We all make mistakes, no one is perfect. But there are a lot of mistakes that can be avoided with a little extra awareness and care. Making mistakes in sales can be very costly! Below are 4 of the most common mistakes that are made among sales people. This will be great to share with your internal team and peers.
The biggest mistake of all is not doing your research before meeting a prospect. You need to research the company and the person you’re calling to get an understanding of the company, and your contact’s role at that company. Without this basic information you will have a hard time starting a conversation. And knowing things about your prospect ahead of time can help you relate to them on a more personal level and build a relationship quicker.- Contacting your prospect at the wrong time. Don’t interrupt people’s lives unnecessarily. When you make a call, don’t just assume it’s convenient for the person on the other end of the line. Ask if it’s a a good time. Schedule calls when it is convenient for the prospect. One of the biggest mistakes sale people make is forgetting to check time zones. Make sure you are calling the prospect appropriate to their time zone and not yours.
- Don’t jump to conclusions without knowing the facts. This happens a lot of times when sales reps want to seal a deal quickly. They forget to listen to what their lead is saying. This can turn the lead off and make them take their business elsewhere.
- Selling to the wrong person. Do detailed research to find out who the decision maker is, how much money they have access to, and detailed information about what their needs are. Sometimes it’s difficult to get to the decision maker, so you may have to make friends with an employee at a lower level to get your foot in the door. Many times people will waste time and money on a sales pitch just to find out this person has no buying power or need for your services. Save yourself the time and do research upfront.
What other mistakes have you seen being commonly made?
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