So surely you have heard the old 80/20 rule. But have you ever thought about the 80/20 rule as it applies to sales? Did you know that 80% of sales are created by 20% of the sales people? Do you know why this is? It is because they have a sales process and the other 80% are reinventing the wheel on each sales call/meeting.

Let me ask you this- Do you have a step-by-step sales process that you go through on every meeting or sales call? Most people do not, not even when they have sales training and consider themselves sales experts. I was talking to a competitor the other day and this person went through the sames sales training I had, maybe just a year latter. Anyhow, one of the things they told me was their biggest problem was whipping themselves to do the work. When I asked them if they wanted to attend a sales & marketing (Smarketing) course we were offering they told me that money was tight and they already knew everything since they took good notes in the previous sales training.

Now do you think this person is in the 20% or 80% of sales people? Do you think they are using a system? I'll fill you in. They are not using a sales system. Although they were trained to use a sales system, I would bet this info is in their notes, but not on their everyday sales calls. One of the reasons for this is the fact that money is tight. If they were in the top 20% and using a sales system, they would have the money for a future event. In their case the biggest issue is actually doing the work. What good is knowledge if you don't apply it. What good is knowledge if you are unable to hold yourself accountable. What is it worth to find an accountability partner that understands where you are and how to get over this hurdle?

I will tell you, although I thought I was using a sales system after going through a years of training, it was all in my mind. The point here is this I made sales calls and did the things I was trained to do. I worked through the sales system (Baseline Selling - similar to baseball, go to first base then second, then third and then run home to score) as best I could within my head while on the call. You know what happened? I missed steps along the way. It was not until I did a sales call with a partner that I realized I missed a lot of areas. When the partners asked where are you at with this suspect? What base are you on? Which part of the sales process are you at with them? What did they say to this or that question? This is when I realized that a sales process is not just for you to work through, but it also needs to be a documented process so that you can bring others up to speed instantly on where you are at in the process.

This is what has taken me from the 80% up to the 20% of sales people. Putting a process like this in place. committing to it and documenting each step on every sales call/meeting is what will put you in the top 20% of sales people and will help you deliver 80% of all sales within you team. This could truly change your life. It has mine.

So are you ready to not only learn a sales system (process), but connect with an accountability partner and also learn how to use a documented sales system that will put your sales over the top in 2012? Then we would recommend signing up for the new 12 week business development (smarketing) course we are rolling out right now. The new class starts at the end of February. Sign up today!