We just watched the Patriots and the SeaHawks battle it out in Super Bowl 49. Just 8 minutes into the game it was obvious that second efforts would be the rule of the day. Then, with less than two minutes to left to play, we witnessed THE CATCH – requiring a fourth or perhaps even a fifth effort – that put the SeaHawks in a position to win. It wasn’t meant to be as the Patriots came up big on defense with a key interception to earn the victory.
As I write this, we’re expecting yet another 12-18 inches of snow, on top of last week’s blizzard. Tomorrow, in the thick of the storm, I’ll be training Objective Management Group’s (OMG) 30 newest partners. Many of them are struggling to reach Boston because the same storm that is bearing down on us is wreaking havoc across the Midwest today. But one by one, they are getting here. Second efforts. And on our end, we needed to make a number of alternate arrangements to get everyone here safely. Second efforts, and more. Which brings us to selling. How many salespeople do you think make appropriate second efforts?
I’m not talking about when salespeople are pestering prospects that have no interest. I’m talking about when salespeople are told they lost; or the article from a couple of weeks ago when a salesperson closed the deal and then lost it when the prospect had a change of mind.
OMG has a lot of statistics on second efforts. All of the elite 6% and many of the next 20% are able to make to make a second effort. But the majority of the bottom 74% can’t. And it’s not for a lack of skills, it’s because of their Sales DNA. There are several strands of Sales DNA that make it next to impossible for most salespeople to step up, push back and take control of their destiny:
- 54% of Salespeople have Need for Approval – a salesperson’s need to be liked prevents them from asking a lot of questions beyond a no, and especially tough questions or challenging their prospect.
- 86% of Salespeople are Too Trusting – a salesperson that is too trusting will accept at face value what their prospect says and when they hear it’s a “no” they accept that and won’t consider a need to push back.
- 72% of Salespeople Have Difficulty Recovering from Rejection – salespeople that struggle to overcome being rejected are typically in no kind of shape to quickly bounce back and make a second effort.
- 18% of Salespeople Lack Commitment – it takes tremendous commitment to do whatever it takes to succeed in sales. Salespeople that possess only conditional commitment – the salesperson agrees with what must be done, it’s not to difficult, and it’s not too scary – will totally bail out after a “no”. It’s too difficult for them to overcome.
- 84% of Salespeople have Self-Limiting Beliefs – when salespeople are told, “No” and they believe that it’s “Not polite to push back,” that belief will stop most salespeople in their tracks.
When I was a young salesperson in the 1970’s, the very first professional sales training video (actually film back then) that I watched starred the legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The topic? Second Efforts. Tonight I found a 1:15 second clip from that timeless video on YouTube.
Second Efforts can be the difference between a loss and a win. Would you like to know which of your salespeople are capable second efforts? It’s part of a sales force evaluation from OMG!
