View From The Top

Earlier this week we talked about the statistics of marriage and divorce, and the fact that how you view them can affect your level of commitment and general outlook.

Today I want to discuss this same phenomenon and how it relates to your sales ratios.

Let me start by asking you some questions.

How many prospecting contacts must you make in order to schedule one meeting with a decision maker?

How many of those meetings must you make in order to close one sale?

What is the average commission you earn per sale?

Based on the answers you gave, multiply the numbers of meetings answer by the number of prospecting contacts answer. That tells you how many prospecting contacts you must make to generate one sale.

Now, from one perspective, the number of prospecting contacts that say “no” to you – compared to the one sale you make may seem discouraging. Then when you view that total from an annual perspective to generate the income you need for a year – the task can seem daunting.

So, change your view.

Think of your sales process like a ladder. The bottom rung is the prospecting stage. The top rung is your annual income goal. All of the rungs in between represent the various activities in your process. To reach your goal, you must take the steps.

If you view things from the bottom up; all your focus is on the activities and the effort you must make. The rejection is larger in your eyes. The effort can be tiring and frustrating.

But when you picture yourself on the top rungs, the view gets better.

Picture your income goal securely in your bank account. When you look down the ladder, it doesn’t seem so tough anymore.

That’s the view you must keep in your mind.

To do so, divide your average commission by the number of prospecting contacts needed. Imagine yourself making that amount of money per contact- whether they say yes or no.

Divide your average commission per sale by the decision maker meetings you need. Think of each meeting as generating that amount of commission – again, whether the result is yes or no.

Then choose to view your process from the top of the ladder – focusing on the income average per each activity.

Which view will contribute towards your longevity more; the view from the bottom, seeing all the activity needed and rejection received? Or the view from the top; focusing on the average you earn from each individual activity?

Part of sales success is being in control of how you view things.

The choice is yours.

QUESTION: How do you view your process?