From the constant stream of sales training enquires we receive at BOOM! Sales every year, the most common enquiry is a request to help address a “conversion problem”.
What’s interesting and indeed insightful about this particular problem is upon deeper investigation the commonly identified “conversion problem” is rarely the real problem, its nearly always a symptom of a more complex and deeper issue.
Historically salespeople have been known to bend the truth from time-to-time, but the numbers don’t lie. In fact, our research data at BOOM! compiled over ten years working with high-performing salespeople and teams across industries, tells us that 92% of diagnosed conversion related problems are not diagnosed correctly.
One of my old business partner’s had a rather unique philosophy for explaining this. He believed, with gusto, “that people are inherently problematic.” He applied this albeit devious filter when evaluating employees. It must be said, while I never saw eye-to-eye with him on this view, there is some merit in his mantra. In fact, the more we work with and observe modern sales teams, the more we see and understand the real problem.
The most common thread in all sales teams is of course, people. The most frequent mistake organisations make is in failing to hire and develop the right people and right sales leaders and guiding framework. For that reason, ‘people’ are the real problem.
If conversion was the real problem, this issue would be a relatively quick fix. All that is typically required is the application of strategy and levers to negotiate more effectively. People on the other hand require more time, care and investment. Never a quick fix and for that reason routinely missed and overlooked.
Next time your sales analytics team raises the alarm and yelps….
Carefully consider the root cause before reacting and cutting the arse out of your margin (remember discount is the poor salesperson’s friend!)
Instead, address the real problem first with the appropriate measures, leadership, coaching and support.
And surprise, surprise, you’ll no longer have a ‘people’ problem, your biggest issue will be managing accelerated growth — a much better problem to have!
Trent Leyshan is founder and CEO of BOOM! Sales. Sales expert, sought after speaker and facilitator. He is the author of Outlaw & The Naked Salesman.
