If you throw a coat of paint on a clunker of a car, you still have the problems of a clunker. It will not run the way you want.
Throw new and improved sales scripts on top of a broken prospecting system and what do you have? A broken prospecting system. It will not perform the way you want.
The reason why is a four letter word. Math.
It took awhile for that clunker of a car to be a clunker. The tires wore out, the oil was neglected, noises ignored, repairs postponed or jerry-rigged. It did not happen overnight and a new paint job doesn’t change the fundamentals. The car is broken and incapable of working as intended.
Same with a sales script paint job.
Your shiny new phone scripts with fancy smancy gatekeeper and voicemail verbiage doesn’t fix the fundamental problems and the result will be the same.
Let’s peek under the hood of a prospecting system.
Fundamental truth: Math is a better predictor of sales prospecting success than great scripts.
The buyers are out there. They will buy from someone. When someone with credibility communicates with them and appears to be able to meet their needs they will take time to review that vendor. When someone interacts with them in a meaningful way and says things sufficient to warrant an investment of their time, they will do so.
Another way of looking at it…
The buyers are out there. If you bump into enough of them and don’t screw it up when you do, you will get your fair share of new opportunities.
You don’t create buyers or needs. You simply work an organized system whereby you bump into sufficient numbers of companies that are in buy mode or recognize they have certain needs. When you do bump into them you are prepared to say the things they need to hear to take a next step with you.
Sales prospecting math fact #1: The list you are calling dictates whether you even have a shot.
Typical situation. Fifty percent of buyers are lurking within 3% of your call list. Another 45% of buyers are to be found among 15% of your call list. The remaining 5% of buyers are scattered about the remaining 80% of your list.
Where are you more likely to set an appointment with a buyer? Among the 3%, the 15% or the 80%?
If you are calling that list equally, simple math dooms you to failure.
If you allocate your call time to the 3%, your office nickname will soon be “the machine.”
Because you are now so much smarter or more persuasive? No. Because you chose to call a higher probability pool and basic math greatly increased the odds of success.
BTW… getting this right has by far the greatest impact on lead generation results. It also takes the least amount of time and effort to get right.
Appointment setting math fact #2: Have more conversations, schedule more meetings.
Conversations with decision-makers are key. More conversations, more shots at next steps. Fewer conversations, fewer shots at a next step.
Logic and common sense tells us that if we work an organized call process plan consistently that we will get more decision-makers to pick up the phone. If we have no call process plan or call inconsistently or randomly, fewer decision-makers pick up the phone.
Very simple. Call one way get result X. Call another way get result Y.
Good scripts do not impact how many conversations you have. It is your call process that serves up the conversations that enables you to wow with your good scripts.
Basic math. Work the call process that has an increased likelihood of generating a conversation. Know the difference.
Lead generation math fact #3: Lifetime value or size of an average sale.
Here is a Channellism for you. If it doesn’t work on paper, it won’t work when you call.
There are some call initiatives that are doomed to fail. Magic scripts and more dials cannot save them. The culprit. Math.
Before you or your sales team calls you need to put pencil to paper. Consider size of average sale, margins, lifetime value, conversion rates, cost of sale and more. Determine the zone where it makes sense to call.
At times, given the average sale size, margins, costs of sale, competitive factors and rational conversion rates, it is obvious that a call program has no chance of success.
Better scripts and more dials will not breathe life into this corpse. Some projects are doomed from the start. Choked by basic math.
Even companies with successful programs have to be wary about drifting into low-probability zones where applying the same effort and skillset that works so well in some areas, is doomed to fail in others. Why? The laws of probability and basic math.
Prospecting success is largely determined by probabilities that come into play before a prospect says “Hello.” Understand the probabilities and you greatly increase the odds of prospecting success.
Smile when you dial.
