Data Alone Won’t Win Sales

I have spent nearly 40 years selling with data. From Nielsen and Scarborough to Triton and Google Analytics. I am a data-driven person and want to be able to back up my claims with facts. However, there is so much more to selling than, as Dragnet’s Joe Friday would say, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.”

Don’t get me wrong, – facts are important. To win an argument or close a sale it’s valuable to have the facts on your side. However, facts alone will rarely close deals. There are several other important components of the sales process.

Emotion
Good facts become a GREAT sales story if you convey them with emotion. It sends a message to the listener that you believe in what you’re selling when you’re excited to talk about it. Excitement can be infectious. If you are excited about the opportunity you are presenting to the potential advertiser, there’s a better chance the person on the other side of the conversation will get excited.

Professionalism
People want to work with those who are professional. Unfortunately, the simple act of showing up on time and being prepared can separate you from your competition. Being prepared means taking the time to make sure you have all of your collateral materials. More importantly, it means preparing for questions and objections.

Quality Materials
I have seen reps present their story with a page or two of data. That is not a story. If you want to be persuasive, take the data and create a story. This is one of the services that Research Director, Inc. provides on a daily basis. Even if you do not have a service like ours take the time to do it. It shows the client that you care about the details.

Follow-Through
I hate to tell you the number of times I have seen a rep make a good call and then forget to follow up. More upsetting is the rep who gets the initial sale and then doesn’t ensure that everything was executed properly and the client is satisfied. If the next time the client hears from you after the original sale is when you are looking for the renewal, you’ve already put yourself at a disadvantage. You need to show the client you care, even after the sale is done. If you don’t care about your clients, someone else will.

I have built a career on data. But that is just the foundation for success.