Redefining “winning” in sales

In sales, we are all obsessed with win/lose rates. We call it winning the deal when the customer decides to buy your product or service. If there is a winner, by definition, somebody has to lose. This approach makes selling a zero-sum game. I think sales can be a positive-sum game if we change the definition of winning.

Let’s do the exercise together and redefine winning and say that even if the customer decides to buy from your competitor, if you get better after the deal, you consider it a win. Concretely, I redefine winning as becoming a  better salesperson after each deal, regardless of the result.

I can almost hear you saying, “Hey! I am not getting a commission for the deals because I am getting better. I get paid only if the customer chooses to buy my product. So, how can I consider it a win?”

Well, in the short run, you are right. You will not get paid for the deals that did not close as you want. But focusing on “winning” each deal to get your commission does not make sense in the long run because you know that you will not win every time. You can still keep your focus on increasing your win rates. The thing is, you are not in control of your win rates. Remember,  your customers decide if you win the deal or not. So, why put all your energy and attention on something which is not even under your control? You cannot be responsible for something you do not have full control of. 

On the other hand, becoming a better salesperson is entirely under your control. Only you can decide to become better after each deal. And in the long run, you will likely have exponential growth in your commission payments because of the compound effect of your steady improvement. (Imagine that you become a better salesperson after each deal by 5%, each time, 5% will add on top of what you already improved in the previous deal)

To better understand the compound effect, you can consider it as saving $100 every month and putting it into a deposit account. Keeping $100 in one month will not make you richer than you are today. It will make you poorer, either. But in the long run,with 5% of annual interest gains at the end of 30 years, your $36 000 contributions will go more than double to $79 726.

Therefore, becoming a better salesperson pays you even more than focusing on winning every deal. And you become a better salesperson will not necessarily make somebody else a worse salesperson because each individual has their own better version. That makes it a positive-sum game.

The real question is, what would make you a better salesperson regardless of the result? And how can you improve it in each deal?