Sales Training Seminars and Tips

How Statistics Can Undermine Sales Training Success

"Prospects decide if you're credible in the first 7 seconds."

"You have to ask for the business 4 to 6 times to get a 'yes.'"

It's fairly common to see statistics used as teaching or coaching tools in corporate sales training. Here is another one that was used in a corporate sales training meeting I observed: "Expect to make 3 cold calls to get 1 conversation."

Like its brothers above, it's a nice little statement. Brief. Doesn't take up much room. Involves a simple statistic using just two numbers. Two itty bitty, misleading, way wrong, take you down a very frustrating road numbers. Here's how statistics like that one can undermine your corporate sales training success.

Problem: Confusing cause and effect with statistics

I'll use the "3 to 1" stat as an example. Lots of people hear that statistic in corporate sales training and think it applies to a single, particular prospect. This leads to thinking that if you call that prospect three times you will end up talking with him once. As if calling three times somehow causes that particular prospect to pick up the phone and talk with you.

It's easy to see where that idea comes from. After all, the statistic mentions one conversation so it seems to make sense that also refers to one specific prospect. Unfortunately, that sort of thinking creates unrealistic expectations and bad prospecting or selling habits.

You should not expect to reach a certain prospect after calling him three times, five times, or even twenty times. On the other hand, you may well reach him in three or five or twenty tries. Luck is involved!

Nor should you drop your calling effort if you have not reached a particular prospect after calling three times. Or five times or even twenty times. The way you put luck on your side is to be persistent and to call regularly. That's how marketing works, so don't give up.

As for the "ask for the business 4 to 6 times" statistic. Selling is different from prospecting, but this statistic is not realistic, either. Sometimes you need to ask for the business more often. Sometimes you'll drive prospects crazy if you ask more than once. Sometimes you shouldn't ask at all. You'll get much better results if you focus on managing a give-and-take sales conversation with each prospect, taking each situation as it unfolds.

Problem: Unrealistic expectations create frustration

If your expectations are out of whack, you can do things that hurt prospecting and selling way more than they help. It's just as important to note that unrealistic expectations also create frustration. Frustration often involves a feeling of failure and that can snowball until you are your own greatest obstacle.

Problem: Many statistics are kind-of, semi-statistically almost sort-of true

It's easy to mess up an incredibly useful statistic. People usually do this innocently. The sales manager who used the 3-to-1 statistic in sales training was trying to encourage his reps to be persistent with calls. Here's what he thought he was telling his reps:

Statistically, out of 90 cold calls you will probably reach 30 present humans (not voicemail). This is generally true when you make 90 calls on a regular basis over time.

Another way to say it is that you'll probably reach present humans about 33% of the time. But, again, that's only a reasonable guideline when you make 90 or more calls on a regular basis over time.

The sales manager thought he could boil those statistics down. That's how he came up with "3 calls to 1 conversation." Alas, it doesn't work that way. To have a reasonable numeric guideline for cold calling:

* You have to use larger numbers; e.g., 90 calls. * You have to make larger numbers of calls on a regular basis over time.

Guides are good

Statistics that realistically describe prospecting and sales are good to have in corporate sales training. They give you guidelines for expectations, which helps prevent frustration. They can help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses so you can learn what you need to. Statistics also help you plan wisely.

But be careful about the power you give statistics in corporate sales training. A more detailed statistics reality check is below. For those who aren't such data hounds, here's how to avoid using statistics that undermine your success:

1. Put serious thought to how you're using statistics in corporate sales training: - Are you trying to apply them to create or cause some action with specific prospects? That's probably not going to work because each human is different. (Thank goodness!)

2. View statistics with a critical eye: - Is the pool of data big enough to apply to most prospects? - How long did the data-gathering happen and is the scope broad enough? - Is the data source relevant to your world?

More reality check

But before I go further in telling you how to give statistics a thorough reality-check I have to mention that metrics and statistics are not the same thing. A metric is a form of measurement. The following is not necessarily going to help you persuade your boss that 42% of goal is actually good.

Is the pool large enough?

Use your common sense. Again using the 3-to-1 cold call stat: You might call three prospects on Tuesday and reach every single one of them. You might call three prospects on Thursday and get voicemail every single time. Same goes for calling thirty prospects on any day. Luck is involved.

In fact, calling 90 prospects is still not a big enough pool by itself to create a solid statistic. That brings us to the next thing to consider.

Snapshot or full-length movie? Full-length movie or all of the "Star Wars" in total?

The period of time, or data scope, affects how true statistics may or may not be. Again, think about your own experience. You might call 90 different prospects in one day and reach most of them. You might call another 90 the next day and reach very few. Each of those days are only a snapshot. Two days of calling is better but still not the full picture.

However, if you make 90 calls a day for several weeks, the pool is big enough and the time-frame/scope is big enough, too. You can compare the data from those calls to the industry standards to see how you're doing. (Let me know if you want to know what these standards are.)

By the way: It doesn't matter so much if you're calling a whole bunch of prospects a few times, or a smaller pool of them a bunch of times. Why? That's just how statistics works.

Based on what?

Statistics are only useful in corporate sales training if they are "valid"; if they have relevance to your world. The closer the relevance the better. For example: If your company collected cold calling data for the past umpteen years and gives you statistics based on that data, that's valid.

The cold calling statistics described above in this article are based on cold calling experience for a wide range of industries, not any one industry. That means you should use it as a guide, not a certainty.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Statistics are a wonderful thing. They can help guide your efforts. They can help you win arguments. Alas, lots of the stats used in corporate sales training and in business are full of baloney.

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Article Content: Corporate Sales Training