In my office
at home is a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a motivational quote. The quote
details how big a failure Abe was, especially early in life. Any historian can
tell you about the failures Lincoln suffered in business, in politics, with his
love life and his marriage.
And yet he
remained persistent in the face of those failures. The rest, as they say is
history.
The ability
to be persistent in the face of failure is what separates the great from the
average (or worse) in business. If you took an honest, hard look in the mirror
or your own sales organization you might find some opportunities for
improvement.
For the
longest, media sales reps relied on relationships to manage their territories.
This style, still in use and still success to a point, required very little
actually selling. As the media landscape has changed, the need to be an
aggressive selling sales department has grown. Media companies, especially
newspapers have struggled with this change.
Prospecting
for new business and having to resell existing business requires a different
skill set than someone relying on existing relationships to maintain business.
Selling more means being told no more often, and thus the need for our sales
team to be more persistent.
I saw a post
on LinkedIN recently with some not so recent stats on sales. From the National
Sales Executive Association, the following sales stats should remind us to be
persistent in our quest to find new business:
·
48% of sales people never follow up with a
prospect
·
25% of sales people make a second contact and
stop
·
12% of sales people only make three contacts and
stop
·
Only 10% of sales people make more than three
contacts
·
2% of sales are made on the first contact
·
3% of sales are made on the second contact
·
5% of sales are made on the third contact
·
10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
·
80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth
contact
While I
don't think there is scientific data backing up those stats, I do think the
lessons those numbers are trying to make are very much on point. Being
persistent in the face of being told no time and time again is not easy. In a
world of immediate gratification, having to wait until the fifth sales call or
later to make the sale is not easy.
Your sales
team needs to understand the importance of allotting time for prospecting each
week. If you let a sales rep prospect only when they have time, chances are
they will never have time. They will successfully fill their schedule with
other things to avoid being told no countless times.
Consider
doing a time study to see just how little time your sales team is spending
looking for new business. There is a good chance you won't like the results.
They are spending too much time doing servicing on existing accounts, selling
existing accounts and doing drop ins instead of set appointments with accounts.
Those are all comfortable things to do, and all of which we need to do. But the
results are limited and usually will not help grow your business.
Develop your
sales team to be hunters, spending a significant amount of time developing new
business. Develop your sales team to have thick skin so they can be persistent
in their pursuit despite being told no so often.
That
motivational quote regarding Lincoln sums up the sales philosophy needed to
find new business: "The difference between history's boldest
accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often, simply, the diligent
will to persevere."
