Picture the scene -
A conversation between a Business Owner and a (decent) Sales Coach...
BO:
"... So I'm great when I get in front of prospects."
SC:
"What's your conversion rate?"
BO:
"100%."
SC:
"100%??"
BO:
"Well...pretty much."
They then proceeded to listen back to 5 recorded sales conversations.
Only one converted into contractual business.
SC:
"I don't mean to sound rude, but wasn't your conversion rate 100%?!"
BO:
"Well 'A' didn't have budget...with 'B' the timing was off, 'C' didn't have it near the top of their priority list...and 'D' is waiting on funding."
SC:
"So, without sounding too pointed, would you say your conversion rate is closer to 20%...based on these five meetings?"
BO:
"Well...er...I guess you're right with these yeah."
The sales coach then went into detail about uncovering needs & building a business case by asking the right types of questions, finding out what's really going on in the business to drive change - problems, causes, impacts - how they feel about it, why now, and why change at all.
And guess what?
Barely any of that had been covered during the 5 recordings they listened to...
So are sales conversion rates genuinely based on deep discovery & getting to the truth of a prospect's predicament?
Or, are there much deeper layers to explore to truly understand someone's situation?
And by being this thorough...will potential objections/barriers to working together start to fade away?
Maybe...
Will conversion rates increase?
Perhaps...
You at least give yourself a greater chance.
Sales, and the ability to run & manage an effective sales meeting with tact, leadership and insight is not easy.
It's a honed skill and takes years of practice to get right.
In this example...
100% conversion rate - Fantasy
20% conversion rate - Reality
Closing the gap between Fantasy & Reality?
A distinct possibility.
