Other than manual labor, sales is one of the toughest jobs. According to Hubspot and an analysis of 8,900 businesses, the average sales close rate is 19%. Nineteen percent! In baseball, a game of failure, a .190 average is abysmal. That means you’ll hear “no” eight times before you hear a “yes.”
In marketing and advertising — my industry — the average close rate is only 11%. That means I get to hear “no” nine times before I get a “yes”.
Ok, let’s extrapolate that. Out of 100 prospects, I’ll hear “no” 90 times.
Sales is tough. It can be demoralizing. But it doesn’t have to be.
If sales isn’t your thing, you hire someone to do it — find someone whose thing is sales. Or you read a book, or you attend a workshop, or you find a consultant to train you. You improve or you delegate.
And you don’t become a gross sales person. You work at building trust with your customers, and trust with your prospects. Find common ground. Work to solve problems. Offer something for nothing. When you say you’re gonna do something, do it.
The crazy part is, it doesn’t matter how great or awesome your product or service is. You’re going to hear no. It’s part of the deal. But every no gets you that much closer to a yes.* The fact will remain, doing sales means taking it on the chin.
* I didn’t come up with this quote, it’s something I heard another salesperson say over a decade ago. I wish I knew the source.