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Numbers, numbers, everywhere. Many salespeople invest
significant time attempting to manage numbers -- contacts in
their database, prospects contacted, meetings scheduled,
proposals being developed, presentations scheduled, prospects
with whom to follow up, and decisions that are (hopefully)
forthcoming. They track, tally, and compute the likelihood of
closing all of these numbers.
IT'S OUT OF YOUR CONTROL.
While the numbers may present a big picture of potential
business, they are not controllable. And, if you can't control
them, you can't manage them. You can't control how many contacts
in your database fit the profile of your ideal prospect. You
can't control how many prospects will be available to take your
phone call. You can't control how many will be willing to speak
or meet with you. You can't control how many prospects will have
a need for your product or service. You can't control how many
of the prospects who do need your product will have a large
enough budget to accommodate the purchase.
There is so much that you can't control, you might think it's
hopeless. But, it's not.
WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL?
The one thing over which you have absolute control is your
behavior. You can control how many times and how frequently you
pick up the phone and make a prospecting call. You can control
how often you ask for referrals from prospects and customers.
You can control how quickly and in what manner you follow up on
leads and referrals. You can control how much time you invest
researching your marketplace, your competition, and the needs of
your customers. That which you can control, you can manage.
THE ANATOMY OF A SALE.
If you analyze your selling behaviors and sales activity
history, you should discover a pattern. You should discover that
it takes a certain number of prospect contacts, on average, to
schedule one appointment. On average, a certain percentage of
those initial appointments progress to the presentation stage.
And, again on average, a certain percentage of presentations
result in a sale. When you calculate the numbers, you will know
what it takes from a behavior standpoint to close one sale. If
you need four sales for the month, you can determine exactly
what your behavior needs to be in order to hit your goal. If,
for instance, your analysis indicates that you need 200 contacts
to start the process that will result in four sales, you can
identify the most appropriate activities for contacting
prospects and schedule time to perform them.
JUST DO IT.
Once you have identified the appropriate behaviors required to
reach your goals and you've scheduled time to perform them, then
all that is left for you to do is to follow through. If you are
committed to your goals, and you do the behavior, the important
numbers, the ones that count -- closed sales -- will follow.
© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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