They say that “nothing happens until somebody sells something.” When you think about it, every human interaction you have in your personal, family, professional and business life, is basically a sales call. Thus, we all use selling techniques effectively, all day, everyday, in everything we say and do. But finding new clients is tough and can be discouraging. One of the challenges salespeople have to overcome is the disappointment in losing a sale. We need to accept that it takes multiple ‘times at bat’ to get a sale.
An important strategy is to have an abundantly full sales funnel. The rationale simply being that you can’t win ‘em all but if you have enough opportunities, which we like to call “times at bat”, and you follow your sales training, you will close enough business to be successful. Thus, the marginal impact of losing deal “X” becomes minimal.
Baseball is Like Selling
For those of you unfamiliar with baseball nuances, a player with a batting average of .300 or better, is a superstar. That means that getting on base by hitting a baseball is so challenging, that a player who fails seven out of 10 times on average is at the top of their peer group.
When you think about it, finding new clients isn’t much different. Trying to hit a round ball with a round bat, thrown at them at 95 mph, by someone who doesn’t like them. Sales situations offer similar obstacles that often are “pitches in the dirt” (objections) that we must overcome to be successful.
Understand Your Batting Average
So how does a player be a successful hitter and maintain confidence against such overwhelming odds? Former Blue Jays manager, Cito Gaston once predicted at the start of the season that Joe Carter would get at least 100 Runs Batted In (known in the vernacular as RBI’s). Gaston placed Carter third in the batting order. In so doing, Carter would step up to the plate close to 700 times. He was likely to have players on base fairly often (quality prospects). That would allow him to ultimately achieve his objective. Result – 100 (or more) RBI.
Joe Carter had his perfect environment set up for him. He just had to execute. To execute he needed to maintain his confidence. You need to use the tools you have at your disposal, like the CRM, effectively. Approach prospecting by connecting face to face regularly with as many quality prospects as you can, keeping that sales funnel full. Create as many quality opportunities to achieve a meaningful result but also limit the negative impact of inevitable failure.
Times at Bat
This played out on the field in the sixth game of the 1993 World Series. As most of you know, Joe Carter hit a home run to win the world series for the Blue Jays. It’s only happened twice in the 150-year history of the game. But what did he do in his previous at bat? With the game on the line, he was completely fooled on a pitch, checked his swing and grounded out meekly to the pitcher. He tipped his cap to the pitcher, confidence intact, knowing that while you can’t win ‘em all, he would get another time at bat. He did, and the rest is history.