Winning Every Sale Isn’t the Goal
Most salespeople start their careers believing one thing: success means winning every deal. But the reality is, even the best salespeople lose far more often than they win. That’s right we don’t win every sale. I know, I know you hear it all the time from “Sales Guru’s” that say they are amazing and they win every sale. That is not the case unfortunately…
The Trap of “Always Be Closing”
Sales culture often glorifies closing as the ultimate measure of success. The average close rate across industries is 29% according to (HubSpot, 2024) report. That is a low percentage of success per sale. This means that there is a great opportunity, but let’s get into the “close” that I take issue with.
I won’t say hate, but I firmly dislike “closing” because closing is coming to an end. We don’t want to come to an end in the relationship with the customer. We want them coming back to us again and again for more business. So how can we reframe this notion that we should be closing… I tend to think of the end of this sale as in a dating relationship with someone. We don’t close unless we want that one night stand. If we value the other person, we focus on generating a relationship.
When speaking on stage or training sales team, I often walk people through the fact that each customer has an acquisitional cost to add them to our database and manage through the sales process. That means if we only make one sale to a customer and have to chase another customer our costs are increasing. Having customers coming back again and again means we have lower costs and make more profit.
Don’t focus on the close, but focus how you can go through the file cabinet of opportunities that lie in with the customer and how you can support them not just in one sale, but in becoming a consultive advisor to help them grow their business. The by-product will be more and more sales.
By not focusing on how we can get a quick close today with a product / service and think about how we can become a trusted advisor to the customer, we will see a better future.
And just because you hear a “no” today , does not mean you won’t hear a “yes” in six months—if you’ve built the right relationship with that customer. Some of my best customers were the hardest to secure at the beginning, but I kept showing up, and kept adding value which in turn made me the go to person when they needed help. This is when I also made more profits as well.
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the magnetic force that attracts top performers and your best customers?
I’m Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, sales trainer, and author—and I help organizations unlock the power of influence to achieve breakthrough results.
In this blog, I reveal why influence is the ultimate currency in business and leadership—and how you can use it to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal and buy again
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your leadership approach to inspire stronger performance
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how leaders earn loyalty, I equip sales professionals and executives to deliver lasting value, strengthen customer relationships, and drive higher revenue.
👉 Featured Resources to Grow Your Influence:
· Email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
· The Sales Process Uncovered Membership
· The Sales Process Uncovered (Book on Amazon)
If you’re serious about elevating your sales process, leadership impact, and team performance, this blog will show you the path.
