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The 2 Biggest Mistakes Salespeople Make And How to Avoid Making Them

Guest post by: Jim Meisenheimer

Article Overview: If you've been a sales representative for less than 18 months, you're probably making mistakes you don't know you're making. This article features the 2 biggest mistakes most salespeople make.

The 2 Biggest Mistakes Salespeople Make And How to Avoid Making Them

Here's a sales tip, especially for new salespeople. Here are the 2 biggest mistakes most salespeople make.


1. Thinking you’ve got the right stuff from the get go! Once you think you’ve got it, you’ve had it!

Don't be too quick to be full of yourself. And remember - you probably don't know what you don't know. That's a scary proposition!

It's been said, "Once you're done changing, you're done!"

So become a student of selling. Don't let a day go by without learning something new about your new selling profession.

Here's a practical sales tip you'd be wise to follow. Create file folders with these labels:


>>> Goal setting

>>> Time management

>>> Account management

>>> Territory management

>>> Telephone skills

>>> Prospecting

>>> Sales questions

>>> Sales proposals

>>> Negotiating

>>> Value added selling

>>> Communicating skills

>>> Sales force automation


You will become what you read!

The more you learn - the more you'll earn! There's a direct connection between them.

Make it a point to visit article directories every week. You'll find thousands of free articles you can download.

Next, you can download, print, read and add articles to your file folders. It's a great way to jump ahead of your competition.

Here are five books you should have in your personal library.

You can find these books on my website under the About Jim tab.


1. Made To Stick – Heath brothers

2. Irresistible Offer – Mark Joyner

3. How To Win Friends And Influence People – Dale Carnegie

4. The 12 Best Questions To As Customers – Jim Meisenheimer

5. The Greatest Salesman In The World - Og Mandino


Here on five magazines you should consider subscribing to if you want to be well informed about business:

1. Business 2.0

2. Fast Company

3. Inc.

4. Entrepreneur Magazine

5. Fortune


If you’re well read, you'll be well informed!

And - well informed people make good conversationalists.

And good conversationalists make great salespeople.



2. The second biggest mistake salespeople make is believing the more you talk the more impressive you’ll be . . . actually the less you say, the smarter you’ll sound.

Most salespeople just don't get this. Most of you are hired because of your ability to communicate -your ability to talk. So when you're seated across a desk with a live customer is it no wonder you begin chattering away?

Please don't think I'm picking on you. I used to do the same things myself. I could talk fast, I could complete other peoples sentences for them, I could get mugged by my own mouth, which sad to think about happened more than I care to remember.

The selling profession isn't really about talking. Selling is more about listening. You don't start with what you have - your product/service. You start with what your customer needs to solve a pressing problem.

If this isn't bad enough - talking too much - most salespeople are terrible listeners. It's no wonder why so many salespeople are just plain mediocre. They’re all making the same mistakes.

If you want to increase your sales and make a pile of money you should learn how to employ your ears before you engage your mouth. Another way of saying this is you should make asking open-ended questions a very high priority every day.

Wisdom has never been associated with excessive talking and babble. Wisdom comes from learning and listening. Wisdom is seldom loud but rather quiet.

Some of the best salespeople I've ever interviewed have been quiet and soft-spoken as they go about their business of solving customer problems.

Here’s a choice many salespeople fail to consider. The choice is, you can chase customers or you can attract them. What makes people attracted to you? Is it your nonstop talking? Is it knowing the answers even before you ask the questions? Not really!

If you’re new to sales or even an experienced sales rep, you should recognize that you don't know a lot about anything until you ask questions. You should also know, given the situation, the more you talk the dumber you'll sound.

As you might imagine, when you meet people for the first time you’re being judged on your first impression. Two things influence first impressions - how you look and how you sound.

You can look really good and blow it by sounding really bad. You can remedy this by paying attention to your appearance and paying equal attention to what you say during the sales call.

This gives new meaning to the old saying "Less is more."

To sum it all up - if you’re in sales the less you say, the more you'll sell!

Well, that's a wrap. Now you have the 2 biggest mistakes most salespeople make and ideas on how to avoid making them.

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Article Tags: communicating skills, dale carnegie, entrepreneur magazine, five books, greatest salesman in the world, heath brothers, how to win friends and influence people, jim meisenheimer, management account, mark joyner, personal library, practical sales, prospecting sales, right stuff, sales force automation, sales tip, scary proposition, setting time, telephone skills, territory management



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