Sharon Drew Morgen is a contrarian voice in the sales universe. She was perhaps among the first to point out that the sales process which has not changed (while everything around business has ) over the past 100 years need some relooking. Why should a 5% close rate be acceptable for companies?
A Study that PointClear did for a customer showed that out of 1000 marketing qualified leads only 3-14 closed. For an unnamed software leader spent over $200,000 per year on leads that sales never followed up on. When PointClear was asked to validate the leads they found that only 1.8% were even qualified companies, far from being a sales qualified lead. “What chance do you think there is that sales will work 9,000 “leads” when they know just 162 of them are even qualified companies? The sales close rate on these leads is zero percent. What a waste.” asked Dan McDade in the post.
The core of sales over the past century has been to identify buyers with needs for the solution the seller provides. A 7000 strong Martech landscape has emerged over the past decade with the SalesTech landscape developing into a 800 strong lineup in the past 3 – 4years. A very large portion, about 80% or so, of these are geared towards a) identifying prospects and b) monitor engagement and providing clues to their intent. Even with all this technology “we’re closing less due to both the complexity of business environments and the stakeholder involvement in buying decisions. No more single decision makers; stakeholders have a say in all decisions; the buyer’s system – the rules, criteria, history, relationships and politics – is complex and must be taken into account before anything is purchased. As a result, since the 1980s when I began training sales people, closing ratios have gone from 8% to 5%.” – writes Sharon.
The core question you need to answer is this : Do you want to sell or do you want someone to buy?
Over the next couple of weeks I would like to dwell upon the new reality and examine what is holding us back from recognizing the writing on the wall.
The value transaction initiative has shifted from supply to demand.
Links to referred articles :
Sales is an Outdated Model by Sharon Drew Morgen http://sharondrewmorgen.com/sales-is-an-outdated-model/
What Should the Sales Close Rates Be? by Dan McDade https://www.pointclear.com/blog/what-should-the-sales-close-rate-be
