Executing sales successfully is both a science and a art – a truth I discovered while knocking on doors back in college.
The scientific element of sales revolves around best practices, and includes:
- identifying the Steps of the Sale,
- translating those steps into the right activities, and
- measuring the patterns that emerge when you carry out those activities – like knocking on doors, for example
The artistic aspect of sales, meanwhile, refers to how skillfully you perform the steps involved. The higher the level of conversation you generate when someone opens their door, for example, the better your performance will be.
Using both science and art to identify YOUR company’s top key performance indicators is essential for several reasons.
First, tracking and measuring sales performance lets you recognize personnel who are underperforming.
Secondly, by understanding where the weak points reside, you can provide training opportunities geared directly toward increasing performance. This practice of “training to the numbers” is a proven way to develop your sales team by training to its weaknesses.
Finally, by following sales patterns you can learn what works best and what doesn’t.
When I started my cable television sales job back in college, I was earning $0.84 per door. By the time I left it behind, I was earning $0.96 per door! The simple combination of science and art allowed me to develop a predictable sales system that worked every time.
