We’ve all heard of the Pareto principle or the 80/20 rule. This principle, named after the Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto, states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. We’ve all seen this, sometimes in some surprising places. It’s so common that many consider it a universal rule, at least when it comes to human performance.
In the business context, this has often translated to the idea that 80% of a company’s sales come from just 20% of its salespeople. In fact, in our business of providing the mortgage and real estate industry’s best CRM for more than 30 years, this is exactly what we have seen play out.
In company after company around the industry, we’ve seen this principle hold true. Perhaps it is just a quality of human life. Perhaps 80% of your salespeople just aren’t cut out to compete with your top 20%.
Or perhaps we just need better software.
In his upcoming book, Usherpa Co-Founder Dan Harrington writes about “Authentic Intelligence” and how some savvy leaders are using it to challenge this conventional wisdom and find ways to upend the Pareto principle altogether.
Finding the Key to Salesperson Transformation
If you want salespeople to rise to the level of your top 20%, you need to empower them to become more than what they are today. The key to this transformation lies in the strategic deployment of technology that automates and amplifies the winning habits and best practices of the top-performing salespeople, making them accessible to the rest.
Rather than accepting the notion that a vast majority of the sales force will always be underperformers, leaders who understand this are investing in advanced CRM and sales automation tools to systematically share the success strategies of their superstars with the rest of the team.
This “Authentic Intelligence” approach, which blends the real-world experiences and insights of business leaders with the technical expertise of the IT department, has yielded remarkable results.
The Benefits of Sales Transformation
Since this issue lies at the core of our own business, we’ve been studying sales transformation for many years. We have created, tested and deployed technologies that can accomplish this. And then we studied the results.
In one study, the lender client’s own data showed that users of our Authentic Intelligence-driven sales platform were closing more than twice as many monthly deals as their non-using counterparts, regardless of whether they were among the top or bottom performers.
By empowering even the lowest-performing salespeople to operate at a higher level, these companies are not only breaking free from the constraints of Pareto’s Rule but also delivering a significant boost to their bottom line.
Moreover, the increased adoption and utilization of the technology solutions, driven by their alignment with the end-users’ needs, further enhances the return on investment (ROI) and long-term sustainability of these initiatives.
By embracing the principles of Authentic Intelligence and challenging the traditional 80/20 rule, forward-thinking organizations are positioning themselves for success, unlocking the untapped potential of their sales forces and driving sustained growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
And here’s the best news: users of Usherpa’s Smart CRM are not required to make a big investment in new technologies or their development. Our low-cost subscriptions give them all of the benefits without that investment.
It’s time to rethink the conventional wisdom and make the best use of Pareto’s Rule. With Usherpa’s technology and a commitment to Authentic Intelligence, businesses can rewrite the rules of sales performance and achieve unprecedented results.
Find out more by reaching out to us today.