Back in December I posted this article to my Blog on the concept of less being more. You should read that first.

This week, Al Strauss, my guest on Meet the Sales Experts, provided a case history on the subject.

He had a client who, when he met them, closed 4 deals for every 100 quotes they prepared and submitted.  Not only that, it took their highly paid engineers anywhere from 1 hour to 1 week to complete those quotes.  After he worked with them, they were quoting only 18 of those 100 opportunities and closing 12 of them.  That's an 85% reduction in quotes in return for triple the sales.  Truly a case of less is more.  Would you like to hear how he did this?  Listen to the show.

Al also said that right now is the perfect time to figure out who will go out and hunt because, right now, there aren't many salespeople actually calling on your prospects, especially in the industrial and consumer segments.  He also said this is the time to terminate your non-producers and use that money to improve the capabilities of your sales force.

Click here to listen to the show.  Click here to contact Al.

I often get to see things six to twelve months before they happen.  When manufacturing placed projects and orders on hold as they did last October, it's easy to predict that it will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months. 

The word from clients so far this week is that manufacturers are taking projects off of hold and releasing money - even in the automotive industry!  That too will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months.

Today I also heard from a client whose house sold in just one day.

Housing and automotive - positive signs from both camps - truly good news for everyone.

It makes your salespeople feel better, it gives them hope, and in turn it makes them work with more confidence.  When they are out there giving it their all, not letting the resistance get to them. following the sales process, using appropriate strategies and tactics, not accepting the first stall, put-off, objection or rejection that comes their way, you have a much better chance that your struggling sales force will generate some much needed revenue.

Haven't heard any good signs in your own industry yet?  Make some calls and talk with some people until you find even one example.  Then spread the good word to all of your salespeople and let them in on the win - even if it wasn't a win for your own company.

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan

I was thinking about the difference between the clients that achieve rapid progress, with very measurable change, in the first six months of sales development versus those that show more typical progress where change has begun to take place but it might not be measurable yet.

It's a fairly simple difference.

They were change ready.

Rather than resisting change for three months and then slowly embracing those concepts they were comfortable with, the change-ready clients embraced the concepts from the start.

Are you change ready?

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan