From the book "From a Good Sales Call to a Great Sales Call" by Richard Schroder (McGraw-Hill, 2010) easy steps salespeople can use to conduct their own “performance evaluation”—and then apply valuable lessons learned from their errors and successes.

1. From a Good Sales Call to a GREAT Sales Call Close More by Gathering Candid Prospect Feedback Richard M. Schroder Now available from McGraw-Hill

2. Question for Audience What percentage of the time do you think salespeople get the complete and accurate truth from prospects about why they lost?

4. Salesperson’s Stated Perceptions vs. Actual Reasons Salesperson’s assessment is completely wrong Salesperson’s understanding is complete and accurate Salesperson has part of the story but other part is unknown 32% 40% 28% In 60% of new business situations, salespeople do not have a complete and accurate understanding of why they lost

5. The Final Overlooked Element of the Sales Process 1. Getting in the door 2. Establishing a connection 3. Conducting a needs analysis 4. Presenting 5. Answering questions / objections 6. Closing the sale 7. Conducting a post-decision debrief Conduct a post-decision interview with the prospect after each sales cycle has ended (win or lose) Sales training has failed to cover this important final element of the sales process.

17. From a Good Sales Call to a GREAT Sales Call Close More by Gathering Candid Prospect Feedback Richard M. Schroder Now available from McGraw-Hill