and listen to their calls. The sequence that is followed is:
Sales People pull out their CRM
Organize their Calendar and plan the schedule
Start Dialling calls to prospects
Salesman - “Hi, Is this Chris? Chris, I am calling from X company regarding our ………… Solution? Are you looking for a such a solution? “
Customer – “Nope / Not Interested / Send me an email etc…”
And, this sequence runs in a loop till a Sales Person:
Gets a positive response from the customer or
Hit EOD.
This was their struggle story. It is the struggle story of most of the Sales Organizations. It’s just that some realize it and try to solve but others blame it on Leads, Products, Brand, Customers, Telecalling, Social Media etc… and live with it.
In the end, I asked them a very simple question – “Each one of you have been generating 3 to 4 leads a day out of 100 Calls. How can you double or triple it?”
The answer was quite obvious– “To double the results, we can double the calls. Sales is a Number Game.”
‘Number Game’ Mindset Challenges
Quite often I come across Sales People who think or rather strongly believe ‘Sales is a Number Game.’ They believe in the mindset –
Sales is a Number Game. 100 Calls deliver 4-5 leads.
Call each prospect and ask for – “Do you have any requirements”
Increase the number of calls to increase conversion.
This Mind-set was expected to increase conversion but has been working backward and killing their Sales performance. And, the most interesting part is,
Sales People think they can consistently dial over 150 to 200 calls a day to increase results.
This mindset let them control results at their will.
Organizations believe this is the best that can be expected out of Sales efforts.
Nobody sees the system is failing and readily accept it as fate.
I told them, I will rephrase my question for your better understanding – “Do you know a way of dialling hardly 50 to 60 calls a day and still generate 10 to 15 interested leads out of it instead of dialling 100 calls a day and hardly getting 2 to 3 leads?”
As expected, there was a complete silence.
Sales People has to realize that Sales isn’t a ‘Dart or Number’ Game of hit or miss. The more you play, the more chances you stand.
In Fact, it’s more like a ‘Chess’ game – to hit your target, you first need to identify your target and plan your moves to hit on it. Sales is about:
Identifying the right prospect as a preparation before calling
Call each prospect and filter out prospect who can be categorized as potential buyers with an opportunity to sell.
That’s right, Sales is a ‘Prospecting’ Game. That’s the right mind-set that will:
Deliver the desired results for you &
You won’t need to switch to inconsistent and impractical strategies of double your efforts to double your results.
Here is how you can switch to ‘Prospecting’ mindset to make the most of your Sales Efforts and derive exceptional results and Sales.
Prospecting Mindset
Step 1: Identify your prospects who can buy from you?
This isn’t just about the demographic description of your target audience that most of you will think. It also isn’t about the mindset – everyone on this earth has a need for your product. It is about knowing:
Who is having or going to have an urgent need for the product?
What are the indicators that depicts the need of the prospective customer?
How to identify those indicators and uncover the needs?
Example: -
My Lead Generation Team target the Corporate across India for Corporate Sales Training Services. Now, if they treat Sales as a Number Game, they would call cold prospects in a repeat mode and ask if they have a need for Sales Training?
Instead, they have completed their prospecting stage first to identify the target audience and plan to ask the following question “If they are able to get more than 10 to 15% lead conversion rate?”
Now, this information will serve as an indicator to uncover the hidden need of the prospect for Corporate Sales Training and help them identify leads that can be targeted.
Step 2: As a next step, they plan and Identify ‘the hook’ to engage such leads into conversation. Hook varies based on product, type of customers or markets varies and can be,
Inviting prospective buyer to Product Demo
Asking an appointment to showcase Product Samples
Deliver an online/offline presentation on product features etc…
It is critical to success that a hook should hold value for the prospective buyer otherwise he is going to pass on without any further interest.
My Sales Team invite prospective buyers to showcase case studies of our existing customers having similar problem and how we have effectively increased their conversion rate multi-fold through our Programs.
And that’s how they have been nailing bigger and better conversion without getting into the trap of ‘Sales is a Number Game’ and having no leads or sales at the end of the day.
Conclusion
In the end, remember, Sales isn’t a number game. It is a ‘Prospecting & Performance’ game.
Connect with me on Linkedin to receive updates on upcoming post Sales Mindset #4 - Being Polite win deals?
I have discussed it thoroughly in my book “Sales Decoded - 5 steps to powerful selling" and in my online sales courses here Sales Training Books | Courses | eBooks | Workshops | Events | Demo
And, if you are in Chennai, Bangalore or Hyderabad, join my Sales Training Workshop to learn the Top Sales Approach - Authoritative Selling Business Consulting | Sales Training - Chennai | Bangalore | Hyderabad
