In the first paragraph, of the first chapter of his book, “The Science of Selling” David Hoffeld sites a Harvard Business Review report which claims that “only 37% of sales people were consistently effective.”

That should be a worry for the leader of any business development team dedicated to growing sales, especially when another report from the same source claims that staff typically only operate at “31% of their fullest capacity.”

The good news for all to see however is the opportunity for improvement – things can only get better and with the right kind of sales training and coaching, they usually do.

The first challenge is the acknowledgement that things aren’t perfect to start with – cognitive dissonance can be as much of an issue with poor performing individuals and teams, as say, a faltering economy or an unsettling political landscape.

Increasing marketing expenditure, or increasing the size of the sales team, for example, is seldom the answer if the root of the problem comes from within.

Hoffeld, in framing his book, says:

“Despite tremendous contributions of information and communications technology, selling is largely a function of personal relations, which are guided by the artful ability to recognise motivations, needs and perceptions.”

The art of persuasion, along with a heightened level of emotional intelligence is usually categorised as “soft skills.”

Whatever…but if your sales team lack any of the above, no large amount of highly-targeted email or timely social media is going to help them.

What if you in some way could energise your team and help them focus on those skills, driving productivity, attitude and results…?

Shift Control is a business growth consultancy specialising in bringing together sales skills, sales strategy, sales coaching and marketing communications to help SMEs grow their business profitably.

If you think we can help drop us one email at info@shift-control.co.uk