The 10 Percent Rule for Top Sales Performers

Leslie DicksonPosted by Leslie Dickson on March 2nd, 2010 | 2 Comments

In any sales organization it’s tempting to congratulate top performers and focus development attention on the lower tiers. The best salespeople are, by definition, at their peak. Right? They’re already delivering all they can to the bottom line. Aren’t they?

Not necessarily. In my work with sales organizations across the U.S., clients have found that while top sales professionals are doing a lot of things right, there’s virtually always opportunity for improvement.

Think about the impact a boost for the best could have. If your top sales people could deliver 10 percent more to the bottom line, the incremental dollars could be much bigger than the combined total of three, five or even ten lower-level salespeople.  

In developing custom programs with clients, I’ve found that the strengths of the top sales executives are generally robust product knowledge and a large base of clients and prospects. Experience and a well-developed Rolodex have taken them a long way. So where’s the room for improvement?

One of my clients asked each salesperson to make a product presentation to a small group of the company’s corporate executives. The results were startling.  The communications skills of the best performers were often not markedly better than lower performing colleagues. This client realized if they could super-charge their best, the impact would be immediate and impressive. Post-training presentations showed remarkable improvement with a mesurable increase in sales. That’s not just the opinion of participants; it’s a measure in significant sales growth.  

Now multiply the effect. How? The salespeople we worked with are now more effective mentors to the people they supervise. Their new leadership skills in teaching, inspiring and reinforcing more successful communications have created a pyramid of higher sales performance.   

How can you invoke the 10 percent rule in your own organization? Here are some tips:

  • Don’t change your sales process – just develop better ways to execute it.  Recognize the success of what’s working. The goal is incremental improvement by developing better ways of communicating within the existing process.  
  • Ask a better question – get a better answer. Listening–really listening–to customers opens up a world of opportunity. Ask questions that touch on pain points. Then be prepared to shape your response to address that need. Ask, listen, then respond.  
  • Consider the emotional elements of the sale. Humans are emotional creatures. For example, in finance, they may be preoccupied with security issues or the need to hit a monetary goal.  In manufacturing, it may be low productivity or excessive maintenance costs. In professional services, the need for image and expertise is always paramount. A single story, analogy, or example can touch the heart, distilling an entire message into a more memorable picture than pages of data can.  
  • Organize information for powerful interactions. Whether it’s in your computer, card file or personal memory, have information organized for easy reference. Maybe it’s by industry, or competition, or some other factor. Quickly review it before a meeting or call. When you have accurate information and appropriate stories at your fingertips, you’re ready for a 10 percent more successful interaction.
  • Learn to sell in all market conditions.  You can’t control the economy, but you can adapt to it if you’re ready to meet people where they are. In a tough or down market? Be prepared to respond to anger and frustration with new ideas or ways of looking at their businesses. Consider ways to bundle products or add on a low-cost service that creates an advantage.  Remember that service, convenience, trust, and peace of mind count for a lot.  

In my experience, the top performers often gain the most because they have the strongest foundation. As role models and mentors they strengthen the rest of the team. And the bottom line results are the proof.

Image by Jabroni181

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