5 Factors Influencing the Sales Performance Gap

 

by Lisa Leitch, CSP2 

Only 53% of sales performers achieve their sales goals each year. This year, this number will drop below 49% and many of my sales colleagues and experts are forecasting it could be closer to 40%.  Some industries like home renovation & building materials, pet supply and janitorial/cleaning are seeing a major up-swing in the increase in sales…and even these sales performers are being impacted by these 5 factors.

In working closely with sales leaders and their sales teams, we have identified these top 5 factors that are influencing sales performance, and what you can do to combat them to close the gap…

1. Human Disconnection

Most sales professionals are outgoing social creatures who thrive on relationships, bringing people together to secure the deal and being road warriors.  Sales pros are feeling disconnected from their clients, fellow sales team members, and even from their sales leaders. Lack of F2F human interaction, collaboration and networking is disconnecting sales professionals, and in turn, they’re becoming less motivated and enthusiastic. Ways to combat this would be implementing 1:1 Coaching Calls, daily huddles, virtual coffee breaks, and ringing the bell when securing sales.  A simple way to eliminate disconnection is turn on your video during virtual calls and ask your customer to turn on their camera – it will build rapport, trust and can turn into business!

2. Commitment

Salespeople are feeling less committed to their roles, which can greatly impact their sales performance. The decreased motivation sent people into a ‘service’ vs ‘sell’ mindset to be more sensitive to their clients during these uncertain times of COVID, though it often results in pushing goals to the back burner. Low commitment can change by creating stronger goals that will get a sales professional excited to take their sales performance to the next level of sales success, and aligned to the company goals.  Choosing a personal goal to work on after work hours will increase productivity and commitment when working, especially when these goals are shared with managers to increase accountability. A new hobby or interest can ignite an internal spark.

3. Prospecting

Due to lack of tradeshows, events, and travelling, prospecting has taken a hard hit during COVID,  exposing a major gap in sales performance. The lack of tradeshows, live meetings, drop-ins, and conferences leaves salespeople dry for leads and forces harder prospecting. A way to combat this is by committing to a 90-day virtual prospecting blitz.  A simple strategy of 5 prospecting calls by 5pm, or even 10 calls by 10am – along with the double whammy approach will generate more leads.

4. Presenting solutions to solve a problem

In this virtual-selling reality, simply sending a quote or proposal via email and hoping it gets a “yes” is not going to cut it. Salespeople must demonstrate GRIT, by being more creative and proactive in their presentations now that they are virtual. Schedule a virtual call to present your solution to them, and make sure your proposal actually solves a problem! If you can demonstrate what problem your solution solves and how it would benefit the buyer, your chances of scoring a “yes” improve dramatically.

5. PURPOSE Consultative Conversations.

Too many salespeople are unsure how to conduct a great virtual call and are bumbling through the call frustrating themselves and even the buyer for not being purposeful.  Our PURPOSE Conversation is a proven framework that will build confidence in a simple step-by-step approach to demonstrate you are being consultative right from preparing for the meeting, all the way through executing next steps. Download our complimentary PURPOSE Conversation template from our Tools & Templates page here.

Closing these gaps is incredibly important, ignoring them will only make them widen and push sales goals further out of reach. Being aware of these performance gaps is the first step on the road to sales recovery.

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