We track close rates and phone performance for businesses. In other words, we track what they do on the phone that leads to more sales and more revenue. And here’s what we’ve found:
Most employees at most businesses give up way too quickly.
We analyzed thousands of phone calls and found that about 97% of the time, employees just give up and stop trying to make the sale when presented with a small objection.
That means that only 3% of the time, when faced with objections, do employees at businesses persist and continue to get a sale.
If the employee is initially rejected after asking for the business, they give up.
Why Does This Matter
Previous studies we’ve done indicate that attempting to overcome objections and remaining persistent in the face of objections, is the most important single element on the phone call.
In short, just asking for the sale one time after an initial rejection, makes the sales 12.6 times more likely to occur. If the sales person or agent asks for the sale by saying something like, “Why don’t we go ahead and book the room for you,” and the caller responds by saying, ‘No;’ in 97% of the time the agent never says anything else of consequence.
However, if the agent would simply ask for the business one more time, the caller is 12.6 times more likely to purchase. Think about that!
This matters A GREAT DEAL. Persistence is key. Our data shows that.
There are substantial amounts of revenue and sales being lost because of a blatant lack of persistence. Most employees/agents/sales people at most businesses give up way too quickly.
Perhaps they’re afraid of being pushy or being irritating. But remember this: they called you. If you work at a hotel, you’re not making outbound calls from the front desk. They called you. If you work at a tire shop, someone calls in looking for tires. They called you. They want to buy from you. If they didn’t want to buy, if they weren’t in the market for what you’re selling, they wouldn’t have called. They called you. Remember that.
Be persistent. You’re leaving money on the table if you’re not.
And to sales trainers: train to this skill. It is vital.
