Ask Dr.
Dave
by Dr. Dave
Barnett
The Heartbeat of
Sales
Selling is complex
behavior. Some experts think salesmanship (or the act of persuasive
communication) may be the highest order of all human
behaviors.
If you wanted to study
what made successful salespeople, think of all the rabbit trails you
could run. You might start with personality theory: what's the
winning combination of attitudes and predisposition that impact top
sales performance? You could study social theory: are first-borns
better salespeople than middle-born children? Does your socioeconomic
background make a difference? What about educational achievement? You
could analyze body language, breathing rate, or what about
phrenologyña popular science in the early 1900s which
predicted performance based on the bumps on the head. You might
prefer a systems approach. How do organizational theory, management
styles, and corporate culture impact the sales process? And on, and
on, and on it goes. Sales gurus generate more than $35 billion
annually peddling the latest trends, fads, and paradigm
shifts.
But this entire universe
of complexity shuts down if one, single, solitary connection doesn't
happen. If a salesperson does not continually and comfortably
initiate contact with prospective customers and current clients, the
sales process never begins. What do personality, birth order,
education, or presentation skills matter if a salesperson won't
initiate contacts?
This synapse has many
different names in sales organizations. At Level One, it's called
prospecting or cold calling. At Level Three, it's dubbed account
penetration. When the issue becomes productivity at Level Four, it's
called nurture. Whatever you call it, it's The Heartbeat of
Sales.
Wanted: A Measurable,
Controllable Criterion
Please don't
misunderstand. I'm not saying personality or these other variables
are unimportant (well, you can probably forget about the bumps on the
head thing). These disciplines play a part in developing people to
their full potential. But I've known lots of aggressive, smart,
articulate, socially out-going salespeople who didn't work out,
haven't you?
Breaking through to
higher sales productivity, what we call Level Four Selling, requires
an objective criterion for evaluating success. If the criterion is
not objective, how can we study or reproduce it? Since we know the
best way to manage results is to manage activity, we've got to have
some activity that is measurable. You can only manage what you
measure. In addition to being measurable, the criterion must also be
totally within the control of the salesperson and not depend on the
haphazard conjunction of uncontrollable variables.
Go to any bookstore and
browse the latest titles in the business or self-help sections. Gaze
in wonder at all we authors, smiling from our book jackets. Some
promise "easy success through positive visualization." Another wants
you to practice "the success secrets of Genghis Khan." How many "new,
exciting breakthroughs" can there really be?
When entrepreneurs and
top salespeople struggle to improve productivity, they'll try almost
anything. This openness to new ideas has created the $35 billion a
year self-help industry. But most of these gurus are better at
marketing their books than increasing your performance. Have you
bought a book or training program expecting something unique and
original and found it's just new packaging for the same old
bromides?
I'm sure it doesn't hurt
to be reminded that affirming self-talk is better than self-doubt.
But a positive mental attitude only goes so far. It's entirely
subjective and beyond measurement or management. What may be positive
for one may be poison to another. Improving productivity will usually
include an emotional component, but Level Four Selling never starts
at the feeling level. Feelings are not the cause of great selling.
They result from performance. Emotions are fleeting and
unpredictable. Basing your career development on emotions is like
building a house on quicksand. You need something more dependable. To
attain Level Four you've got to get beyond the subjective art of
selling to discover the science of successful sales.
Something is
"scientific" if it can be observed, measured, and repeated. Contacts
are the perfect unit of activity measurement because:
Every sale
depends upon a contact being made somewhere in the sales
process.
A contact is a
completely objective unit of behavior. It's easy to measure. Either
you make a contact or you don't.
Initiating
contacts is a variable that is completely controlled by the
salesperson and depends on no outside variables. Remember, contacts
count even if your prospect/customer/client doesn't respond right
away.
Next time we'll talk
about making contact.
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