Friend + colleague Anthony Iannarino notes that Reps can never produce results without activity, but they never produce results unless activities generate positive outcomes. He goes on to suggest that most salespeople fail because they take too little action or have inconsistent practices. I disagree.
In my view, most salespeople fail because they can’t see or understand how their practices are affecting their results. Worse than that, they can’t see the little things, if any, which done differently might produce better results.
It’s akin to a golfer never finding ways to consistently break 100. They’re not paying attention to where their balls are going. They’ve no idea how corrections in their golf grip or their golf stance might just be all that’s required.
In B2B sales, just like in golf, the key to getting better is being aware of how practices affect outcomes and doing something about it. In this, auto-analytics have important role to play. Done right, they provide hard facts with which to understand the complexities of sales performance. Much like the analytics produced by a ‘FitBit’, they personalize the story of how activities affect outcomes. They eliminate imprecision. They accelerate awareness. Such metrics enable Reps to fix little mistakes they couldn’t see, before. As Reps do so, they discover ways to create better outcomes more effortlessly.
The latest proof? This client’s results. They’ve earned more conversations, delivered more value in each conversation, and thereby earned more next conversations. All with fewer contact attempts. They’ve discovered how to do so, and it shows.
They’re making what counts, really count.
