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Are The Stats Wrong In Sales?!

by DesmondTan
10 replies
Hi!

If i am not wrong, the statistics for selling is something like this:

Face To Face- 20-40% Conversion
Phone: 10-20% Conversion
Direct Mail, Internet: 1-2%

If the statistics stay true, why are people on this forum saying they dont meet people anymore and stick to selling through phone which could reduce their conversion from 10-30% especially if they are a skilled closer(they should close more through face to face meetings?
#effective #sales #show #statistics #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    The statistics you quote are made up. They are meaningless.

    The problem is that I hear them from otherwise intelligent people who know nothing about marketing.

    Where the heck do people get these numbers?

    Chane a price point, make a different offer, select a better list, personalize the e-mail, change what you say one the phone, take that stupid earing out of your nose when you go door to door...

    All of these things dramatically change the results.

    The figures given aren't averages. Someone gives a figure in a magazine article, ands a year later it becomes some sort of Law.

    It would be like saying "83% of all statistics are completely made up. Including this one"
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  • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
    What's missing in the meeting conversion number,
    is the conversion number to get that meeting.

    Another words, there's another step that went in before it.

    The exception would be a cold walk in.

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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Originally Posted by DesmondTan View Post

    Hi!

    If i am not wrong, the statistics for selling is something like this:

    Face To Face- 20-40% Conversion
    Phone: 10-20% Conversion
    Direct Mail, Internet: 1-2%

    If the statistics stay true, why are people on this forum saying they dont meet people anymore and stick to selling through phone which could reduce their conversion from 10-30% especially if they are a skilled closer(they should close more through face to face meetings?
    Well, because the statistics you mentioned aren't true.... but let me answer your question with your statistics.

    So face to face selling, cold walking in, you're traveling to the location, and walking or driving in between locations. Lets say it takes 1 hour per meeting with drive time, that is IF you get someone actually interested enough to agree to a meeting and assuming they will meet with you on the spot. A phone call, if it goes very well can take about 5 minutes. if you're making 20 calls that are 5 minutes each, then in 2 hours you have made 2 sales with your statistics. However, face to face, you're making 1 sale, if that.

    Face to face is good... However, you have to look at it beyond the conversion rate %. You have to factor in, conversion rate, time, and expenses (gas)(mileage).

    All this though.. doesn't matter because those stats are not the average.

    Saying the internet is 1%... is kind of broad and really inaccurate. Same with direct mail, although 1% is common in many DM campaigns.
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    • Profile picture of the author WFAlex
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      However, you have to look at it beyond the conversion rate %. You have to factor in, conversion rate, time, and expenses (gas)(mileage).
      This is spot on. No matter what statistics may be the right ones (they're just an industry average anyway), if one medium gives you a lower conversion rate the increased reach and ability to present the deal to more people in less time will make up for it and actually outperform methods with high conversion rates.

      On top of that, at least from my experience, it's a lot easier to just send a script to a call center and have them handle all the work than trying to find people that will go door-to-door for you.
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Saying the internet is 1%... is kind of broad and really inaccurate. Same with direct mail, although 1% is common in many DM campaigns.
      True. That 1% can go up to any other percentage depending on where the traffic comes from, how well it is pre-sold and how well the offer matches the target audience. Conversion rates are not created equal
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    • Profile picture of the author DesmondTan
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Well, because the statistics you mentioned aren't true.... but let me answer your question with your statistics.

      So face to face selling, cold walking in, you're traveling to the location, and walking or driving in between locations. Lets say it takes 1 hour per meeting with drive time, that is IF you get someone actually interested enough to agree to a meeting and assuming they will meet with you on the spot. A phone call, if it goes very well can take about 5 minutes. if you're making 20 calls that are 5 minutes each, then in 2 hours you have made 2 sales with your statistics. However, face to face, you're making 1 sale, if that.

      Face to face is good... However, you have to look at it beyond the conversion rate %. You have to factor in, conversion rate, time, and expenses (gas)(mileage).

      All this though.. doesn't matter because those stats are not the average.

      Saying the internet is 1%... is kind of broad and really inaccurate. Same with direct mail, although 1% is common in many DM campaigns.
      Guys, do you ever have the feeling that if you speak to someone on the phone and they sense you are trying to sell them something, the one and only thing on their mind is not to buy but to find an excuse to hang up the phone, or simply hang up without telling you?

      Even if you do friendly chatter trying to build rapport, they are thinking "Why should i waste my time talking to this fellow who i have not met even if he is friendly to me?"

      But dont you have the feeling that if they have made the commitment to meet you in person that they are likely to be more patient and is it easier to get the meeting to last for half an hour for you to get all the details from them to make the sale, answer their objections etc and build rapport? On top of that, if you treat them to lunch or dinner, dont you feel that it activates the law of reciprocity which then makes them more likely to buy from you?

      While you are restricted to maybe 2 appointments per day, at least these are good ones(if you qualify them first) and they are more likely to refer people to you- Try getting 3 referrals from a five to ten minute conversation on the phone through cold calling when all they hear is your voice!

      Jordan Belfort is the best proponent of selling through the phone through tonality and scripting but i guess that real estate agents dont sell houses by phone, and nor do million dollar a year producer insurance agents either...

      And as for the costs and time of traveling from place to place, i guess it differs from country to country. I come from a small country so if i dont even make the effort to travel to another place in the city to meet, the prospect is going to think: What is wrong with the product or service such that he/she doesn't dare to meet me for a half hour appointment if he is sincere in selling me something?

      But i suppose if the prospect refuses to meet, we could talk over the phone...
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by DesmondTan View Post

        Guys, do you ever have the feeling that if you speak to someone on the phone and they sense you are trying to sell them something, the one and only thing on their mind is not to buy but to find an excuse to hang up the phone, or simply hang up without telling you?

        Even if you do friendly chatter trying to build rapport, they are thinking "Why should i waste my time talking to this fellow who i have not met even if he is friendly to me?"

        But dont you have the feeling that if they have made the commitment to meet you in person that they are likely to be more patient and is it easier to get the meeting to last for half an hour for you to get all the details from them to make the sale, answer their objections etc and build rapport? On top of that, if you treat them to lunch or dinner, dont you feel that it activates the law of reciprocity which then makes them more likely to buy from you?

        While you are restricted to maybe 2 appointments per day, at least these are good ones(if you qualify them first) and they are more likely to refer people to you- Try getting 3 referrals from a five to ten minute conversation on the phone through cold calling when all they hear is your voice!

        Jordan Belfort is the best proponent of selling through the phone through tonality and scripting but i guess that real estate agents dont sell houses by phone, and nor do million dollar a year producer insurance agents either...

        And as for the costs and time of traveling from place to place, i guess it differs from country to country. I come from a small country so if i dont even make the effort to travel to another place in the city to meet, the prospect is going to think: What is wrong with the product or service such that he/she doesn't dare to meet me for a half hour appointment if he is sincere in selling me something?

        But i suppose if the prospect refuses to meet, we could talk over the phone...
        I think its just a difference in where we're from. I can't be in Miami and drive 10 minutes down the road to meet someone in Las Vegas.

        I don't really understand your point. You're saying real estate agents and insurance brokers don't make millions by doing business over the phone, but how do you think those insurance agents get their leads? Do you think they just cold walk? So then, you're basically assuming your conversion rate face to face is as you stated, but your conversion rate is still being effected by your initial prospecting.

        I don't try getting 3 referrals from a 10 minute phone call, I try to get a sale from a 10 minute phone call. I know within 30 seconds if they are buying or not... if I'm on the phone for 5 minutes, it is because they are buying. Once I have the sale, it is up to me to provide work that is good enough to get referrals from, which is easier said than done at times.

        If you're looking to get the best way of acquiring sales, you're not going to get it in this thread because there is no best way. For me, I don't waste my time with traveling because I don't have to. Here in the US it is common to deal with people across the country.

        Comparing face to face sales to direct mailing, telemarketing, PPC, and whatever other methods, doesn't really matter. You need to have multiple strategies in place anyway. Also, eventually you should be having other people managing different areas of your business.

        Ultimately, it comes down to whatever you're comfortable with, and can scale. If face to face works for you... who am I to discredit it? Whatever works for you, keep doing. For me though, it isn't possible for me to meet every person I sell to, and I wouldn't really want to either.

        Desmond, what country are you from? I can understand how in many countries it would be best to meet face to face. I have always been interested in learning how people in other countries run their business. So if you, and any others can tell me your experiences, it would be greatly appreciated. I have a couple clients in other countries, but always established like Ireland, UK, Australia, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post


      Face to face is good... However, you have to look at it beyond the conversion rate %. You have to factor in, conversion rate, time, and expenses (gas)(mileage).
      It's better to have more sales at the end of the day than higher conversion. My own way of competing in sales is high probability. I dont care about someones conversion, fact is , at the end of the day, if I have more sales in my hand than they do, then I win!

      Lots of good advice on this thread.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

        It's better to have more sales at the end of the day than higher conversion. My own way of competing in sales is high probability. I dont care about someones conversion, fact is , at the end of the day, if I have more sales in my hand than they do, then I win!
        Yeah, and that's true.... if you only have 2 meetings and have one closed with a 50% conversion, that doesn't mean you're more effective than someone spending the same amount of time calling and generating the same amount of sales at a much lower conversion rate, like 1%.

        It all comes down to revenue generated... You can have a 90% conversion and generate $1,500... and can run a direct mailing campaign with only 3% conversions and generate $15,000... and you can cold call with 1% and generate 150,000...
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  • Profile picture of the author danieldot
    What I believe is that the direct mail and the internet is actually increasing the opportunity and creating a luxury to increase the sales through phone or face to face.
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  • Profile picture of the author NickSway
    Like it was said before, those stats are most likely referring to the fact that you need to make the appointment before you can have the face to face conversation. Although you are right, it is best to simply go in and close a deal right on the spot. But let me tell you the trick, have your customers do the face to face conversations with their friends and have you get the profit. Now that's where it's at!
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