A Tale of Two Salesmen

We''ve all heard the expression "He''s a born salesman!" at one time or another. The saying implies that there are some people that are more apt to being successful at sales than others. These people walk out the door, open their arms, and deals just fall out of the sky and into their arms because they have the Midas touch. Without question, there are people that actually are born salesman. They have the personality, charisma, and confidence that it takes and people are naturally drawn to them. But can you only succeed in sales if you are one of these people?

The answer that that question is a resounding "NO!". The fact is that most people that are successful at sales don''t fit this bill. Most people who are successful actually have many other things working for them rather than they are the center of attention and the life of the party when they show up. The truth is that a systematic salesman will beat a natural salesman, any day of the week.

A salesman with a system is more effective because if you break sales down into two parts, there are qualified prospects as well as converting those prospects into customers. Born salesman tend to be more of the ''fly by the seat of their pants'' type and they largely live off referrals from people that like doing business with them. Sure, many successful salesman ask for the referrals, but there is nothing systematic about it at all. They might bring it up, they might not. It depends on whether or not they remember. A salesman with a system actually has a process for everything so it''s consistent. They excel at bringing quality prospects into the funnel and working them down until they convert into customers. They have a process for weeding out unqualified customers, putting prospects on follow-up campaigns based on the situation, and for asking and receiving referrals and testimonials. While the born salesman might win at converting more prospects into customers because of their winning personality, the systematic salesman will do a better job at bringing more leads into the sales funnel, staying consistent to turn them into customers, and then leveraging the new customers in a systematic way to ensure they can get more referrals from those customers.

So don''t fret if you aren''t as personable as the next guy. The key is to know what is the ideal way to convert prospects into buyers and to get referrals. It might be that it takes an average of 12 contacts to get a new customer. Most salespeople will stop at 2 because they can''t remember when or who to call, but by setting up proper systems using CRM Software, you can be the person that gets to 12 and wins the customer. Sales is about numbers, no matter what sales trainer tells you. By knowing your metrics and knowing what the most efficient way to obtain a customer, you can setup your system so you always have a consistent and full pipeline. Why rely on your charm, when you can rely on your brain!

Dave Roth coaches salespeople to develop systems that converts prospects into customers and to free themselves from cold-calling. He runs and manages a website at Elite CRM Software which reviews CRM Software and trains salespeople how to leverage it.