The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
© Stephan Schiffman
Mistake #1 Not Being Obsessed
Maintain a commitment to results every single moment you are at work; utilize tools and implement ideas quickly.
o Obsession – Every day make 20 cold calls, talk to 7 people, set up 1 appt. Do five days per week, close 1 – year’s end 50 new customers!
o Utilization – Review company brochures, catalogs – learn your product. Get ideas. Use books, motivational tapes, use tools!
o Implementation – Selling is selling: going after people and talking to them. Easily measureable if you are winning or losing.
o Make a to-do list and work it like crazy.
o Keep your motivation up – find a new idea per month.
o Start early – Come in 45 minutes early and get big jump!
o Be disciplined – Utilize everything, them implement. Success!
Mistake #2 Not Listening to the Prospect
Never interrupt. Get key facts, isolate problems, and send the right message, both verbally and nonverbally: “I am here to help you.”
Mistake #3 Not Empathizing with the Prospect
Try to see the other persons perspective; remember hat you are not going to be thought of as the most important item on the day’s agenda. Develop respect for the prospect’s time.
Mistake #4 Seeing the Prospect as an Adversary
Strive to get the prospect to work with you; do not approach the sale from a confrontational mindset.
Mistake #5 Getting Distracted
Concentrate throughout your meeting; do not become disoriented by confusing or negative remarks from the prospect.
Mistake #6 Not Taking Notes
Establish control and reinforce the prospects’ desire to offer information by taking down key facts on a note pad.
Mistake #7 Failing to Follow Up
Type and send professional-looking thank-you notes at key points in the sales cycle.
Mistake #8 Not Keeping in Contact with Past Clients
Remember that someone who decides to use your product or service, then falls out of your current customer base, may still be a highly qualified lead.
Mistake #9 Not Planning the Day Efficiently
Commit to a daily schedule and measure your actual performance against it.
Don’t waste hours you cold be speaking with clients – plan the evening before.
o Prioritize your goals – list and rank tasks, then put them in the to-do list.
o Leave time for crises – Leave an hour at the end of day
o Get up 15 minutes earlier than you do now – and give yourself a positive charge of energy in the extra time – good breakfast, pleasant music, stay away from listening/reading the news
o Use an appointment book – day marked off in 15-min increments.
o On Friday evening plan Monday and the sketch the whole week.
Mistake #10 Not Looking Your Best
Put forward a sharp, well-groomed, professional image when dealing with prospects.
Mistake #11 Not Keeping Sales Tools Organized
Make sure your briefcase, sample cases, and other materials are neatly organized and reinforce your professional image.
Mistake #12 Not Taking the Prospects Point of View
Isolate product benefits and highlight these for the prospect.
Mistake #13 Not Taking Pride in Your Work
Stand behind your product and your company with pride; talk frequently with others about what you do for a living.
Mistake #14 Trying to Convince, Rather than Convey
Demonstrate in a compelling way how your products or service can address relevant concerns. Do not apply “high pressure” sales tactics that ignore the needs of the prospect.
Mistake #15 Underestimating the Prospect’s Intelligence
Strive to act as a conveyor of information; work with the prospect to identify problems and find workable solutions.
Mistake #16 Not Keeping Up to Date
Do not assume that, once a sale has closed, you need no longer attempt to learn about the problems of the customer. Develop contacts and monitor relevant publications to detect key trends in a given industry.
o Knowledge is power.
Mistake #17 Rushing the Sale
Let the sales cycle progress at the pace hat’s most appropriate for the prospect.
o Stage 1: Qualifying – also called prospecting or cold-calling; contacting a new person and determine if they have a uses for your product/service.
o Stage 2: Interviewing – learn pertinent facts about the prospect.
o Stage 3: Presentation – show exactly how your product or service can solve the problems identified during the interview.
o Stage 4: Closing – ask for the sale.
o The four stages can happen in one phone call or take months.
Mistake #18 Not Using People Proof
Build credibility by highlighting past success with other customers.
o Reinforces positive inclinations toward your company and gives a logical reason to confirm the emotional decision to do business with you.
Mistake #19 Humbling Yourself
Operate from the assumption that you being to the table a specific set of skills and a level of product knowledge that the other person can benefit from. Work with the prospect as a partner, not a supplicant.
o You like working with self-confident professionals and expect that of others, and your customers expect that of you. Don’t let them down!
Mistake #20 Being Fooled by “Sure Things”
Do not become distracted with sales on the horizon; this reduces your effectiveness in developing your customer base today.
Mistake #21 Taking Rejection Personally
Try to develop resilience and self-assurance when confronting rejection; remember that hearing a “no” answer is the only way to get to a “yes” answer.
Mistake #22 Not Assuming Responsibility
When faced with a “no” answer, consider asking the prospect where you have gone wrong, or what mistakes you have made in the presentation.
Mistake #23 Underestimating the Importance of Prospecting
Develop good prospecting skills, and work daily to find new customers.
o Keep something in the pipeline all the time – you’ll regret it if you don’t!
Mistake #24 Focusing on Negatives
Approach obstacles from a positive frame of mind; avoid negative habits such as complaining and gossiping.
Mistake #25 Not Showing Competitive Spirit
Establish strong “battlefield strategies” that will help your “army” attain its objectives.