I recently had a salesman share his metrics with me.
- 3 proposals to sell 1
- 4 meetings to get 1 proposal
- 60-80 suspects worked 6 times to get 4 initial meetings
Then he asked
From what you've seen, how do those numbers compare with other agencies?
Are we better, worse, or the same?
I responded, "It's irrelevant how you compare because other agencies have different goals, different skills, different everything and you're all the same except the best. If you look at the best of anything, they don't measure themselves against anyone else, only themselves." I added, "I assume that these numbers are your company's rather than purely yours. It's OK, because metrics sometimes lie. At best, they're a guess. At worst, they can be a depressant."
Winning marathon runners seldom look back. They look to the next turn, to the next runner that they need to overtake, to the finish line, but when inetrviewed they typically reply with, "I ran my own race."
Does size matter? Somebody always has a bigger house, income, or fish that got away. No baseball player has ever batted 1000 for an entire season, but many have for a day. All hitting streaks come to an end.
Joe DiMaggio holds the Major League Baseball record with a streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941 which began on May 15 and ended July 17. DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak (91 for 223), with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. Wikipedia
So, metrics change daily and vary company to company and salesperson to salesperson. I told a story about closing the first 4 presentations that I made in a new job. It was big news in the office. Everybody wanted to know what I was doing. Can you imagine how I felt when the fifth prospect didn't buy? I also told the story about knocking on 183 doors in a row before somebody bought from me, but that person placed two orders and started me selling in a clique that made me a lot of money.
So, when I tell you that I'm 4 for 4, will you feel less successful if you aren't? If I tell you that I'm 1 for 183, will you gloat because you're 2 for 50? Why do you care about my metrics? You're not me. You don't know if I'm riding a wave, about to crash or about to recover.
Focus on you. Debrief but don't dwell. Adjust when necessary, but only after your debrief. One miss doesn't mean you've lost it and one in a row is the beginning of a streak.
Remember Success Secret #3? I learned that 40 years ago. I still do it today.
BTW, do you have leads, but they're not converting to sales? Check this out.