Successful People Know Their Numbers

“Know the score—it’s hard to win if you don’t know the score, so
it’s essential to constantly track and measure your sales and the
numbers behind the sales.”

Jack Mitchell
Hug Your Customers

When I was first a salesman in Youngstown, Ohio, I had a wonderful sales manager and sales coach by the name of Chuck who guided my career in the right direction at the onset. He was a true craftsman of the sales profession and a practitioner of the disciplines it took to be successful.

I remember one time growing impatient with Chuck when he insisted we spend some coaching time together discussing and understanding my production benchmarks and how my bonuses and pay are stipulated in my contract. Now at that time, all I cared about was “sell—sell—sell.”

So I said to Chuck, “Why don’t we just skip all the boring paperwork stuff and the training on how I get paid for something really meaningful like sales techniques and marketing ideas. Besides, I figure if I sell more, I make more, right?”

If I Sell More, I Make More...Right?

But Chuck never relented to my ranting and always insisted that I understand and know what my auto, homeowners, life, health, mutual fund, and annuity sales benchmarks were—and he always insisted on reviewing my pay scale periodically and all the bonuses I was eligible to earn. He didn’t stop at that point, either. Periodically, he would see me in the office and ask, “Hey where are you with life applications and premiums for your next bonus?”

The first time he asked me that, I replied, “I’m not sure, let me check and I’ll get back with you.”

His response: “That’s unacceptable. You should know them off the top of your head.”

“Why," I said. “I’ll have them for you in a minute—just give me a second.”

And it was at that moment he taught me one of the most valuable lessons I could learn outside of any sales training class or marketing seminar I could attend. He said, “You’ll never be successful with that kind of thinking. Successful people know their numbers, Tony. Remember that! How can you hit something when you can't see it? Hitting the target means knowing where to aim. It sounds like to me that you don't know where you're going. Am I right?”

Knowing "Your Numbers" Provides You with a Line-of-Sight Towards Success

He was right. The lesson was clear. If I ignored what was required of me by the company—or if I ignore the possibilities of achieving sales bonuses and recognition levels, how could I ever achieve success?

Years later since starting out in the industry, I have had the advantage of observing the differences between successful sales professionals and unsuccessful sales professionals through the eyes of my former mentor and manager. And one of the common threads that have separated the two groups from each other is the constant ability of the successful ones to be able to recite their numbers, or production numbers, whenever asked.

What does tracking your numbers mean to you, the sales professional? Better yet, what does knowing one's numbers say of the sales professional who keeps track of monthly, weekly, or the daily progress of sales results, expenses, or revenue stream? Well...

Knowing Your Numbers Means:

1. That you are goal and achievement oriented...in a concrete way. What does that mean? It means that success, at the end of the day, is a practical matter for the agency; that success is a number that can be pointed to, graphed, counted, measured, and understood in a meaningful and understandable way. Knowing your numbers means that you appreciate and value quantifiable results as well as the non-quantifiable benefits of being an agent; like the intangible benefits of a better quality of life or more liberty to control your own work schedule. Knowing your numbers means that you are a goal oriented individual...and that is a good thing...if you want to be successful.

2. That you are competitive in nature and driven to succeed. If you know your numbers...then you are the kind of person who keeps track of things for a reason...And those reasons are often connected to the competitive nature of the typical sales professional and the environment of competition so attached to the sales industry as a whole. Track your numbers to win...to win that bonus, win that incentive trip, win that personal goal you've established for yourself, to win that challenge placed before you by the company or sales leaders. Knowing your numbers tells me that you are not only driven by goals; but that you are driven by competition, that spirit of excellence which sparks us to be better than someone else or even your own-self. Winning...like being goal oriented, is a good thing too. I prefer it over the alternative of losing...any day!

3. That you understand the relationship between “what gets measured, gets done.” Tracking and knowing your numbers places a focus and attention on specific activities that produce tangible results...That focus and attention translates into a heightened awareness towards execution and the implementation of activities that are meaningful and worthwhile. Knowing your numbers means you understand the power of accountability and how an awareness of the numbers helps you stay focused on activities that yield results...And results is what being a sales professional is all about.

4. That you like a thrill...And thrills can inject passion and energy into any endeavor in life. There's no better place for energy than in the work place...and in an agent.

Today, this very moment, regardless of the sales industry you work in, “What are your numbers? What are your benchmarks for success, for achievement and higher income and benefits? Where are you right now in relation to your numbers? Or don't you know the answer to any of these questions?"

Your future career and success as a sales professional hinges on your responses, or future responses, to those questions.

Be not deceived...Successful people know their numbers.

Copyright © 2009 - Tony Cefalu