I hated math in high school, which explains why I struggled through Algebra One two times and finally passed it my senior year. I hadnt expected math to become a major influence in my life. I didnt care how many apples Johnny had to have if he needed to eat one, three time a day over 14 days. I didnt like apples that much. I didnt get it then, but I love numbers today and I like apples too.

How Much Will Johnny Sell?

If you ask me how much Johnny will sell this month, well, this is an equation I can get into. If we run the numbers, we can pretty accurately determine where Johnny will end up this month, quarter and year. As the numbers and ratios change so will the final results. This can be exciting, when we are interested in growing our business through sales activities.

The problem associated with calculating sales numbers is that many salespeople and sales managers dont keep track of the vital numbers to make the analysis. The numbers are an important indicator of success and failure. The numbers arent that difficult to track but many people are afraid of what the numbers will reveal. There is a dark side to numbers when used to point out only the negatives.

Lets go back to the old early algebra scenarios. We ask Johnny how many sales contacts it will take him to reach 50,000 dollars in sales this month. We could calculate this out, if we knew how many contacts it takes Johnny to get an appointment. This will lead us to his average sale. If we know what these numbers are and apply them to the sales formula, we have our answer.

Improving Success Through Ratios

The great thing about numbers and ratios is they can tell us where Johnny needs help and support. We wouldnt normally have this unless we have Johnnys contact numbers to calculate his success ratios. If it takes Johnny 30 telephone contacts to get one appointment, the numbers tell us that Johnny is at a very low 30-1 ratio. If this was his baseball batting average, we wouldnt want him on our team. Johnny would be in a terrible slump and in serious trouble. Now we can look at several things, his telephone script, and the quality and type of the contacts on his telephone list. Perhaps the timing of his telephone calls and the tone and rhythm of his voice needs work too.

The good news is that Johnny only needs a few hits to improve his ratios. All of a sudden Johnny is looking pretty good. It usually doesnt take much to make this transformation. If we dont have the numbers, we wont know where we are and what our ratios can tell you.

What Is A Good Ratio For YOU?

Keeping track of your sales and contact numbers is an easy thing for some people and difficult for others. Those that know them have an advantage. ACT! is a great tabulator for this. If you examine your numbers and ratios, they will tell you where you need improvement and where you are awesome.