One of the first business books I ever read was Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard.  Published in 1993, my employer at the time considered it required reading for anyone in a Customer Service, Sales or Account Management. 

I had a recent experience that inspired me to dust off the book and give it another read.

A quick story

Like many other attendees to the AA-ISP Leadership Summit, I visited the mall that is attached to the hotel (whoever chose that venue, you rock!). In the mall, I shopped at one of my favorite retailers and had a nice chat with the sales clerk while he was ringing up my purchase.

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I received a handwritten Thank You note in the mail the next week. It read:

Why did I find this simple gesture so impressive?

Not only did Jonathan demonstrate that he was listening; he also confirmed what he took away from the conversation. No matter the industry, reps need to take advantage of every opportunity to show how they (not just your company or your products) differentiate from the competition. 

At the end of the day, sales is a service and whoever provides the best service has the highest likelihood of winning the deal.

Photo credit: zooboing

 
It is a sales truism that we've been given two ears and one mouth and they should be used in roughly that proportion. This is the classical sales ratio - 2:1.

In recent years, there has been tremendous discussion and discovery around Sales as science, not art. I believe this to be true - at least in part. Sales is no longer a black box; a magical alchemy known only to the Sales illuminati.

(Take a look at HubSpot VP of Sales, Mark Roberge’s Scalable Predictable Sales & Marketing presentation for great perspective on metrics-based management)

The new sales ratio

Selling certainly isn't unknowable wizardry, but neither is it a chemical reaction.

That's why I'd like to suggest a new sales ratio. 1:1. 

A brief example

I'm lucky enough to have seen Jill Konrath present. Jill argues the case that buyers’ realities have changed (doing more with less, risk and change averse, using the web to self-educate) and this means our sales approaches must adapt.

 
Hiring great Inside Sales reps has never been harder.

Increased competition for top talent and supply lagging behind demand means that when we land that great rep we have to make their experience with us outstanding! It is as much about retention as recruitment, right?

Our recent hiring infographic noted that 41% of reqs take 45+ days to fill. This is creating quite a revenue gap.

I recently shared my thoughts about how you have to be interesting and different to draw talent to you. But let’s say you are successful, what then?

• How do you close the revenue gap by onboarding these reps as quickly as possible?
• How do you ensure a great experience for them and for the buyers that are going to be working with them?

Let’s start with the underlying problem

This week I had the pleasure of attending the AA-ISP Leadership Summit. Roughly 400 inside sales execs from a diverse group of industries were in attendance.