Of course, the relationship between activity and sales is generally understood. What isn t understood is that most sales processes simply aren t scalable. Furthermore, this lack of scalability is frequently a result of an over emphasis on conversion rates. To illustrate this point, let s imagine a sales process that has been designed purely to maximise conversion rates. More likely than not, most elements of this sales process are managed by salespeople.
Salespeople initiate relationships with prospects.
Each salesperson then manages relationships with these people. And each salesperson manages each sales opportunity preparing proposals, conducting sales appointments and even overseeing the fulfilment of orders. While conversation rates in this imaginary sales process are likely to be high, sales volume is almost certainly low. The reason for this is simple. In this scenario, management typically responds to low sales volumes by suggesting that salespeople increase their activity levels.