How many prospects do i need

You have to put enough in the front of the pipe, so you can have some coming out the back of the pipe? Or some people use the analogy of a funnel. So yes, having a really solid pipeline is absolutely key. If you think of like an oil pipeline or something like that, if you have great gaps in the pipeline, if you just have great pockets of air, that is not going to accomplish the goal. And you will very likely have the type of customer base that you can grow and the type of business that you can actually live in.

Before we started this podcast, we were talking about this topic, how many people do you have in your pipeline? They might have a few people, they have a handful of people in their pipeline. Chris: Depending on where I am in that, I love the funnel analogy.

But having that pipeline loaded with potential clients, I think is one of the greatest ways to reduce stress in your business. Would you agree with that? David: Yeah. It reduces stress and it increases the likelihood of success. And it positions you to be able to generate the sales that you want to generate. Some of them are not going to make it all the way through. But the ultimate visual, I guess, is that you put a bunch of them into the top and the ones that actually make it through the bottom of the ones that become your custom.

Chris: Yeah. You know, how rock is graded. So that what filters out at the bottom really is the exact kind of clients that we want. So when you look at this, David, what do you think the number of prospects a sales person should have in their pipeline?

David: The answer is Some people will get that reference. They will not be exact, yet the longer that you are involved in sales, the ratios will begin to have their own rolling history. You need to believe them as they only respect the historical, yet you also can change them. Appointments — 50 1 in 5 phone calls yields an appointment. Proposals — 25 2 appointments gets 1 proposals. So if you take your goals, and include YOUR ratios, as opposed to the company ratios, you will get a clearer picture of what you need to do.

Remember, as a Black sales professional, your product as well as your receptiveness by the buyer affect your ratios. There is still racial preference and racial prejudice that will weave its way into the equation. Be prepared for it, and stock your prospect base in preparation for it. We are talking about averages so be careful.

You may need more or less. This will serve as a starting point. Before I close I will drop a couple of tips regarding the impact of your activities. In any sales job, no matter what they are called, there are activity standards such as prospecting and quoting , and there are production standards such as number of sales and dollars of sales. If you are successful in getting the production standard, you will probably have a job for the next round, yet if you fail in getting your activity standard, and also fall short of your production standard, you are probably in trouble.

Be aware of your goals for both activity and results. If you are successful in getting your activity through prospecting, and incorporate your ratios, you have a chance to reach your results. This is great information and the key to success in sales. Nice tips to keep it all in perspective! But even for Top Performers, it takes more touches than they may initially think to end up with the sale. Stay focused, persevere in your outreach efforts, and drive value for buyers in your sales conversations, and you'll see an increase in sales wins soon enough.

Subscribe today to get the latest on virtual selling, insight selling, strategic account management, sales conversations, and more straight to your inbox. Topics: Sales Research Sales Prospecting. Contact Us. How many touches does it take to make a sale? The simple answer is: more than most people think! You need to think of your sales and outreach efforts in 3 parts: Interest: Getting through to targeted buyers and securing an initial meeting to generate awareness and build interest.

Consideration: Converting that meeting into a qualified opportunity. Using stories to make a connection with a prospect can greatly increase your ability to close deals. How has your product or service helped other companies? How has it caused big changes for other organizations? Thank you for making it to the bottom of the post. We hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to share!

Researcher, consultant, and sales leader, Brian uses a data-driven approach to drive sales effectiveness. His clients include leading sales organizations in financial services, technology, healthcare, and professional services. His research has been published in Harvard Business Review and other outlets.

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