By Garrett Hollander,

The article debunks some traditional wisdom that many B2B sales professionals still hold as fact.

Myth #1: 80% of a company’s revenue is produced by the top 20% of their salespeople.

But really… The top 20% of producers generate about 50% of all sales revenue.

Lesson: It’s still a significant disparity, in that 50% of the business is earned by the top 20% and the other 80% are responsible for the other half of revenue. I’m not sure we can totally debunk this quite yet, but certainly worth noting.

Myth #2: Customer loyalty depends almost exclusively on value, price, and quality.

But really… The article states that 39% of customer loyalty is based on the effectiveness of the salesperson, before and after the transaction. As for the rest, 22% of customer loyalty is based on apparent quality or value, 20% on the product offering, and 19% on price.

Lesson: If you develop your B2B sales force, there is a definitive impact on customer loyalty.

Myth #3: When a client decides not to renew, it’s expected and usually warranted for one reason or another.

But really… You ready for this one? Of the clients a company loses, 60% are a surprise, and 80% rate their vendor as good or very good.

Lesson: Even if you do right by your customers, they may not be shirking the competitors that are still knocking on their door with another offer.

Myth #4: The most effective way to improve sales team performance is to teach the techniques used by the top 20% to the rest of the team.

But really… The way the authors lay it out, there’s only an additional 5% gain if you spend the resources to train lower performers. Alternatively, if you replace the bottom 20% with average or above-average performers, there’s a 12% gain.

Lesson: As harsh as it sounds, the authors suggest that you might be better off trimming the fat off of your sales team.