If there is one mainstay in virtually every sales office, it would have to be funnels & forecasts. Sales managers swear by them; however, Ive found that they frequently do more harm than good.

Funnels seem like a good idea in theory. The problem with funnels, however, is that they practically scream micromanagement. Funnel reviews strike terror in the hearts of salespeople. They scream the words probation and performance improvement plan. Sales managers who wish to succeed need to learn some basic psychology, especially the principle of autosuggestion. Doing so will make it very clear as to why the very sound of the word funnel instantly changes salespeoples attitudes from positive to negative and has very bad effects on sales performance.

Forecasts also make sense in theory. After all, accurate forecasting is a necessity for good business planning. The key word, however, is accurate. If you believe that an accurate sales forecast has ever existed then Ive got a nice bridge for sale just for you. Salespeople simply do not submit accurate forecasts. Most salespeople grossly overestimate their forecasts in order to appease their managers. After all, would you, as a salesperson, want to face the wrath of submitting a forecast that falls short of expectations? This is why dead deals and phony deals tend to outnumber the real ones on forecasts. On the other side of the coin, some salespeople underestimate forecasts simply because they dont want a manager asking, When is this one going to sign? When is that one going to sign? An overbearing manager simply isnt worth dealing with so they leave good deals off the forecast.

The other huge problem with funnels & forecasts is that they force salespeople to manage their activity on a month-to-month basis. This results in the horrendous practice of slacking off at the beginning of every month, then working overtime at the end of the month trying to get enough deals signed to make quota. It just doesnt work in the real world. Successful top producers work in the present, not in terms of its the beginning of the month or its the end of the month. Top producers are consistent because today is neither the beginning nor the end of the month. Today is today, and that means doing the same thing today that they do every day to get the results they achieve.

Forget about funnels & forecasts. Manage with common sense instead and watch your sales results skyrocket.

Frank Rumbauskas

Frank J. Rumbauskas, Jr., author of the New York Times Best-Seller "Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling," spent several difficult years in sales, frustrated and convinced that there must be a better way than the familiar chants of "cold call more" and "increase your activity" so frequently heard from well-meaning but otherwise clueless sales managers.

While working as an account executive for a Fortune 100 company in the mid 1990s, Mr. Rumbauskas was mentored by another A.E. who went from entry- level sales to upper management in 3 years, something unheard of in this particular organization. This top producer revealed a very basic principle to Mr. Rumbauskas. He immediately applied it and suddenly began to achieve tremendous results. That simple principle forms the basis of this entire program. Mr. Rumbauskas has taken it, perfected it, designed systems around it, and is now able to apply it to any and all sales jobs. He went on to successfully start and run two sales agencies based on these principles before moving into sales training.

His biggest strength compared to other sales trainers and authors is the fact that he is now a business owner who meets with salespeople on a regular basis. He is careful to observe everything they do right as well as everything they do wrong, and his training materials reflect this firsthand experience.

Originally from Linden, New Jersey, Mr. Rumbauskas now resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He is actively involved with various community and civic organizations in the Phoenix area, and is an active entrepreneur - he owns a mortgage protection life insurance agency which uses the principles he teaches to generate business without cold calling, and is a major holder in an emerging wireless internet company. He enjoys reading the great number of success stories we receive from students of this program. If you have a success story you haven't yet shared with us, please do so!