Parreto Principle Case Study

The 80/20 Rule and How the Pareto Principle Applies to Sales Ever think about the 80/20 Pareto principle and how it might be applied in the world of sales? Think of how 80/20 could be useful as possible new rules for sales professionals in relation to clients and products. These sales principles might affect how and where a salesperson meets with a new prospect, who they build lasting relationships with and why, what other products they can sell, and when is the best use of their time to do their primary work.

Before discussing how the Pareto principle applies to sales, it can be helpful to look at how it has been interpreted throughout history. The Pareto principle started as a simple statistical analysis that looks at the vital few (20%) verses the larger number (80%) and was originally looking at population instead of work. In Juran 's quality terms, the principle was used to refer to 80% of the problem effects come from only 20% of the possible causes. Whereas, the time management expert Lakein translated it to mean 20% of the work people do is important and the other 80% is usually mundane or trivial tasks because people tend to do work in a certain order rather than prioritizing.

Prospect Meetings

The salesperson should only provide 20% of the spoken words during the meeting. And those words should be questions that get the customer talking even more. Every sales person needs to practice good listening skills and utilize those skills as much as possible. After all, it is impossible to ask good questions and learn true buyer needs without first hearing what the customer wants in a service or believes about a product line. When presenting a sales pitch, pause often to ask for feedback and read the prospect 's body language to make sure they understand the concepts and have the opportunity to agree or disagree with any points that have been