Sales is not a numbers game

I was surfing the web this morning and came across a post by Frank Rumbauskas (author of the New York Times and Amazon #1 bestselling book, "Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling") who says, Sales is NOT A Numbers Game!

What do you think... is sales a numbers game? -AZBroker

If you think that "sales is a numbers game" means say anything you want to anyone you want and eventually you will get a sale then 'no' sales is not a numbers game. I do not know anyone who thinks that is what "sales is a numbers game" means. -Houston

Yes, the more qualified prospects you have appointments with the odds are the more deals you are going to get. I guarantee it! ;co

Maybe "cold calling" means something different to Frank. :dun -Mikey

However ... even if you're satisfied with cold calling, would you make more money if you didn't have to spend your time making cold calls, and instead you simply had the leads coming in? Of course you would! ;bg

Most salespeople will never achieve a six figure income because of the amount of time they spend cold calling, when that time would be better spent closing sales instead of hunting for leads. Self-marketing enables you to eliminate cold calling, have leads come to you, and give you 100% of your time to spend in front of qualified prospects. -NeverColdCall

Yes, exactly, and when you are making cold calls you are NOT on a call with a qualified prospect. Your very own statement quoted above proves my point. On the "Sales Is Not A Numbers Game" issue, if you read the original post you will see that I'm talking specifically about cold calling, so please do not try to play a semantics game with me. -NeverColdCall

No semantics game intended. I'll modify my statement to address cold calling versus qualified appointments.

... sales is a numbers game meaning the more calls (skilled cold calling) you make to potential buyers the more deals you are going to get. Wouldn't you agree?

BTW, what does cold calling mean to you? Does it mean telephone prospecting or door-to-door prospecting or both?

Also, did you agree with the other two points in the same post that you quoted? -AZBroker

I used to argue with marketing on the difference between an inquiry and a lead. An inquiry is someone looking for information and a lead is someone who raises their hand and says 'I'm interested'. They wanted to call everything 'leads'

The reason I mention this is to show how sales isn't a numbers game. Most sales people would rather have 1 lead than 10 inquiries.

I would agree that sales is not a numbers game if the prospects are attracted through the correct marketing message.

Susan -susana

Isn't the concept of sales being a numbers game about the ratio of contacts to closed deals? If the contacts are unqualified then the conversion rates will be lower than if the contacts are qualfied but you're still talking about the ratio of contacts to closed deals right? -Slick

Yes, I'm talking about the ratio of closed deals to the number of inquiries generated. (contacts)


Susan -susana

This is why sales is a numbers game right? -Slick

I don't have Frank's system, but I believe his premise is that many people believe the more cold calls you make or marketing inquiries you bring in, the more sales you'll close.
I worked for a company that advertised everywhere for a product that few people could afford. It was a 25 hour jet card. Average price: $150,000.
They advertised during the first Apprentice episode. The next day they were flooded w/ people calling and emailing. All it did was tie up my time. These were not prospects!! Because they couldn't afford the product.
When you say 'sales is a numbers game' you make the assumption that the more inquiries you generate, the more sales you'll generate. As I described in the story above...lots of inquiries from unqualified prospects doesn't close more sales.

Susan -susana

I think different people might interpret the statement "sales is a numbers game" in different ways.

I too don't have Frank's system so I don't know which interpretation he is using. With multiple interpretations available a claim such as "sales is not a numbers game" is sure to alienate somebody.

I would be very interested in hearing what Frank means specifically.

Do you think your company's marketing campaign was designed to generate qualified leads or just to get anyone and everyone to inquire? -AZBroker

I vaguely remember a story about an insurance salesman who did well by calling cold out of the phone book. :yi -Slick

Do you think your company's marketing campaign was designed to generate qualified leads or just to get anyone and everyone to inquire?[/quote]

it was done so the VP of Marketing could show what a great job he was doing.....bringing in big numbers of leads.

Susan -susana

I can only speak for myself, but I'd rather use targeted marketing to bring me people who are more likely to close.
With most people having caller id these days, I can't imagine it would be easy to cold call on the phone. Also, most states have the "Do not Call" list, and if you're on it, people can't solicit you on the phone.

Susan -susana

I think that was the exception not the norm. ;st

Caller ID and the "Do not call" list apply to B2C but not so much for B2B right? -Slick

In the normal course of business was that companies general marketing strategy designed to generate qualified leads or just to get anyone and everyone to inquire? -AZBroker

It was quantity, not quality. And all the leads came directly to the sales person. So, I spent my day sifting through tirekickers.:cr

Susan -susana

Sales is a numbers game. The more you see the more you will sell... eventually. ;tmt -Seth

This is right on the money. ;co -BossMan

Assertions like "sales is not a numbers game" address an ignorant viewpoint. Newbies might think you can sell to any warm body but seasoned pros know better.

-Liberty

Moderators Note: Thread title has been changed to "Sales is not a numbers game." -Admin-Asst

Everyone seems to be arguing around the point.

Sales IS a numbers game. Its all about numbers; how many calls you makes affects your qualified leads; How many qualified people you speak to affects your number of appointments; and how many appointments you have with qualified prospects affects how many sales you can ultimately make.

Oh and commission/ bonuses - there are some more numbers for you!sn; -Julian

Yeah I reckon it is. -Snowboy

I have read his books, including the newer one Selling Sucks. And here is my take:

I have tried most of his ideas consistently for about 6 months, and have seen very little in the way of results. Some of the methods he recommends for "self marketing" will be more or less effective based on the area you live in and industry you serve.

Frank is a marketer, and he got me to buy his book (props to him-he won), but it was little more than repurposed content from his original Cold Calling is a waste of time. In "THEORY" it all sounds great, however, if you go cold turkey and spend all of your time self marketing and avoid your job or "creating opportunity," which we are all paid to do, you will be VERY disappointed with the results. It does not happen overnight.

So as long as the material is tempered with a longer range plan with cold calling involved in the interim, that is fine.

BUT,

People still buy from people. A consistent cold caller will always produce because HE/SHE is in front of people. I'll take 10 serious cold callers on my team over 10 self marketers anyday until I see results to the contrary. -Telephone Guru

Advertising is also a numbers game. The term Reach refers to the total number of different people or households exposed to an ad campaign during a certain span of time, and frequency means the number of times the same person is exposed to a campaign. Effective frequency refers to the number of times a person is exposed before the message becomes effective. Based on these definitions advertising is a numbers game also.

Rita -Rita_Jo