Are You Chasing The 7% In Sales?

One of my all-time favourite books on Selling is ‘How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling” by Frank Bettger.  It was written in 1947!  Yet, it’s packed full of real insights.

One interesting point he makes, as a result of keeping detailed records of his activity, is the following breakdown of where his % closings come from:

• 70% of his sales were made on the first appointment
• 23% were made on the second appointment
• 7% were made on the third and after.

BUT, 50% of his time was spent chasing that 7% who only bought the third time or after!

By only dealing with prospects who bought on the first or second meeting, and writing off the ones who did not, he was able to immediately double his income with the time save chasing the 7%.

From my experience, this still holds true 64 years later.  The %’s may not be exactly true for your industry but the point is not to waste your valuable selling time on anyone who isn’t likely to buy.

Most companies I know waste way too much time on people who are unlikely to buy, and in my experience, the 7% category are harder to sell to, and they complain a lot more!!

What do you think?

(If you’re interested in that book by Frank Bettger, you can get it here:)