The value of knowing how many dials need to be made each day and how to figure it.
Do you know how many Dials you need to make today to have enough conversations that will be converted into enough appointments to hit your number at the end of the year?
The U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. team training has an exercise that consists of running until almost the last man has dropped out. They do that by not telling them how many miles they are going to run. They usually all drop out before they get to a marathon distance, yet runners in a marathon almost all make it that distance. To say that the S.E.A.L. applicants aren’t in shape enough to make it is incorrect, so what’s the difference?
It’s simple. The marathon runners have an end goal in mind. They know exactly how far they are going to run so when it starts hurting, they know what effort is still necessary to get to their goal and they can push themselves through the ‘wall’. It’s no different in selling. Sales teams without quota goals very seldom sell as much as teams that have specific sales goals because they don’t know how much they need to do each day in order to get somewhere. Whatever they decide to do today is enough.
Let’s take down a level of granularity. You know how many sales you need, don’t you? We all know that number. Quota divided by the average size of my sale will give me a target for the number of new sales. New sales people, however, sometimes struggle knowing whether they are doing enough of the right thing each day to hit their number, particularly if their buying cycles are long. Did I do enough of the right things today?
Here’s what I suggest you be able to answer to determine your daily activity levels. (Hint: they’re all ratios.)
- How many Initial Appointments (with Decision Makers) do I need to generate one prospect? Closing Ratio as measured from Initial Appointments.
- How many conversations do I need to have in order to generate an Initial Appointment? Appointment Ratio.
- How many dials must I make in order to get a conversation? Conversation Ratio.
If you can answer those questions, you can begin to measure whether or not you’re doing the right things each day. You can also determine the right amount of time to set aside for the all-important appointment making step. And if you fall behind, (and don’t we all from time to time?) you know just how much extra effort is required to get back on track.
If you’d like a tool to help you calculate that, let me know. We’ve developed an activity calculator that will do exactly that.
If you’d like more information on why no team of sales professionals has ever failed to at least double the number of Initial Appointments they were setting after going through one of our programs, give us a call or drop us a line. We love talking about the challenges of appointment making!
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at bcaponi@caponipg.com. You can also find answers to many of your challenges in our books: Contrary to Popular Belief, Cold Calling DOES Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, The Art of Appointment Making and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making.
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