Why are 85% of salespeople failing to hit their targets?

85% of salespeople miss targets from long decision making cycles and competition.

This week on 'The Recruitment Roundup' Podcast, Mike Leather and Sam Musiyarira took a deep dive into why sales professionals might be falling short of their targets or quotas. Curious about the underlying causes, they explored various factors that could be contributing to missed goals. Leveraging insights from a recent LinkedIn poll conducted by Mike, they were eager to discover LinkedIn’s view on the top reason salespeople struggle to meet their targets.

The results uncovered some fascinating insights.

Longer sales decision making cycles

A common issue sales teams are running into is longer decision-making cycles. To combat this, it’s essential to identify whether you’re engaging with the right decision-makers early on.

Ask yourself: "Am I talking to someone with the authority to sign off on this deal?"

Addressing this upfront helps you avoid delays and keeps the process moving forward.

Sales against competitors

Standing out from competitors is tougher than ever. Our hosts shared some battle-tested strategies to help you sell more effectively against your competitors. Whether it’s highlighting your unique value proposition or leveraging key differentiators, having a strategic approach is key to staying ahead.

Effective sales activity and outreach

It’s not just about the quantity of outreach; it’s about the quality and effectiveness of your efforts.

Evaluating the volume of sales activity is crucial, but focusing on the most productive outreach methods is where you’ll see the biggest results.

Are you engaging prospects in a meaningful way, or just checking boxes?

Leveraging feedback to improve

Losing a deal is never fun, but it’s a goldmine of learning opportunities.

Asking prospects why they chose a competitor can uncover critical insights.

By establishing a feedback loop, you can refine your strategy and improve your approach, ensuring you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

Using a sales training tool such as SecondBody 🥇

Want to sharpen your skills?

Mike and Sam recommend SecondBody, an AI-powered sales training platform that’s perfect for levelling up your cold calling and objection-handling game. With a library of top-tier sales responses crowdsourced from the best in the industry, this tool helps you compete more effectively by refining your approach.

As we always do, we end the podcast with a interview tip or question.

Mike's key interview question when hiring salespeople

Looking to build your team? Here’s a pro tip:

Mike shared a powerful yet simple question to ask when hiring salespeople. This question cuts through the surface and uncovers a candidate’s true motivation and fit for the role. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear it!

Don’t forget to tune in next week for more actionable insights!

'The Recruitment Roundup' by BMS Performance is a weekly Podcast discussing hiring and sales strategy tips for sales professionals. Tune in every Wednesday at 5 pm on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Connect with our podcast hosts:

Mike Leather and Sam Musiyarira