Sales success is defined by meeting or exceeding the assigned company goals. The sales goals should align with the company’s strategic objectives and be achievable.
Selling is hard. Hard to do and manage. How can a business assure their salespeople have the best chance to succeed? Before we can answer that question, we need to explore why salespeople fail.
Statistics on Sales Performance
According to LinkedIn, 55% of salespeople do not reach their annual goals. I asked ChatGPT the biggest reasons salespeople fail, and here is what I got back:
- Training and Development: Companies with robust training programs have a 20% higher sales success rate.
- Communication Skills: Salespeople with effective communication skills are 30% more likely to close deals.
- Product Knowledge: Comprehensive product knowledge improves success rate by 25%.
- Motivation: Motivated teams can increase performance by up to 40%.
- Sales Strategies: Modern strategies can improve success rates by 35%.
- Time Management: Can lead to a 15% increase in productivity.
Identifying the Root Cause of Failure
While these factors are valid, many organizations struggle to diagnose exactly why their salespeople fail. This is often due to a lack of proper systems for managing leads, prospects, deals, and follow-ups. Poor training and management only compound the issue.
Without effective systems and metrics in place, it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint the real problems impacting sales performance.
Case Study: Real Estate Lead Distribution Problem
Background
In 2007, I was hired by a large, international residential real estate company. Their role was to generate leads for licensed agents across North America. The company noticed that when agents followed up on leads, over 80% had already chosen another realtor.
Initial Assumptions
The company suspected a marketing or sales issue. However, we found that:
- The leads were qualified.
- The salespeople were following up promptly after receiving them.
Research Findings
Our research showed that consumers typically chose the first realtor who called them back. We then discovered the real issue: one person was manually distributing leads, causing delays of up to 48 hours. If that person was unavailable, leads sat untouched.
The Solution
We automated the lead distribution process, reducing follow-up time to under an hour. Conversion rates skyrocketed. The company was about to replace their entire sales team, which would have been a costly mistake. Instead, we saved them millions and improved morale by fixing the actual issue.
Conclusion
Accurate and timely measurement of sales performance is crucial. With the right tools, companies can make impactful improvements and avoid losing top performers due to misdiagnosis.
Ensuring your sales team has the support and systems they need is key to sustainable growth. We can help.
Contact
For questions on this First Principles Brief, or if it’s the right time to sell your business, please contact:
Brent.Teiken@teikengramer.com
Phone: 701-306-5525
We’ve been through it. We’ll help you prepare for it.