Month: September 2010

Baseball vs. Selling

It is very difficult to hit a baseball, thrown at over 80 mile per hour, with a regulation sized bat. You get to swing the bat at the ball up to three times, each time you get up to bat. If you get a hit one out of every four times at bat, that’s up to twelve attempts to hit the ball. Almost any team will pay you $2,000,000 a year to do that. You also get a three month vacation and free coaching. If you can get a hit one out of every three times you go to bat, you can make upwards of $5,000,000 per year. That is the sports entertainment business.

by Jacques Werth

It is very difficult to hit a baseball, thrown at over 80 miles per hour, with a regulation sized bat.  You get to swing the bat at the ball up to three times, each time you get up to bat.  If you get a hit one out of every four times at bat, that’s up to twelve attempts to hit the ball.  Almost any team will pay you $2,000,000 a year to do that.  You also get a three month vacation and free coaching.  If you can get a hit one out of every three times you go to bat, you can make upwards of $5,000,000 per year.  That is the sports entertainment business.

In most other businesses, salespeople only make about $165,000 per year to sell one out of four prospects.  On average they get about 4 attempts to sell each prospect.   Salespeople who sell three out of four prospects and only need to make 2 attempts per prospect, often make upwards of $700,000 – and they have to pay for their own coaching.  However, it’s a lot easier than hitting a baseball.

People Buy in Their Own Time for Their Own Reasons

People don’t buy because you convinced them. People don’t buy because you think they need what you are selling. People don’t buy because you create an urgency. People don’t buy because you need to make a sale. People don’t buy because they are interested.

by Jacques Werth

This may be the single most important buying concept that most salespeople never learn.

  • People don’t buy because you convinced them.  Persuasion creates resistance.
  • People don’t buy because you think they need what you are selling, even if you are right.
  • People don’t buy because you create an urgency.
  • People don’t buy because you need to make a sale.
  • People don’t buy because they are interested.

Prospects who are merely “interested” are not ready to buy.  Yet, salespeople try to get prospects interested in their products and services.  Those salespeople believe that educating prospects is a good sales strategy, and that a prospect will feel obligated in some way.  However, this makes the prospect feel uncomfortable.  Therefore, when prospects really are ready, willing, and able to buy, they seldom buy from the salesperson who educated them.

The good news is that, at any given time, a small percentage of the market for your type of products and services is ready, willing, and able to buy.  The best salespeople know how to find them and close sales with them quickly.  Meanwhile, the other salespeople are spending their time with prospects that are not ready to buy.