Do you know what your proposal to win ratio is for the proposals generated?
As a salesperson, this was the #1 metric I tracked. It was the only way that I could learn from losses and/or no decisions. Every one of those failures needed to be successful failures.
What about your branch, region or company? Do you have a handle on your win ratio?
Do you know how your win ratio compares to the national average?
I believe the first step to determining how your company is performing is to look for data to understand what the average win ratio is.
According to a Rain Group survey which consisted of 472 sellers and sales executives representing companies with sales forces ranging in size from 10 to 5,000+, they found the average win rate to be about 47%.
How do you stack up?
Now, here is the most interesting thing I found about the study. “Elite” performers win 73% of the time. “Top” performers win 62% of the time. But these two segments only make up 20% of the total respondents. “The Rest” made up 80% of the respondents and won only 40% of the time. Translation: there is a lot of mediocrity out there.
I think another key learning here is that 25% of deals were lost to NO DECISION.
What separates the Elite from “The Rest”? As we say in Butler Street training:
“The difference between the successful person and the unsuccessful person is this: the successful person is in the habit of doing things the unsuccessful person doesn’t do.”
It is those three little words: in the habit.
So, what habits do you need to adopt to improve win ratio?
#1 Elite Salespeople understand the fundamental principle that time is money
We all get the same 525,600 minutes in a year and putting together proposals cost money. Elite sales people understand this fact better than anyone.
Most can monetize the cost of putting together a proposal and track their win/loss ratio
They make every loss a “successful failure” whereby they learn from their mistakes
#2 Elite Salespeople qualify their prospect
Top performers quickly assess if the customer is willing to invest time in allowing them to do a discovery or an assessment
They understand if they are going to lose—LOSE FAST
Every minute spent chasing a long shot reduces the time to cultivate a sure thing
#3 Elite Salespeople ask the right/tough questions
It starts with the basic understanding: It is not what you know that hurts you in the sales process, it is what you don’t know
This helps to eliminate the NO DECISION
Asking the right questions starts with a structured, repeatable methodology for learning what you don’t know about an opportunity. Examples include but are not limited to:
Do we understand the customer’s challenge and area of opportunity?
Find the pain!!!
Do we understand the critical success factors & objectives by respective:
Key Decision Maker (KDM)?
Key Decision Influencer (KDI)?
Do we understand the driving force/reason to move forward?
Do we understand their decision criteria?
Do we understand the decision process and project hierarchy?
#4 Elite Salespeople prepare for every customer/prospect interaction
They understand that it is the quality of their questions that does the most to set them apart
They anticipate customer objections and role-practice their responses
Through effective questioning, they are able to marshal the appropriate customer resources to solve the customer’s problems
#5 Elite Salespeople build relationships based on their desire to become a trusted advisor
They understand the importance of numbers 1-4 above
At Butler Street, we pride ourselves in helping our clients develop Elite salespeople. The proof is in the fact that our clients grow 4X times market and our average Sales Effectiveness training pays for itself in 1.27 months. If your company wants to improve its win rate and grow 4X market, Contact us and let’s talk.