Statistics show that nearly half of all sales reps fail to follow through with a prospect.
- Over 75% of sales occurs after the fourth contact.
If your sales reps are giving up after two or three contacts, statistics show that they are giving up much too soon. Because the majority of sales results from more than four contacts, a salesperson that stops reaching out after the third contact could be giving away millions of dollars in business each year.
“Tenacity…it’s far more important than the degree of talent you have. You can learn anything, accomplish anything, if you’re tenacious enough, if you’re willing to hang in there long enough, willing to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.”
~Tom Hopkins
Evaluate your prospect lists. Are they targeted toward strong prospects?
- Ensure that your reps are contacting prospects 5-20 times. How many contacts do your salespeople think is enough?
- Approach from multiple angles. Are your reps relying simply on email, or are they getting their making multiple contacts in a creative manner to develop solid rapport?
- Follow strategies used by leaders in the field. Are your reps learning from the best?
- Be sure your reps are applying your sales strategies. If your reps are attending sales training, are they given an opportunity to see tenacity in action, and furthermore, are they able to visualize using these skills?
- Evaluate performance. If your sales reps aren’t producing the desired results, are you monitoring them to determine which approaches they need to work on?
- Know your salespeople. If a rep isn’t meeting the organization’s sales goals, are you able to help this person explore ways to improve his or her skills?
Personnel are critical to every company. The Oxford Group can assist you in hiring seasoned sales reps as well as your next VP of Sales. Oxford has created a lifetime warranty strategy on candidates that are hired to assist companies with their growth and budget challenges.
