Top producers are willing to throw prospects down the stairs. Why?
Being ruthless about who is worth your time catapults sales.
There is a difference between top sales producers… the mediocre… and those treading water.
From what I have observed the top producers have one trait that clearly impacts their sales success.
The hard working but not earning close to their potential are simply not willing to do this one thing, so they continue to be like a hamster in a wheel.
Know what top sales producers have that the rest don’t?
Clarity.
Clarity about whom is worth more of their time, who is worth less of their time.
Clarity about what a proper foundation for a sale looks like.
Clarity about the sales process that is most likely to lead to a close.
Clarity about when it is time to cut a prospect loose.
You are taught that success is about “qualifying” your prospects. It is much more about “actively disqualifying” your prospects. Under-producing salespeople do somersaults trying to keep every prospect alive. Top producers kill them quick.
Those who seek to break into the ranks of the top producers should look up from their PowerPoint presentations long enough to think about the big picture.
You have choices.
You can choose to use actions and methods most likely to lead to a close.
You can choose actions and methods less likely to lead to a close.
You can choose to sell to those likely to buy more.
You can choose to sell to those likely to buy less.
You can choose to invest time with those more probable to buy.
You can choose to invest your time with those less likely to buy.
If there are people in your company or your industry that are selling more than you…. Guess what? They are making better choices.
You can too. And one of the most critical choices you make is where you invest your time. In a high probability sales zone or a low probability sales zone.
Time and again, when I am out observing sales calls for client teams or coaching it is striking how differently the top producers think about whom to spend their time with. They will back away from a prospect, come back at a future or just plain run away without hesitation.
Yet hard working under-achievers will chase anything that is breathing and not let go until the mirror stops fogging. They have no time to find or close high probability high worth accounts because they spend too much time chasing the dredges.
Top producers have clarity about the very best use of their time and are absolutely ruthless about discarding low probability prospects to seek higher probability prospects.
If you spend too much time with tire-kickers, your proposals move like the dead and others not as smart or hard-working as you are selling more… you are making poor choices as to where to put your time. This can be changed quickly.
It seems that the farther you get away from top sales production, the more resistance there is to the idea that not all suspects are alike. If you find yourself saying “But anybody could be our client,” “You never know” or “We don’t want to miss anyone,” you are probably making very poor choices about where to invest your time. Usually there are a lot of better quality prospects out there waiting for your call, but they won’t hear from you. You don’t have the time.
Why does a top producer start chasing poor prospects away from the very start? (For one thing—- they know the difference.)
Top producers choose to fill up their time with those most desirable and discard the rest. They have clarity about who is more desirable than not and have no problem letting people go. That is one of the reasons why they are top producers.
When it comes to setting appointments you need to set priorities. Call the top and ignore the rest. Yet most don’t do that. They cast the net far too wide and leave great prospects waiting for the phone to ring while they chase nickels and dimes.
Even when you get a decision maker on the phone, or they call you, top producers don’t go to the next step unless conditions are met.
And once you meet, you doing a lot of stuff and them doing nothing is not an acceptable next step.
So start doing what top producers do… open the cellar door and start throwing prospects down the stairs.
If you need help setting priorities to get yourself out of low-probability land and working in your highest result zone call me at 978-296-2700 to discuss options for training or coaching your team.
