There are two popular narratives floating around in the sales industry. One is sales is a numbers game while the other one says it is not. Sales professionals have always been told that sales is a numbers game but many sales experts have different opinions. Some say that it is an old fashioned way of thinking about sales while others argue that sales are more of a prospecting game than a numbers game.
Irrespective of which narrative you support, one thing is for certain is that the sales industry has evolved significantly over the course of the last couple of decades. With the advent of technology and new opportunities, a salesperson is now offering more on customer touch points and improving the buyers experience instead of hard selling products to them.
In this article, you will learn that sales are not just a numbers game.
Busting the Myth, “Sales is a Numbers Game”
If you believe in the mantra that “Sales is a numbers game”, I don’t blame you. Salesperson have long been taught the same lesson as soon as they step foot into the sales industry. The problem with the mindset is that reduces your chances of success by putting extra pressure on you. Moreover, it complicates matters and makes it difficult for salespeople to close sales.
It is a myth that was prevalent among those who believe in luck and chance to generate sales. What these people don’t realize is that you cannot generate sales with luck and chance. Generating sales requires skills and techniques that salespersons master over the years. Believing that selling is a numbers game is like admitting that skills and techniques do not matter, which is not true. Thinking sales as a numbers game will force you to adopt inefficient sales techniques and sales strategies that no longer work anymore.
Most salespeople believe that if they can call more prospects, they can convert more prospects into buyers. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Imagine a scenario where a salesperson calls dozens of unqualified prospects and use the same old script for everyone. Would this approach work? No, right. They will get sick and tired of listening “No thanks, I am not interested” from prospects side and end up with a dismally low appoints at the end of the day. Such approaches are nothing but total loss of time, money and energy.
On the other hand, you can achieve much better results as a salesperson if you call a handful of unqualified prospects and tailor the script according to each prospect’s needs. This will increase your chances of getting more appointments at the end of the day and you will fare much better when it comes to converting prospects into buyers.
Approach Does Matter
Focus your attention on the unique value you are delivering to prospects and highlight in your sales pitch. Instead of quantity focus on the quality of leads because dozens of non-qualified leads are better than a handful of qualified leads that has more chances of converting into buyers. Salespersons usually strive for higher numbers because their paycheck depends on it. The higher the number, the more commission they can earn which eventually adds up to their salaries. This regressive mindset doesn’t let a salesperson achieve their desired sales goals and they end up missing their target in quest to achieve more.
It is the approach and attitude that matters not the numbers. W.Clement Stone said, “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not on the attitude of prospects.” Brain Tracy also endorses this point by saying, “Keep yourself positive, cheerful and goal oriented. Sales success is 80% attitude and 20% aptitude.”
Understand User Pain Point
In order to generate sales, you will have to understand why people buy your products. Ask yourself, what problems do users face and how your product solve your user’s problems? By answering these questions, you know the pain points of users. This allows you to create a sales pitch that is targeted towards solving user problems. That is when you have the brightest chance of converting a prospect into loyal customers.
Brian Tracy summed it up beautifully when he said, “Approach Each Customer With The Idea Of Helping Him Or Her To Solve A Problem Or Achieve A Goal, Not Of Selling A Product Or Service”
Users don’t care about specifications and features your product has, they care about how it can benefit them and resolve their biggest problems. When the prospects realize that you know their problems and have a product which can solve them, they will buy your product.
Show empathy with them and focus on building long term relationships with them. That is exactly what web Design Agency does with their web designs. Instead of talking too much, make a habit of listening to your customers as well. Roy Bartell said, “Most people think ‘selling’ is the same as ‘talking’. But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job.”
Mike Bosworth defines the best salesperson as, “The best salespeople know that their expertise can become their enemy in selling. At the moment they are tempted to tell the buyer what ‘he needs to do,’ they instead offer a story about a peer of the buyer.”
Patricia Fripp shares the secret of successful enterprises when he said, “To build a long term successful enterprise, you don’t close a sale, open a relationship.” If you want to achieve success in business, you will have to build long term relationships with your customers. Loyal customers that come back to you for more are your biggest asset. The more loyal customers you have, the better off your business will be in the long run.
What do you think, is sales a numbers game or not? Feel free to share your opinion with us in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you.
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