Karl Schaphorst

Diane, a recent sales hire, got an email from her manager, Luis, suggesting that he accompany her on an initial sales call with a prospect – and then debrief with her on what he’d observed. Diane replied that she thought that was a great idea.

Leo, a new sales hire, was having a hard time making quota. He asked his colleague Sam for some help. Sam asked, “Can I sit in on your next presentation?” “Sure,” said Leo. “You can come along to my presentation appointment tomorrow. It’s an account I’ve been working on for a while. Let me know how it sounds.

Tom, a recent sales hire, was struggling. He knew his closing ratios were not what they could be. He asked his manager, Victor, for some help in figuring out why.

A patient visits the psychiatrist because he is having trouble sleeping at night. Each session, the trained psychiatrist asks a series of questions that slowly uncover the reason for insomnia. After a half-dozen meetings, the real issue surfaces from the depths of the subconscious and a plan is put in place to address the issue and the patient is enjoying restful nights again.

Math and science are used today to help us understand the world we live in. If we grasp the science behind something like gravity, for example, it can be used to predict how gravity will respond.

Quite regularly, I will get feedback from a client about a particular sales call and how it went. Recently a client of mine came up to me smiling and said, “I had the best sales call ever!” Wow, that is a big statement. I was curious what actually happened. What she told me warmed my heart because the call was almost effortless, the signed agreement was in her hands in record time and she stayed in her selling system from beginning to end. I hope I have hooked you because I am going to share with you what she did and why it worked so well.

Jim was on a roll. In the past five months, he had come from the bottom of the sales chart to the top. Everyone at the office was impressed. He was determined to stay number one. With this in mind, he decided that every client was going to receive additional attention at no charge. Stop in and visit them, see what “no-charge” help was needed and provide it. Let his clients know that he was available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And for the next three months, Jim’s clients thought of him as the best salesperson they had ever known.

Mark had been making a decent living for ten years as a salesperson. Always in the middle of the sales charts, Mark was comfortable with his selling skills. At least he was until taking his most recent sales position three months before.

About six months ago, Tim had done some research on firms in his sales territory and decided that The Hubble Group was a prime prospect. In the course of the research, he had obtained a publicly available corporate report which contained the names of all the company officers from the CEO down to the line managers.

So, if all things are equal: equal opportunity, equal time, equal obstacles to overcome and so on, who would win the sales contest? Would it be the male sales professional or the female sales professional?