Sales isn’t about a moment. It’s about momentum.

By Phil Whitebloom, Founder of BeenThere Consulting Service

Average read time: under 4 minutes

Welcome Back

Let’s welcome back to BeenThere Sales Weekly our friends, Frank and Judy.

Frank and Judy recently joined my company a little over three months ago. Both are experienced salespeople with a history of success. And yes, there is always ramp-up time in a new role. But this is a sales organization. There is a quota, and those numbers need to be achieved.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Frank and Judy are almost exactly the same in their year-to-date sales results.

I’m excited about Frank’s future and his chances of being successful here. At the same time, I’m very concerned about Judy, concerned enough that I’m not sure she’ll be here by the end of this quarter.

So how can that be?

How can two salespeople, same start, same experience, same results, be viewed so differently?

The answer is in what sits behind the results.

I’m not just looking at the successfully closed sales opportunity results. There are other metrics being measured that serve as leading indicators of what’s going to happen next.

I look at the number of outbound prospecting calls, actual human outreach, not automated activity. I look at the number of prospect meetings scheduled, the number of real opportunities created, and what’s visible in the pipeline.

These indicators tell the story the results have not told yet.

What the Numbers Are Really Telling Me

Here’s how I look at it, from a reverse engineering perspective.

Start with the sales target. Factor in your average selling price and your average lead time to close a sale. Then work it backwards.

How many sales do you need to hit the number? And from there, how many opportunities are required to produce those sales?

In most cases, to consistently hit your number, your active opportunities should be roughly five times your quota. If you need 20 sales, you should be working toward 100 active opportunities.

That’s not easy. But the closer you get to that multiplier, the greater your chances of consistently hitting your number over time.

And that leads to the next question.

What does it take to create those opportunities?

Now we’re talking about real activity. Not marketing. Not automated email campaigns. I’m talking about actual human interaction, phone calls, meetings, networking, and conversations with prospects and referral sources.

That’s where opportunities come from.

Quality pre-sales activities produce quality sales results.

Back to Frank and Judy

So, let’s come back to Frank and Judy.

Why am I excited about Frank?

Because even though his closed sales are below quota right now, his pipeline tells a very different story. He has a continually increasing number of real opportunities, which is a strong indicator that he’s on track to start hitting and exceeding his numbers.

And he’s not getting there by accident.

He’s making the calls. He’s attending networking events. He’s consistently putting himself in front of prospective customers. He’s doing the work required to create opportunities.

Now compare that to Judy.

Judy has very few opportunities in her pipeline. Her networking activity, both in-person and virtual, is low and inconsistent.

And it raises a real question.

What is she doing all day?

Because even though her sales results today look like Frank’s, her activity is not. And without that activity, you don’t get the meetings. Without the meetings, you don’t get the opportunities. And without the opportunities, you don’t hit the number

What This Means for Sales Leaders

As a sales leader, senior executive, or business owner, these metrics matter.

But they are still just data points.

To truly manage and develop your people, you have to understand what’s behind the numbers.

Why is one person doing the work and another is not?

Is it a lack of ability, a lack of willingness, or something else?

Once you understand the root cause, you can act. You can coach, adjust, and give someone a real chance to succeed.

This is how I help companies and individuals. I get to the root cause, and then we go to work to improve performance.

And yes, there are times when someone is not going to make it, and it’s time to part ways. In the end, that decision is often the right move for both the company and the individual.

But you don’t want to wait too long to make that decision.

At the same time, you’ve made an investment in your people. You selected them because you believed they could succeed. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to do everything we can to help them get there.

And in the end, it comes back to this.

The results matter.

But the results come from the work.

About Phil Whitebloom

Phil Whitebloom is a nationally respected sales coach, author, and founder of BeenThere Consulting Services, LLC. With over 40 years of experience and more than $1.5 billion in sales, he is known for helping businesses turn opportunities into revenue through tactical, results-driven sales coaching.

He is the author of Handling Objections – Clues for Closing the Sale and The Sales Fixer, and is widely recognized for getting immediate results for his clients, often after just one meeting.

Phil works with CEOs, business owners, and sales leaders to identify what’s really blocking sales performance and implement practical strategies that drive measurable results.

Connect with Phil

If you’re looking at your sales team and asking questions about performance, pipeline, and results, let’s talk.

Contact Information:

Phil Whitebloom

🏢Founder, BeenThere Consulting Services

📩 phil@beentherecs.com

🌐 https://beentherecs.com

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