- October 19, 2011
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In a recent email to a group, I mentioned that (using the Baseline Selling model) they should have the following ratios (based on their historical data) to close 1. Then they simply need to multiply these numbers by the number of clients they need to close each month:
- 2 closable
- 3 qualified (3rd Base)
- 6 prospects (2nd Base)
- 9 suspects (1st Base)
- 20 total opportunities in the pipeline at any given point in time
In a follow up webinar, I asked how many of them had 21 opportunities in their pipeline. None did. We discussed how important it was for them to have their 21 opportunities in the pipeline at all times and asked them to send their lessons learned.
They sent their lessons but didn’t get it right. Their takeaway was that it requires 20 opportunities to sell 1. But that’s not correct. It requires 9 opportunities to sell 1. Why is that distinction important?
20 is frustrating, demoralizing, overwhelming. 9 – not so much. And for your salespeople at your company, the number might even be lower.
Make sure your salespeople understand the difference between how many opportunities need to be in each stage of their pipeline at any point in time, versus how many opportunities it takes to close 1.