The Myth Of The Second Salesman

I’ve witnessed this a few times and heard about it a few more.  A company is struggling (in my case, a legal services firm) and needs more customers.  “Get more boots on the ground!” says the boss.  “We need a SECOND salesman.”

The ideas that perpetuate the myth are simple: more man-power means more cold-calls, more meetings, more leads … more sales.  A new salesman brings a new perspective, new contacts, and new energy.  Right?

The reality is that if a product is tough for one person to sell, it’ll be tough for two people to sell.  If you were running a restaurant and weren’t attracting enough customers, would you think to open a second location?  Would Gordon Ramsay do that?  No — he’d tell you something was wrong with the restaurant.

When Ford was hit with the recession, what did it do?  It closed dealerships.  It realized something was wrong and it needed to rework the company’s products, message, and strategy.  It appears to have been successful.  They recently launched their new Explorer on Facebook — very hip — and have posted profits the last 5 quarters.  But who knows — maybe they would have been more successful by opening more dealerships.  I doubt it.

photo credit: MGSpiller

In my case, the legal services company struggled on for 6 more months before succumbing to the inevitable.  The second salesman didn’t save us.

What do you think?  Is a second salesman a sure-fire way to double sales?