Selling is Baseball Backwards

© 2006 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

As I was watching one of the Atlanta Braves final spring training games, I got to thinking about how baseball players and salespeople use some similar terms and principles. Then it occurred to me how hard it is to score in the game of selling unless you apply some of them backwards.

For example, salespeople can track their batting average, or closing percentage. We do that by comparing the number of sales "pitches" to the number of sales, or "hits," we get.

Here's where it gets goofy. Once a batter earns a trip to first base, only THEN can they get a lead. Salespeople need the lead first. In fact, their batting average depends on a generous supply of good leads.

The truth is, many salespeople never become big hitters because they never get enough leads.

IN PRACTICE, LOOK FORWARD.

When leads are scarce, a salesperson can't become efficient and productive. They never get a chance to develop a rhythm and dial in their optimal sales approach.

In baseball, hitters take batting practice because they want to look at a lot of pitches. They know that the more opportunities they have to hit, the better they'll get. Their batting average will go up.

It's the same with salespeople. They need a lot of regular plate appearances to give them opportunities to swing away at incoming leads. The more leads you give them, the more effective they become. The batting average, or closing percentage, will go up. That means more revenue while cost of sales goes down.

ARE THEY ANY GOOD?

A lead is someone who has indicated they want your product or service. Handing your salespeople a page from the phonebook does not qualify as "providing leads."

Like a baseball pitch, an incoming lead has got to be hittable, or it's worthless. If you have the best salesperson in the world on your team but give them nothing but junk to swing at, you'll both get frustrated, and your potential Hall-of-Famer will leave.

Some leads will be "in the dirt" or otherwise out of reach. When salespeople only get a few leads to work with, they'll chase the bad ones, wasting time and energy. If your salespeople seem to be striking out a lot, check first to see if the leads they're seeing are over the plate.

SOMEBODY'S GOING TO PAY.

It takes time and money to generate good leads. You need to decide if salespeople should do it themselves, or if the company will do it for them.

Professional ball clubs invest in pitching machines because they know that sharp, well-practiced hitters will have a positive impact on the scoreboard. They provide the resources to make sure their players are ready to play at their best. When the game's on the line and it's time to put the bat on the ball, a few inches means the difference between a home run and a strike out.

When you invest in a lead generation system for your business, you let your salespeople do what they do best: sell!

FINAL SCORE: YOU WIN!

In baseball, a base runner can't get generous leads until AFTER they've gotten a hit. In sales, there's nothing backward about getting great leads first, and then expecting big hits from your salespeople. Invest in a generous supply of good leads, and your sales team will score more often. The next thing you know, you'll all be cashing big league pay checks.



Selling is Baseball Backwards - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Johnson's Website.

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