The 80/20 rule in sales is not a myth. Believing that it is inevitable and that all sales organizations or service industry professionals must live with 80 percent of their sales team members selling only 20 percent of the products or services is the fallacy!

The articles in my series of submissions to Ezine Articles were basically written to help sales managers, representatives and service industry professionals to eliminate the literally hundreds of sales and sales management myths that lead to an 80/20 configuration of their sales force in the first place. If you have read a number of these articles you learned that developing a 100 percent producing sales team starts with hiring the right people, training them in sound consultative selling principles and then coaching them to become 100 percenters. By reading my submissions, then you can obtain literally dozens of proven techniques and field-tested systems to help eliminate the 80/20 rule in your organization. The 80/20 Rule is also discussed in some detail in the e-learning manual entitled 101 Sales Management Myths at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/myths4.htm

Remember, that the 80/20 rule dies hard. Youll need to work diligently and hard to eliminate it and then even harder to keep it from resurfacing. Good Luck!

Virden Thornton

Serving Discriminating Clients Internationally Since 1983

Virden J. Thornton is the founder of The $elling Edge?, Inc., a training and development firm, specializing in sales, telemarketing, customer relations, and management training, coaching and marketing advisory services. He has trained, coached and advised literally hundreds of clients, including Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, Northern Uniform Supply, The Texas Independent Banker's Association, Deloitte & Touch?, Smith Barney, Jefferson Wells International, The Government of The U. S. Virgin Islands, First National Bank of Arizona, City Laundering, Co. and Wal?Mart to name a few.

Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success, A Realtor's Success Formula, Organizing For Sales Success, and "best sellers" Building & Closing the Sale, 101 Sales Myths. His audio/video tape series entitled Close That Sale, is based on his 50 Minute Series manual Closing: A Process Not A Problem--published by a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed self-directed learning series of sales, coaching, customer service, telemarketing, and personal productivity training manuals, outlined in the Books & Manuals section of this site. Virden has a degree in communications (public address emphasis) from the University of Utah.

As a consultant and trainer, Virden has been retained by dozens of banks, savings and loans, and credit unions to help them move from operational, order taking cultures to proactive sales and cross-selling organizations. He has literally trained thousands of sales representatives and managers in businesses as diverse as distribution, auto sales, printing, eye care, uniform and linen rentals, manufacturing, and many others. Virden also specializes in training, coaching and advising service industry professionals (accountants, attorneys, engineers, architects, financial planners, stockbrokers, etc.) in the fine art of "business development."

Virden has taught small business courses at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, a bank sales curriculum at the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and a short course on selling at the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School off Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Virden and his wife Barbara reside in Avon Lake, Ohio and are the parents of ten children.