The conclusion of this study is noteworthy in that tips were not guaranteed to rise with every customer, but would create a trend toward more success. It was the long-term effect of the systematic short-term behavior that was significant. This approach to client management (i.e., the diner) yielded better long-term results for the sales agent (i.e., the waiter). Most significantly, the power in the information enabled the manager’s power of persuasion. How difficult will it be to persuade a salesperson to engage in desired behaviors when you can document and prove what powerful results will occur?
There is, in fact, a formula we can use that will yield predictable, positive long-term results for salespeople based on short-term behavioral adjustments. In the same way that the restaurant manager molded behavior based on the hard data, a sales manager can compare sales behaviors with results and conclude which techniques work best.
Consider a sales manager who evaluated call reports of two salespeople. Salesperson A averaged only 24 sales calls a week while Salesperson B consistently had an abundance of activity, averaging more than 30 sales calls a week. But despite having fewer calls overall, Salesperson A had better sales results. Upon further investigation, the sales manager found that Salesperson A scheduled an average of 12 appointments with customers and prospects a week while Salesperson B typically scheduled less than three appointments a week. As expected, Salesperson A had more fruitful dialogues while Salesperson B occasionally lucked out by catching a client at the right time. While both salespeople will have successes and failures in the short term, the relative use of time by Salesperson A is dramatically more powerful than that of Salesperson B, and in the long run Salesperson A will achieve better results.
So, in the same way that a restaurant study determined which systematic short-term behaviors would more frequently result in positive long-term results, we can apply a systematic approach to measuring short-term sales activity on a relative basis to predict long-term success.
Rather than enforcing rules and regulations on your sales team with no explanation, utilize the power of data to show them why certain techniques work better than others. Once they see the beneficial results of making appointments laid out with their own sales numbers over the course of a few weeks, they will be able to see the value of quality vs. quantity and will be more willing to adjust their selling strategies for the betterment of themselves and the bottom line.
