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18.07.10
Which is going to work best for you in making sales and winning business - a great attitude or a great strategy?
17.07.10
In Pizza Hut with my daughter Georgia and her friends having a 'make your own pizza' party. Great idea - try it with your kids!
16.07.10
Nobody ever built a reputation or got a referral by being vague! Certainty sells. Clarity sells.
16.07.10
BURDEN OF WASTED POTENTIAL: We carry many burdens in life, but the largest burden is living without using our potential. (via @MarkFritz)
12.07.10
In Brighton teaching some committed bankers how to win a lot more business through referrals. How blessed I am with my job!
23.06.10
There are lots of formulas and definitions of trust. Every single one comprises character, reliability and track record.
09.05.10
Listen to Rob Brown talk about trust, being liked and making impact on the Business Hub Radio Show http://bit.ly/ahdrq3
30.04.10
Meeting some great Nottingham people from Twellowhood: http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood/
30.04.10
#rbtip - linkedin, ecademy, facebook, twitter etc are like the offline, realtime networks. They take your time to make work
30.04.10
@richardbeldon Thanks Richard - looks like being a strong collaboration! will get 100 words to you by mid May OOPS MAKE THAT 1000!
30.04.10
@richardbeldon Thanks Richard - looks like being a strong collaboration! will get 100 words to you by mid May
29.04.10
@aspectimaging Thanks for the RT! What do you say when people ask 'what do you do?'
29.04.10
#rbtips Ever wondered where the phrase 'Elevator Speeches' came from? Here you are>> http://ow.ly/1EEIt
29.04.10
RT @pennypower: Brad Burton of 4 Networking 0n Working Lunch today http://bit.ly/bN5QE3
29.04.10
@LesleyEverett: Can Brown's Brand Image survive the fallout from yesterday? No - he's always struggled with the word 'sorry'
29.04.10
#rbtips The worst time to think of the best thing to say is as you say it! Smart networkers prepare good elevator speeches.
28.04.10
@RachelElnaugh Gordon's done a Gerald Ratner - a wonderful reputation-breaking PR gaff!
28.04.10
RT @SociusUK: "Our Similarities bring us to a common ground; Our Differences allow us to be fascinated by each other" Tom Robbins
28.04.10
@RandiBusse great quote. Even better, if you don't know the difference between you and your comp, your customers won't either!
28.04.10
@GrahamParkerPR to make people engage in your elevator speech, be concise, memorable, passionate, different & tell a story!

Sales Is Not A Numbers Game

If you're behind on your targets and you're not bringing in the sales you ought to be, your boss may well be giving you that wonderful piece of motivational advice: "Make more sales calls! It's a numbers game!" Trouble is, it isn't!

I mean, it is to a degree, but that's not the whole picture. Read on to find out why the numbers may not be stacking up for you, and why making more calls is not always the answer.

The Lottery is a numbers game, because the statistically, the more tickets you buy, the greater your chance of winning (small though it remains). But life doesn't work that way all the time.

You don't hear a football manager saying to his team 'now just go out there and shoot as much as you can. It's just a numbers game. Doesn't matter where you are, just shoot!' Or a golfing professional telling you ‘well, I made it to pro level by hitting as many golf balls as I could. Didn't matter how or where, I just made sure I hit loads.'

It's not true that the more shots you take, the more you score. It's true that the more quality shots you take, the more you score! If you're in charge of a team, you can either measure results or activity. If you measure sales calls, phone calls or networking events, then you're measuring quantity and not quality. What about measuring sales or leads?

I spent two years of my life going to 126 networking events and spending thousands of pounds on breakfasts, lunches, dinners and memberships. I was all about activity. It wasn't until I began to understand what networking was about that I moved from counting my conversations to making my conversations count!

"Don't count your conversations. Make your conversations count."

Rob Brown

If you manage a team, are you spending your time measuring targets, figures and activity? Or do you spend time on people, coaching, nurturing, encouraging, getting in there with them and helping them get better? Activity, for the sake of activity, gives numbers. It also contributes to burnout, poor calls, bad morale, resentment of managers and turnover.

Think how you can avoid a numbers mentality that is favouring quantity over quality in your selling life. You could start by remember your ratios. If you make ten calls and get one sale, you can get better so you make 10 calls and get 3 sales. It's about quality. You can work on coaching and leading people. Instead of ordering them to do more, equip them to do better!

Numbers gives you numbers. Quality gives you success!


© Rob Brown 2009. All Rights Reserved. To publish or reprint any Rob Brown article, the following must be included:

Rob Brown is one of the UK's leading authorities on business networking and referrals. He is an inspirational conference speaker and author of over 40 publications, including Amazon best-seller How To Build Your Reputation. Go to www.rob-brown.com for your free 60 page copy of ‘The 13 Commandments of Turning Relationships Into Profits', or get in touch on (44) 115 846 21227 or rob@rob-brown.com for details of his motivational presentations, business winning programmes and relationship-building resources.

© 2009 Rob Brown. All rights reserved. Site by Kent Kreations.

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