According to recent Labor Department statistics, there are currently more than 155 million people working one job or another around the United States.

Of that number, only about 10% of workers are officially in sales although it is a generally accepted fact that most people do end up selling either directly or indirectly, even if it’s not part of their formal job description. But, that’s another topic for another day.

For now, let’s just go work with 15 million as the official number of people who work in the sales industry as we consider some other interesting statistics:

• Only 10% of salespeople are successful

• Only 10% of successful salespeople enjoy above-average success

So, what does all this mean for one of the oldest professions known to man? It means that out of a workforce of over 155 million people, just 150,000 salespeople achieve the kind of success they dreamt about when they entered the profession.

The Real Reasons Why Salespeople Aren’t More Successful

There are many reasons why salespeople aren’t more successful as any quick Google search will attest. Page after page of results will give you the top reasons why salespeople fail with most articles tending to focus on the usual suspects such as:

No sense of urgency

• Being unorganized

• Negative attitude

• Poor work ethic

• Lack of planning

• Limited sales training

• Limited sales coaching

While sales training and sales coaching usually end up at the bottom of these lists (if they make the list at all), the truth is they are the two most important bullet points for employers and sales managers to consider.

Provide your team access to well-conceived, effective and ongoing sales training and sales coaching and it will provide them with the skills they need to eliminate any barrier to success you might find on a Top 10 list on the internet.

As their skills improve, so will their confidence and their desire to sell more. Not only will this be good for them and their careers, it will also help your company get to where you want it to be, resulting in a win-win for everyone.