The Top Ten Key Sales Principles

The Sales Principles that put you in the Top Ten 

There are ten sales principles every conversation needs to win or retain customers

Over 21 years we’ve developed expertise in enabling consistent sales performance and identified 10 key sales principles.

As you read this, we have, even in this time of Covid 19 developed over 2,000 people in the last twelve months in The Ten.

These Ten sales principles are the only measurable methods and principles of communication that make a real and lasting difference.

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When you develop your teams in The Top Ten Sales Principles 

Your business stays high in the charts, people want to read about you, and you’ll keep attracting the next generation.

When companies measure us, and they all do, it very often follows the Kirkpatrick scale.

At the first level of Reaction we have a banding between 94.6 and 97.8 of Very Effective, rather than Effective or Not Effective.

This is with our work reaching 3,644 people in the last 36 months.

At the Learning level we set up embedding programmes and work with what our clients have internally to deepen knowledge and the ability to access the right language or information to share with customers.

In a recent test one client had a knowledge retention of 78.9% three months from the core delivery of training. This was measured under live conditions using both written and spoken testing.

Does that mean they are using nearly 80% of what they have learned? Any training business is happy with that, when for years it has been said without any data that people only retain 30% of what they learn in training.

Behavioural Change - measuring changes in the habits of senior leaders, managers and sales and service people is the core area we make our work have an impact. If you focus on numbers you don't get them. When you focus on the approach, you do. You are likely to have some behaviours you wish to address. One such area we often identify and work to reduce is Disloyal Bonding. Take a listen to an episode of Bob and Jeremy's Conflab where we tackle this topic.

Bob and Jeremy's Conflab - Disloyal Bonding 

We are also researching this topic further for an upcoming book. 

Other behaviours that are typically important are attrition, holding rate, reducing discounting, improving ATV with a portfolio selling approach and perhaps the most important now, is far more time spent by managers devoting proper time to coaching and managing performance.

Results - what you and your CFO must have from any investment in people development. But which one matters the most? Our aim is to enable you to grow your business in three ways. What we call Geometric Growth.

In the table below you will see the example of a business with 1000 customers. The current value each time an individual spends money with you is £250 and with a current frequency of transaction at two times every 12 months, this equates to a turnover of £500k.

Customers  Value Frequency Revenue
1000 £250 x 2 £500,000

With an increase of 15% in customer numbers, and an increase in spend by 15% and a single extra visit per annum, this business is climbing towards and £1m turnover.

Customers (+15%) Value (+15%) Frequency Revenue 
1150 £287.50 x 3 £991,000

The increase in conversion rate for a current client is at 10.8%.

Our work with a few thousand people in India and US produced an increase in conversion rate of 2%. When our work went to the Philippines for the same business it was 4%.


"Since the training we have fully embraced the principles and have now changed our entire quality assessment philosophy and metrics to align with the Reality Sales Principles. It is our way forward"

Karen Samuelson - Offline Director - Travelocity (Global Travel Company)


"Reality Training has brought a refreshingly energetic approach to engaging and training our shop floor colleagues, to provide the very best selling experience for our customers. Kids bike sales are up 18%"

Phil O'Connor - Head of Learning and Development - Halfords (Britain's Biggest Cycling, Motoring and Camping Retailer)


"After Phase 1 of 'Customer First' NPS is up 11% and ATV is up £2"

Dunelm - Retail Conference (Fastest Growing Homewares Retailer in the UK)


"These new ways of working have been embraced by all and the way that we now follow up our enquiries has been revolutionised. This is all part of a robust, slick sales process that we have adopted in retail thanks to Bob and Jeremy's excellent training course and as a result this has increased our unique enquiry conversion by 15%"

Helen Roberts - National Sales Manager - Kuoni UK Retail (Leading European Luxury Travel Operator).


Book your 20 minute FREE briefing in The Ten

We’ve created a detailed checklist which includes the 10 key principles and skills that companies often overlook. I’ll share these principles with you – even if there are no next steps for us – as I am confident, you’ll rethink your approach.

Register for your FREE briefing link to book your briefing


Just some of the stakeholders and your challenges 

Operations Director

You spend time longing for consistency and yet you continue to have unexpected dips in performance and spend more time trying to find the reasons why.

Head of Retention and New Business 

You see an ever-changing league table and however much you work on management skills you are frustrated by those teams that can’t produce results.

Head of Training and People Development 

Each time your induction trainers and academies release new graduates onto the floor, there are many, that despite that investment lose customers at a scary rate.

HR Director 

The time and money you invest on recruitment, rewards and recognition is frustratingly offset by a turnover of staff who just can’t reach the expected potential.

CFO and Head of Trading

The business relies too heavily on discounted products and services to make its targets.

There is a better solution and that is to properly develop everyone in The Ten, the only measurable methods and principles of communication that make a real and lasting difference.


To be in the Top Ten: 

…of the music charts is what makes a song a hit.

…books of all time, means those books that are never out of print.

…movies, ensure a next generation of viewers.


Here’s what people we have trained say about us

Testimonials 

Book your 20 minute FREE briefing in The Ten

We’ve created a detailed checklist which includes the 10 key principles and skills that companies often overlook. I’ll share these principles with you – even if there are no next steps for us – as I am confident, you’ll rethink your approach.

Register for your FREE briefing link to book your briefing