Scary Statistics on Salespeople

Adding to the previous thoughts on salespeople and how difficult it is to hire predictably in Sales, I was recently forwarded these statistics (based on assessing 350,000 sales candidates) that were produced by Dave Kurlan, the Founder of the Objective Management Group.  You might want to be sitting down before reading this if you’re a Sales Manager.  If you’re a business owner, definitely sit down!

24% of all candidates will not prospect – at all! 
Only 1% of all hunters have the complete Hunter Skill Set.
Only 8% of all candidates could be considered Hunters (and don’t you typically hire salespeople to prospect?)

Why?  Salespeople who dislike prospecting dislike it for a reason.  They have beliefs and fears that cause anxiety and physical reactions to even the thought of prospecting. So some won’t do it at all, some will have difficulty getting started and some will have difficulty finishing.

45% of all candidates will not close – at all! 
Less than 1% of all candidates have the complete Closer Skill Set. 

Why? Salespeople confuse asking with getting.  Most salespeople know how to ask for the business but very few salespeople know how to get the business when prospects resist.  As with hunting, there are beliefs and fears that impact their behavior and when salespeople aren’t comfortable saying the words you’ve taught them, they substitute words that make them more comfortable.  What makes them comfortable?  

Presenting features and benefits, actions that don’t put their prospects on the spot, that don’t create stalls, put-offs, objections and excuses, that they absolutely don’t want to deal with.

Bottom line: unless you have a recruiting, assessment and interviewing process that really helps you identify what really drives a Salesperson you’re likely going to end up, “Interviewing and offering a role to Brad Pitt but Borat will show up for the first day on the job” (Thanks K. Scheible for a tremendous word picture). 

Tags: Baseline Selling, Borat, Brad Pitt, Closer, Dave Kurlan, Hunter, Karl Scheible, Market Sense, Objective Management Group, Qualifier