Building Sales Skills - SINALOA - Safety in Numbers and Law of Averages

Many years ago I was sitting in a big hall, with aThe second half of the acronym is LOA - Law Of
lot of people, listening to a famous speaker,Averages.
salesman, and marketer named Larry Thompson.It works like this; if you sell widgets and make
He said that there is a little state in Mexico called$100 for very one you see then have a profit
Sinaloa and that before we left that room wenumber to work with.
would lock that into our brain and never forget it.If you're going door to door then, if you have a
I thought, "Oh yeah, as if!!" but more than agood product, a normal sort of outcome is that
decade later I still remember.for every 10 doors you knock on 3 people are
It represents one of the most basic lessons inlikely to agree to look at what you offer.
sales that anyone who is going to sell anything, orIf you then present to those 3, and do it well,
who works with marketing, needs to know.then you are likely to make 1 sale.
He said it is the name of a town but also anNow the question - If you make one sale that
acronym, S.I.N.A.L.O.A, It stands for Safey Inday then have you made $100 on the sale or
Numbers And Law Of Averages.have you made $10 from it?
What does it mean? It means that you will neverIt you need to knock on 10 doors to get enough
be secure in sales if you do not have numbersprospects to be able to make 1 sale then
working for you rather than against you.knocking on 20 doors you are expecting to make
If you need to do 5 sales a week you have really2 sales, $200. If you think about this and realize
good people to talk with then talking to 5 maythat final profit is directly related to the number
give you the results you need but ..... if just 1of doors you knock on. You need to knock 10
person does not go forward then you fall shortdoors to make $100 then you are actually getting
of your goal.$10 per door.
If you expect everyone to buy from you butYou knock the first door and they say "No, we
you still talk with 10 then you only need half toalready have one".
commit and you will achieve your numbers.You say "Thank you for the $10".
If you want to be successful you need to haveYou knock on the second door and they set up a
lots of prospects, lots of people to talk to, lots oftime to look.
people thinking about what you are offering and aYou say "Thank you for the $10".
lot of people who are seriously considering takingYou knock the third door and they yell at you
what you offer.and call their dog to attack you.
It gets back to the old adage, "the harder youAs you run out the gate you say "Thank you for
work the luckier you get."the $10".
Jim Rohn, the motivational philosopher, says "IfThis is the Law Of Averages.
you're the best salesman and you close 9 out ofThese two things are very basic and we are all
10 people you talk with, and I'm new and I closefamiliar with the idea but we need to keep them
2 out of ten, then we can have a competition andclose to our heart if we are going to be
over a month I'll beat you. Why? Because I'll talksuccessful in the long term.
to more people than you do. If you talk to 10, I'llA little state of Mexico, SINALOA, that few of us
talk to 100, you'll get your 9 and I'll get my 20."will ever visit, is a guide to us in a career in sales
This is what Safety In Numbers means.and marketing.