Too much focus on closing is a major sales killer

During our extensive research into low closing rates and why 80% of sales are done by only 20% of salespeople, one of the major discoveries we made was that most sales training and sales coaching focuses almost exclusively on closing. Of course, closing is important as that is where the money is made. But there is a great deal more to a sales process than closing. In fact, we found that the focus on closing was actually in part causing the problem. When it came down to it, it was the number one reason salespeople had such trouble and bad reputations. From the very beginning of the conversation, they are trying to close the prospect. The truth is that closing is not the problem.