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The Eight Sales Dysfunctions of a Salesperson

Guest post by: Gerry Layo

Article Overview: If you're like most companies getting fewer opportunities to create sales this year, you need to pay attention to all wins AND all losses in your sales efforts! There are specific things being done by salespeople every day that create the LOSS of sales and the LOSS of customers. Are you sure you and/or your salespeople are NOT doing these? It’s challenging enough in the marketplace today gaining new business from existing customers and gaining the trust of new customers to take a chance with you. The current state of the economy is driving fear and uncertainty which is driving decisions to new places in the organization. Those decisions are being made slower than ever and often times, by committees. On top of that, the competition is doing crazy things, dropping prices and trimming margins to all-time lows.

The Eight Sales Dysfunctions of a Salesperson

With all of the existing challenges that we face in the marketplace, we certainly don't need to be adding to our woes by engaging in dysfunctional sales behavior! Unfortunately, I am seeing too much of this today and it needs to STOP! Pay attention to the following EIGHT areas of sales dysfunction and make sure that you are not participating in any of these: 1-Leading with your wallet

Although it seems price sensitivity is present in our customers today at a much higher rate than in recent history; we cannot forget that "The price is the scorecard for how well you play the game." Too many times, the salesperson of today is even more price sensitive than the customer. Why? It seems (in the mind of the salesperson) that whenever a sale is lost today, it usually comes down to price. In fact it seems that customers are actually getting programmed by the competition to discuss price earlier in the sales process.

Here is what happens: Too many salespeople do not spend the appropriate amount of time building the value of their product or service offering. Just whenyou need to be doing a better job of communicating and connecting value,you tend to rush to the one thing that customers see as the common denominator; price! Whenyou "tee-up" phrases such as, "We want to make sure that we get you the best deal or the best rate"you only add to our problems.

You need to leave price out of the conversation as much asyou can. You know price will be a consideration in the decision. They know it too! But, for most buyers, the price is what it costs to get a result. Do yourself a favor and discuss what result the customer seeks. Learn to deflect price (set it off to the side) initially instead of avoiding it. Leading with price turns into competing on price which leads to margin and commission erosion for you and no perceived value to the customer as to who you are and what you do for them besides lower prices.

Most customers will grind you on price if:

A. They know that they can and you will react by lowering it-(you don't value your offer as much as you should) or

B. They don't understand the value-(you have not communicated the value in terms of what they get for making the decision to go with you and your price)

2. You stop communicating your value

Anyone can make a sale or create a customer the first time. The art of a long and healthy sales career is in building a long list of loyal clientele that continues to value you and your company over all others. Too many salespeople today think the opposite; that getting the initial sale is the hard part and once that's done, it should be all downhill from there. WRONG!

In a challenging economy, the customer that feels unimportant begins to reconsider your value and that of your company. In fact, I was on stage with another speaker recently that stated, "In a tough economy, customers get promiscuous!" Listen, when you land a new customer, you have just created a new target for the competition! And that customer has been pre-qualified by you! You've done all of the hard work to land them. The competitionwill now strategize not only how toLAND the business, they will actually strategize how to TAKE it from you.

In the world today, delivering on what you promised is no longer good enough! You cannot leave it up to the customer to stay "in love" with you on their own. After a while, the things that you do for the customer will tend to get taken for granted if you let it. It reminds me of the age-old question and answer: When is the best time to tell your spouse that you love them?....Before someone else does!

The customer that takes their business elsewhere today costs much more than the one that never buys. Why? Because you were counting on that business! You had it! Shame on you for letting them fall out of love with you! Weneed to continually communicate what we "bring to the table."

3-"Get it CLOSED" instead of "Get it OPENED" Mentality!

(I have to be careful with this one because it may seem that I will contradict myself below when I discuss closing-or lack thereof.)

The current state of desperation that exists in many sales organizations has many salespeople focused on tactics and TODAY, instead of strategy and FOREVER! In fact, this is true with a solid majority of salespeople regardless of the economy. Too many are more concerned with the sale that is made today than they are with the repercussions of the "scorched earth" that they leave behind in their efforts.

Salespeople are focused (often by management) to meet deadlines, hit sales quotas, earn bonuses and win contests. Although I understand the importance of urgency in the sales process, we cannot run roughshod over the needs and desires of the customer in the effort to meet our agendas. While me may occasionally win a sale this way, this behavior will not tend to endear us to the customer and thus, trust is low; resulting in no referrals (who want their contacts to go through that?) and no relationship going forward!

Try to consider what the "lifetime value" of a customer could be if you do everything right. Imagine what it would be worth if you make the right moves for and with the customer initially and then continue to grow with them and for them for years to come.

There are many differences between a one-night stand and a marriage. Do you know what they are?

4-Use of URGENCY SELLING TACTICS and Tricks

I guess there used to be a day when buyers used to be regarded as somewhat unintelligent. If not, I cannot understand where some of the hogwash tactics used today comes from. One of the big ways that salespeople seek to secure a sale is the "buy-now-or-miss-out" tactic. This mostly leads to more "push-back" and less trust on the part of the buyer. Eventually, price dropping is what comes next for the seller and the nasty cycle continues. When the customer is pressured to buy before they are ready, value moves down the priority list and price takes its place on the top! Customers understand more and more today that they can buy on their terms. If it cannot be from you, they will either look elsewhere or demand that YOU PAY for the salesurgency you wish to impose by dropping your price! Again, even if you do win the business using this tactic, there is probably little foundation for a relationship for future business.

5-Lack of AWARENESS and EMPATHY

Today's seller needs to be hyper sensitive to the currentstate of mind of the buyer. They need to do their best to connect to the most compelling needs that the customer may have to purchase the product or service that they are offering. This all goes back to the shortest course on selling; Ask Questions and Listen! Today's sellers have unending accessibility to information to help them prepare and communicate with the customer from their point of view.

Instead of a better process however, I tend to see a continued focus on the presentations by the seller! The rush to roll-out the PowerPoint Presentation is the goal! The agreement to have us write a proposal or send a bid seems to be the entire purpose for the sales visit. In the world in which we live in today, the connection that a salesperson makes with our prospects, customers, and clients is the primary asset that we need to covet. If we choose to NOT be the lowest price and we choose to NOT be a "one-and-done" vendor, we need to shift our focus and that of our sellers BACK to the customer.

Instead of preparing yourself and your sellers on the "what to say" part of the selling transaction, we need to prepare and practice the questions that create the dialogue that creates the connection. It is through that connection that we will discover and understand how to best help the customer buy today and for the long-term. More importantly, it will help the customer discover and understand that we differ from the competition in value and that our concern for them deserves their continued trust and business.

6-Afraid to ASK for the Business.

If I had 100 salespeople in a room and told them that I had one-hour to train them in one specific area of the sales process and that they could pick from a list of our 27 different training topics, I bet that over 80% of the room would ask me to cover CLOSING! You see, many sellers believe that if they could learn the secrets of CLOSING, then the sales process would be shorter and they would have to focus less on the other stuff.

I believe that closing is the natural conclusion to the professional, customer focused sales process. If you are with a customer discussing the potential of doing business together, it should be a foregone conclusion that, if the connection between buyer and seller is correct and that the offer meets the needs, then a sale should be the result. Right? However, there is some small print attached that we are all too aware of.

I often state that there are two people that should be dismissed from the profession of selling:

The first one to go must be the salesperson who rushes to the close (see above) before garnering the customer's trust and diagnosing their specific needs. They use tricks and tactics (see above) and make all sellers look like a bunch of self-centered, product-focused, short-sighted hacks with commission breath! They need to GO!

The second salesperson that needs to go actually does a good job for the majority of the sales process. They prepare well and strategize a decent approach. They engage the customer in conversation and discover (with the customer) the motivations for buying. They present a customized and anchored proposition of value that speaks to the unique needs of the customers and they communicate the value strongly in the customer's language. But then......they never ask for the business! They need to GO too!

It is not the customer's job to buy. It is our job to help them do so in a professional manner when we see the mutual benefit of the sale. Anything short of that and we have not done our job. When the economy is tight and opportunities to sell are fewer, we cannot afford to be "professional presenters" or "hesitant product-pushers." EARN---ASK---GET!!

7-It's NEVER a touchdown if you drop the ball!

When you are fighting for every opportunity you can find, dropping the ball on even one item is not acceptable. Follow-up and follow-through are two major areas of differentiation for professionals in any arena. The sales profession requires it daily! There is no excuse for not doing what it is that you said you were going to do!

In today's competitive and challenging marketplace, a salesperson can actually create a considerable level of differentiation in the way that they communicate next steps and then follow through with those steps. It's too easy to overpromise and underperform. It's too easy to justify a lack of follow up by complaining that you are too busy trying to secure new sales. (You were the same one that justified your lack of follow up 2 years ago by saying that you were too busy with existing business.) Stop buying into your own s@#$%t!

Please remember that follow-up is NOT the customer's job! Timeliness today has a much different definition than it did a few years ago. Technology has "turned up the dial" on customer's expectations. Technology has also created many tools for you to stay on top of your commitments and to do what you said you would do! Use what is available. Set the alarm on your cell phone. Set a reminder in your CRM program. Leave yourself a voicemail or send yourself an email.

When all of the smoke clears, here is what it comes down to: either you will be a person who honors your commitments (to yourself, family, colleagues, companies and customers) or you will be a person who does not. Choose!

8-Referrals are by accident ONLY

When a customer decides to do business with you and you deliver exactly what it is that you promised, you have earned the right to ask for referrals. The most successful sales professionals in any industry acknowledge that a major part of their success is due to the consistent stream of introductions and referrals from their existing customer base.

Too many sellers today do not focus on the power of the referral. The main reason that they do not consistently ask for and get referrals is that they do not look at it as part of the sales process. If the subject of referrals is ever brought up, it is often done so very weakly by the seller such as, "If you ever think of anyone that might be interested in..............blah...blah...blah." Just as with anything that is to be duplicated and/or systematic, there needs to be a process to follow! And it needs to be followed with conviction and commitment.

Remember, two of the biggest concerns that a prospective new customer has about doing business with you are:

1-"Will I pay too much?" and

2-"Will this product/service meet my expectations (as set by the salesperson)?

Both of these questions are answered in advance if you have been referred by someone that they trust.

Take a good hard look at these EIGHT customer, sales, and/or margin killers above and keep a good eye on the sales process in which you engage daily. Are any of these things killing your sales? Are any of these dysfunctions creating an "anti-sales" culture? It's time to streamline your efforts and "sweat the small stuff."

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Article Tags: margins, price, sales dysfunction, sales process, salespeople, salesperson, value



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