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Do You Have the Courage to “No Quote”?
When I have reviewed client data regarding successful quotes on new business, I’ve generally found a very low hit rate. In reflecting on why this might be the case, it seems that often we (yes, I fall into this trap, too) like being busy, and preparing a proposal or bid feels good — like we’re accomplishing something. In fact, it’s probably a waste of time.
In The Challenger Sale, the authors (Matthew Dixson and Brent Adamson) stated that Challenger reps (their label for the most successful sales reps) continually assess the likelihood of closing the sale. If they assess a low probability of closing, they’re quick to cut the sales effort short and move on to the next opportunity.
In my observation, many companies don’t put a high value on time. I would suggest applying the old adage of “quality over quantity” related to new business.
What’s your success rate on new business quotes? If you were to spend more time on new business opportunities, where you would guess your success rate would be higher, rather than wasting your efforts on creating quotes for low-probability business, would you be better off?
Doescher Advisors Proverb: It is better to be profitable than busy.