I love to sell and have made the science and art of selling my life’s work.
Since 1989 I have kept a sales journal. It fills twenty-five hardcover journals (50,000 pages) and contains the following information on every sales call I have made since October 1989.
- Date
- Client
- Product / Service Pitched
- Value
- Result
- Specific Preparation
- Long Term Results
Over the past four months I worked with a hard-working University student to compile all of this data and enter the results into a database.
The results provided a unique window onto the process of selling as well as my personal selling evolution.
One interesting piece of data came to light.
Pitches presented in the morning had a 43% higher chance of closing immediately compared to pitches after lunch.
Pitches before 11:00am had a 26% higher chance of closing than those between 11:00am and lunch.
Success of pitches remained constant, given the same time, from Monday to Wednesday but dropped 23% on Thursday and 33% on Friday.
The exception was repeat orders where a similar decline occurred but at a lower rate – about 60% less decline.
The above data was based on a total of 23,806 pitches.
If you’re pitching, pitch earlier in the week and earlier in the day.
In science this is called decision fatigue and my results echo results by researchers with studies of many people who make regular decisions. If you’re coming up for parole do your best to get an early review – it could increase your chances six-fold over a late afternoon review.
A similar reason can be found for not giving any buyer more than three choices – decision fatigue.
Chances of getting a decision when three choices are given drop by half when six choices are given.
There is a method to the madness.
