This article is part of the Sales Secrets Uncovered series where we share key learnings from our analysis of 211k+ sales calls spread over 3.8 million minutes and 12 months. Why? To uncover the stats that will help you sell better in 2022 and beyond.

PS: Use this data responsibly. Correlation is ≠ causation. 😇 Read more below.

Today’s issue comes to you from the desk of Kushal Saini Kakkar.

A

B

C

ABC is an acronym for “Always Be Closing,” a sales mantra/strategy to push sales teams to always keep the focus on closing a sale.

But before we go further, no mention of always be closing (ABC) can be complete without a nod to the iconic scene from Glengarry Glen Ross.

While the movie has been both highly appreciated and criticized, there’s no taking away from the ABC it taught. You can view the full scene here.

So what’s the goss about ABC?

While sales is still a game of closing 🤷, the sales game itself has changed. Today’s buyers are usually very well informed about what they want. They have access to a whole world of information about your product/service, including actual customer reviews, comparisons, etc - much before you ever speak to them. So in some way, the power dynamics in modern selling has changed.

Do tactics like ABC still have a place in this changed world? Let's see what the data calls in on this one.

Here are the phrases we tracked to identify signals of ABC on sales calls. 🔽

First, how often does always be closing show up on sales calls - aka how often are reps using phrases that signify a focus on closing a deal.

The answer is over 50 percent of all deals.

And now for today’s real MVP — the impact of ABC on deals.

Our data shows that the win rate goes up by 32 percent and the loss rate decreases by 13 percent.

What do you think about these numbers? Are they inline with what you see on your sales calls?

Speaking as a prospect, here’s a hypothesis on why the deal win rate increases with mentions of ABC on sales calls:

As discussed above, today’s buyers are a sophisticated lot. Most folks I know won’t even take a demo or discovery call (even under 30 mins) unless they are actually in the market for the said product or service. And even when they do jump on a sales call, they usually have a respectful amount of research on the company, their product, the competition, etc.

In fact, on many demo calls that I attend, I usually go prepared with a list of specific questions - eg. can this product do this very specific thing that I need it to do. And on a side note, I truly appreciate it when the rep starts with an agenda and is willing to skip to the parts that I want to focus on. Meet me where I’m at!

In this world, it makes absolute sense to me that a rep is prepared to go all ABC on me. I mean, show me the paperwork already!