Is it possible to apply the principle of first time right (FTR) in a sales context? This two-part article looks at what happens when companies do just that. Part one defined FTR in sales, and outlined some of the obvious advantages. Part two looks at FTR in sales’ effect on revenue, profits, and productivity.

The effect of FTR on revenue, profits and sales productivity

An outcome of non-FTR sales is lost business or revenue. Companies often overlook this, perhaps because they have never measured FTR in sales, and hence are unaware of what they are losing. One company noticed that only about 20 percent of the sales applications brought by its sales people were FTR. In other words, in 80 percent of the sales applications, the company had to go back to the customer more than once to complete some requirement that was missed the first time. What was really worrisome to the company was that nearly half of those 80 percent had changed their mind when the company went back to them and were no longer interested in buying.

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