In some of my sales training classes I pose the question is sales an art or a science? In most any class you get a range of opinions and the room ends up almost equally split. Trick is both sides are correct, I believe that sales is both art and science.
The science of sales or revenue production lies in managing the messages, contacts and content involved in getting a sales rep in front of a prospect. Another part of the science is leveraging the technology of today to understand what works and what doesn’t, where the key points of the buying process lie and how they can be impacted. Then just like manufacturing you can apply analytics and continuous improvement methodologies to improve the process.
The art is when that sales rep is in front of the prospect. How do you “peel the onion” to learn the issues? What are the right questions to ask? How do you create and nurture trust in the relationship. How do you overcome an objection? How do you deal with negative influences. These are part and parcel of the art and like any art form some people are more naturally inclined than others but most everything can be learned if you are willing put in the effort.
For a company to be successful in driving revenue both the art and science of driving revenue must be understood and nurtured.