That's according to Ken Edmundson, my guest on yesterday's edition of Meet the Sales Experts.

He said that business as we see it today is the new normal and that for most companies, taking business away from the competition is the only avenue for rebuilding sales and growth.

Ken said that 80% of all the new business created by professional salespeople takes an average of 18 months to create! 

He said that 75% of the salespeople he trains had made only 4 attempts over 4 months before giving up.

And he said that 21% will hang in there - they're rejection proof and resiliant - but they become pests that prospects won't want to speak to.

The remaining 4% - looks pretty close to my elite 6% - do it right.

Speaking of the elite, here's something you and your salespeople might be interested in.

It's the World's Greatest Salesperson Contest and to enter you just submit a video, via YouTube, of you are selling a Red Brick! Follow that link for contest premise and details.

Click here to Listen to the Radio Show.  Click here to contact Ken.

My guest on this week's episode of Meet the Sales Experts was Ken Edmundson.  We were talking about hiring when he he said that there is an 82% chance of making a hiring mistake when management does not know how their candidate is wired.  He said it's a mistake when they are fired, they quit, or they under achieve.  He went on to say that you can't hire without an interview and a background check and you can't hire by only doing those two things.  He named 4 things that cause these mistakes:

1. they have the wrong DNA to do it
2. they are not trained to do it
3. they have personal issues
4. they aren't a good fit for the culture.

Ken had a new example of number four that I can't even include in this article.  You'll have to listen to the show to hear this incredible explanation!  And when it comes to the DNA of salespeople, nobody does a better job of presenting you with their DNA than Objective Management Group.

Ken said that "when a sales manager says, 'what my salespeople do when they walk out the door is none of my business' means that we have a problem with the sales manager."

Ken had dozens of great tips and suggestions during our conversation.  Listen to the show for all of the rest!

You can click here to listen.  You can click here to contact Ken.

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan