Sales Killers
Sales Killers
Exaggerate.
The stereotypical salesperson is the outgoing, talkative charmer who stretches the truth to fit the situation. Because of this negative perception, I’m always sensitive to be accurate in what I say. Imagine the recent presentation I attended (which set off the alarm bells.) The speaker, a business consultant, was talking about the value of networking with other people for business. Everyone knows 250 other people. That’s a well cited statistic that I’ve seen and heard. This consultant/salesperson was adamant about everyone networking with as many people as possible. One of this consultant’s clients was very reluctant to implement the networking strategy. This client dreaded going to annual family reunions and never looked at them as business opportunities. However, after taking this consultant’s advice, the client discovered after 15 years that his uncle was a high level manager at General Electric. I found the whole story unbelievable and questioned the consultant’s expertise because of this story. Do you think you would know where your uncle worked, especially if it was at a large corporation? Think about how you are presenting your work. Are you the Superman of Sales? Your prospects may not know you well enough to believe that you are. Even if you are, it’s better to have other people cite your work by using customer referral letters. You could also have your clients talk with your prospective clients. When you talk about yourself, be sensitive about not being so extreme that it borders on the unbelievable.
How are you?
If you want to be branded as a salesman, all you have to do is get on the phone and ask a prospect those three words. When I hear “How are you?” the person figuratively screams, “I’m trying to sell you something.” If the salesman has interrupted an important project I will ask, “And what are you trying to sell me?” The reply is always, “Oh, I’m not trying to sell you anything.” My reply is, “Well then, thanks for calling. Good bye.” If you call a prospect who you do not know, why do you want to know how they’re feeling? They know you really don’t care. Will their good or bad health help you sell? It will only help if you are looking for prospects with specific ailments. Early in the call they probably won’t disclose them to you anyway. If you find yourself in the habit of asking clients about their health after you identify yourself, write a new script. Don’t read it verbatim, but practice asking if this is a good time for them to talk. Knowing that your customer is open to listening is better information than knowing he’s healthy. You’ll find out soon enough if he’s healthy enough to buy.
Lack of follow up.
“I’ll call you next week.” If you say it you are now obligated to do it. I think sales professionals who are poor at follow up are that way because they have no process for doing it. Create a system where you know what you commit to and then do it. You can use a manual or high tech solution. Either will be effective if you use them. One of the quickest ways to lose credibility is to fail to keep a promise to a prospect. It’s important even if it’s a small thing like missing a promised return phone call. You also miss the opportunity to establish your credibility. Worse, is that you establish yourself to be just like the rest of the poor salespeople.
There are enough challenges in selling without introducing more obstacles to your selling. Avoid the sales killers and you’ll get more sales.
Sales Killers - To learn more about this author, visit Maura Schreier-Fleming's Website.
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I just went to a presentation where if I were a buyer, I would have never bought. What happened? Just one of the things that I notice that stops the sales process cold. Here are a few more sales killers that you can think about—so you don’t do them in your selling.
Exaggerate.
The stereotypical salesperson is the outgoing, talkative charmer who stretches the truth to fit the situation. Because of this negative perception, I’m always sensitive to be accurate in what I say. Imagine the recent presentation I attended (which set off the alarm bells.) The speaker, a business consultant, was talking about the value of networking with other people for business. Everyone knows 250 other people. That’s a well cited statistic that I’ve seen and heard. This consultant/salesperson was adamant about everyone networking with as many people as possible. One of this consultant’s clients was very reluctant to implement the networking strategy. This client dreaded going to annual family reunions and never looked at them as business opportunities. However, after taking this consultant’s advice, the client discovered after 15 years that his uncle was a high level manager at General Electric. I found the whole story unbelievable and questioned the consultant’s expertise because of this story. Do you think you would know where your uncle worked, especially if it was at a large corporation? Think about how you are presenting your work. Are you the Superman of Sales? Your prospects may not know you well enough to believe that you are. Even if you are, it’s better to have other people cite your work by using customer referral letters. You could also have your clients talk with your prospective clients. When you talk about yourself, be sensitive about not being so extreme that it borders on the unbelievable.
How are you?
If you want to be branded as a salesman, all you have to do is get on the phone and ask a prospect those three words. When I hear “How are you?” the person figuratively screams, “I’m trying to sell you something.” If the salesman has interrupted an important project I will ask, “And what are you trying to sell me?” The reply is always, “Oh, I’m not trying to sell you anything.” My reply is, “Well then, thanks for calling. Good bye.” If you call a prospect who you do not know, why do you want to know how they’re feeling? They know you really don’t care. Will their good or bad health help you sell? It will only help if you are looking for prospects with specific ailments. Early in the call they probably won’t disclose them to you anyway. If you find yourself in the habit of asking clients about their health after you identify yourself, write a new script. Don’t read it verbatim, but practice asking if this is a good time for them to talk. Knowing that your customer is open to listening is better information than knowing he’s healthy. You’ll find out soon enough if he’s healthy enough to buy.
Lack of follow up.
“I’ll call you next week.” If you say it you are now obligated to do it. I think sales professionals who are poor at follow up are that way because they have no process for doing it. Create a system where you know what you commit to and then do it. You can use a manual or high tech solution. Either will be effective if you use them. One of the quickest ways to lose credibility is to fail to keep a promise to a prospect. It’s important even if it’s a small thing like missing a promised return phone call. You also miss the opportunity to establish your credibility. Worse, is that you establish yourself to be just like the rest of the poor salespeople.
There are enough challenges in selling without introducing more obstacles to your selling. Avoid the sales killers and you’ll get more sales.
Sales Killers - To learn more about this author, visit Maura Schreier-Fleming's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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