The saying “sales is a numbers game” is frequently used in the context of sales.
However, according to Liz Wendling, president of Insight Business Consultants, believing that selling is a numbers game is akin to saying that the so-called “sales professional” lacks the skills to control the outcome.
“The numbers game myth decreases your chance of success. It makes selling more complicated and harder than necessary. Selling is not a numbers game – it’s a performance game. The numbers game myth is used by those who believe in luck and chance to close sales. Sales are generated through skill and technique,” she states.
Similar sentiments have been echoed by Maura Schreier-Fleming, president of “Best@Selling,” a sales training and sales consulting company, as she remarks, “Even though outreach and activity are important for successful sales, I don’t think that sales should be viewed as just a numerical game. Indeed, I would contend that it’s about quality, strategy, and astute decision-making—far more than simply the number of leads.”
Everyone Is Not A Prospect
Maura believes that the idea that anyone could be a potential sales lead ignores the necessity of targeting the appropriate individuals.
“Salespeople are encouraged by the numbers game mentality to contact as many people as they can in the hopes that a small percentage will become customers. But not every individual you reach out to is a good fit. In actuality, finding and nurturing the right leads accounts for the majority of sales success,” she notes.
Anyone interested in the product or service pitched by a sales professional is not a true prospect; they must meet certain requirements. This encompasses elements like the appropriate sector, financial resources, decision-making authority, and a sincere demand for services. It is ineffective and a waste of time and money to try to sell to people who don’t fit these criteria.
“Salespeople should concentrate on focusing their outreach on high-quality leads who are more likely to convert rather than reaching out to everyone and hoping for the best. Building a sustainable sales pipeline is made easier by the higher success rate of fewer, more qualified prospects. Targeting the correct audience with precision, rather than quantity, is the secret to successful prospecting,” Maura said.
Work On The Messaging
Wendling says that sales professionals have fallen into the trap, where they come to their offices on Mondays, reaching out and calling hundreds of unqualified prospects. This is backfiring for them as the outdated approach is turning people off, with salespersons using phrases that sound like they are stuck in 1972. The latter end up hearing 98 “no thanks, not interested” responses before settling with two appointments. And the same disappointing cycle gets repeated throughout the week.
Wendling pitches for the “smart approach,” where sales professionals conduct deep research about the potential “qualified prospects,” followed by the utilisation of an efficient communication method that will engage and enable people to open up (conversation, not a sales pitch), not shut down. Sales professionals need to listen and understand the daily issues (lifestyle and others) faced by potential buyers before pushing the products, along with an explanation of how these will help solve the “issues.” Such real, productive conversations will lead to many appointments with qualified prospects who say “yes.”
“Salespeople need to focus on their unique value and target clients that have the greatest impact on their business. Focus on a message that speaks to the prospect’s pains, problems, issues, and challenges, not your product or solution. Instead of playing the numbers game, identify where to focus your efforts and update your sales language to maximise your results,” Wendling remarks.
Wasting Time Is Bad For Selling
One of the most valuable resources in sales is time, so it’s imperative to use it effectively. Salespeople who play the “numbers game” are encouraged to work long hours, heedlessly contacting hundreds of leads in the hopes of closing a deal. This strategy, though, may backfire. You’re ultimately hurting your sales performance if you’re wasting time on unqualified leads or following up with uninterested individuals repeatedly.
“Salespeople ought to give high-value tasks more importance than volume. This entails efficiently qualifying leads, investigating potential customers, and having deep discussions that cater to their particular requirements. You can increase your efforts and your chances of closing deals by managing your time strategically,” Maura notes.
Pursuing unqualified leads or exerting excessive effort to increase conversions can divert your attention from the important things. Managing your time well in sales means working more efficiently rather than laboriously. Finding the leads that are worthwhile to pursue and concentrating on developing those connections will always be more successful than heedlessly attempting to reach a quota.
What Good Prospecting Looks Like
Effective prospecting involves being deliberate and strategic in the salesperson’s approach rather than attempting to contact as many people as he/she can. To prospect successfully, one must identify and interact with the right people; those who have the highest chance of becoming devoted clients.
“Research is the first step in effective prospecting. Examine a prospect’s business, pain points, and how your product or service can meet their unique needs before reaching out to them. This study guarantees that your outreach is pertinent and customised to the circumstances of the prospect, greatly raising the possibility of a favourable response,” Maura explains.
Personalisation is then crucial. Rarely do generic sales pitches succeed. Communicating with the prospect on a personal level demonstrates your understanding of their needs and your commitment to providing a solution that will be meaningful to them. There is no doubt that a customised message will be more effective at grabbing a prospect’s attention than a generic, one-size-fits-all strategy.
How To Find Qualifying Leads Early
The sales professional needs to create a qualification system that will assist him/her in identifying prospects with the greatest potential rather than wasting time on leads that aren’t a good fit.
“You can make sure that your efforts are focused on the most promising opportunities by posing the appropriate queries and evaluating elements such as funding, schedule, and decision-making authority,” Maura noted.
“After you’ve located qualified leads, concentrate on interaction. In sales, developing relationships is crucial, and the most successful salespeople take their time. Over time, trust is developed by interacting with prospects through insightful analysis, useful content, and problem-solving solutions. By fostering long-term client relationships rather than fleeting victories, this nurturing process helps lay the groundwork for a successful sale,” she concluded.
Also, purposeful follow-up is a must. Every follow-up will be beneficial, whether it’s by responding to a query, offering more details, or going over how the product meets the customers’ needs again. Sending generic reminders or persistently requesting a sale has far less of an impact than meaningful follow-ups.