Data-Driven Selling By Sales Insights Lab

Sales Secret #1: Know your lead gen math.

This sales secret often seems counterintuitive to salespeople. Why? Because few salespeople out there are focused on the math behind their success.

Instead, they’re focused on what they have to say, or do, to be successful. But knowing the math behind your lead generation efforts is absolutely critical, too.

This is one of those sales secrets that truly separates top performers from the rest of the pack. Assuming your lead generation processes are strong enough (you have a decent prospecting call, and you send out solid emails), knowing the math behind your lead generation is the next imperative for success.

Sales Secret #2: All that matters is what leads to sales.

When it comes to sales secrets that really make a difference, this one creates a tremendously important distinction. The vast majority of salespeople get so distracted throughout the day by tasks that are not sales-related. But in the end, all that matters is what leads to sales. 

Every single task you do that’s not helping you close more sales is ultimately a distraction. You need to become really, really strong at removing all that clutter from your day.

You only have so many hours in the day. Make sure those hours are spent toward generating sales, and nothing else.

Sales Secret #3: “No” isn’t bad.

There are three potential outcomes in any selling situation: yes, no, or some wishy-washy version of “I’ll get back to you” or “I need to think it over.” Getting a “yes” is great, of course. And getting a “no” is also a good thing. (The only outcome we want to avoid at all costs is the no-man’s-land “think it over” answer.)

There’s a simple reason why getting a “no” is good: You never want to be pushing your prospects to tell you “yes” because it will ultimately lead to way more “think it overs.” If a prospect doesn’t want to do business with you, then they’re not going to.

When you make “no” a viable option for prospects, they feel so much less pressure in the selling interaction. This is one of the few really powerful sales secrets that only the best salespeople know. Remember, “think it overs” are what you actually want to avoid. Getting a “no” is fine. 

Sales Secret #4: Don’t serve. Help people make the right decision.

Don’t be a doormat. This shouldn’t be one of the best-kept sales secrets out there, but unfortunately it is. Far too many salespeople are just glorified customer service reps who do whatever the prospect asks. That’s not your job. Your job is not to serve your prospects.

Your job is to serve your clients, sure—but your clients are those who are already doing business with you. Anyone who has not done business with you yet is not a client. They are prospects. And so, your goal is simply to help those people make the right decision.

If a prospect is a good fit, they should ultimately be making the right decision (with your help), which is to work with you. If they are not the right fit, move on. That's it. Don’t be a doormat.

Sales Secret #5: Great salespeople aren’t talkative.

As far as sales secrets go, this might be one of the most surprising to you. We’ve all been bombarded by the myth that effective salespeople are chatty, friendly, super-talkative people. But in reality, the data shows that great salespeople aren’t necessarily extroverts. In fact, most great salespeople fall right in the middle of the spectrum between extroverts and introverts.

Great salespeople are great listeners. They're great at engaging people in conversations. They're great at disarming prospects and making them feel comfortable to share what's going on in their world. That's what a great salesperson does. It's not about telling funny jokes. It's simply about being able to effectively engage prospects in the types of conversations that you want to have.

Sales Secret #6: Have a process. Don’t make it up.

I saved this for last on my list of top sales secrets, because it’s so important. Very few salespeople have a formalized sales process in place. Let me ask you a question: Do you have a formalized sales process where you know exactly what to do at every single phase of the sale? Do you know every question you're going to ask? Do you know exactly what you’re going to present to your prospects? And if so, is that process working to the degree that you want it to?

The truth is, the vast majority of salespeople don’t have a process in place at all. You must commit to having one. Don’t make it up. Use a data-driven approach to more effectively engage prospects in conversation, and ultimately present your solution to the challenges they have mentioned.