It is a proven fact that a customer’s opinion of a company is formed before the close of a sale. The ground reality is that prospects will look for any minor reason to dismiss a product from their consideration.
Therefore, salesmen have an obligation to make sure that the customer does not develop an unpleasant interaction with them during a sales conversation. Customers may permanently discard a brand if they feel hostile towards the salesperson.
First and foremost, the salesman must think rationally and believe himself to be an advisor who tries to help someone make a decision on purchasing a product. Many decades ago, “selling ice to an Eskimo” was a famous catchphrase to describe the efficiency of a salesman.
That concept is long gone now. Selling anything to anyone is complete nonsense and it is cheating. The modern salesman is a skilled professional who consults on the needs of prospects and instructs them to make the most appropriate buying decision.
During the entire period of my near forty-year career as a salesman, I was under pressure to perform consistently. Salesmen make mistakes when they try to close sales to get away from such pressure. Some of these blunders salesmen make during a presentation can dissuade prospects, stall a deal, and even ruin the opportunity permanently. Hence, in this article, some of the commonest errors and mistakes salesmen habitually make are discussed.
Over talking is one of the commonest mistakes salespeople make frequently. Salesmen, by nature or by practice, most often, can be somewhat pushy and forceful individuals in selling situations. Because of their natural desire to close a sale, some salespeople may over-communicate during a sales presentation.
Selling is identifying the real needs of the customer as early as possible. Despite the popular belief that selling is about talking, it’s more about active listening. By talking more, the salesperson deprives the prospect of the opportunity to explain his or her true need.This may lead to animosity if the customer feels that he is not given the opportunity to express himself.
Also, by giving too much irrelevant information about the product or service, the customer can develop a sense of mistrust. Therefore, it’s best for the salesmen to be conscious about what they talk about and practise active listening.
Another frequent mistake by salespeople is trying to offer too many benefits or too much assistance to the prospects, out of a keenness to seal a deal. They must realise that, psychologically, a prospect can develop a sense of doubt if the salesman offers too much help for nothing. The salesman should propose solutions without offering excessive information that can be confusing to the prospect.
Benefits
Salespeople typically like to brag about their companies, products, after-sales care, or achievements. Also, they often like to talk more about the features of the product than the benefits. However, the truth is that features do not sell; benefits do.
Therefore, instead of giving priority to present features, the salesperson must provide details on how the benefits of the product can cater to the exact needs of the prospect. The solution the salesman offers with the obvious benefits will urge the prospect to buy it.
Customers do not always buy because of low prices, discounts, give-outs, or promotions. Instead, they buy value. Although traditionally, lower prices are viewed as the decisive factor, people do not purchase merely because the product is cheap. They may even consider the cheap products inferior in quality.
A good salesman does not need discounts or cheap prices to sell. Hence, the salesperson must focus predominantly on the value of his or her products rather than the price.
Overpromising and under-delivering is a common blunder made by salespeople due to the fear of losing a sale. However, modern salesmen are honourable professionals who understand the precise needs of their customers and capitalise on them instead of offering exaggerated promises. Unlike the “cigar-smoking, back-slapping, joke-telling salesman” described in Arthur Miller’s famous drama “Death of a Salesman,” today’s salespeople are serious, conscious, and responsible individuals.
Therefore, it’s better to sell nothing than to make a dishonest sale. If the customers later realise that the salesmen were deceitful, they will most likely never return for a repeat sale, depriving the organization of an unknown amount of future revenue.
In my long career as a sales manager, I have come across many salesmen failing because they are scared to close the sale. Due to the fear of losing the sale, they try to drag on without asking for the order. I have seen talented salesmen who make killer presentations and have extremely effective sales pitches lose deals due to reluctance or postponement at the last minute.
Salespeople must realise that no prospect will purchase anything without talking to two or more competitors. Hence, the delay in closing gives an excellent opportunity for the competitor to intervene. Therefore, my advice is that the salesman should ask the prospect to buy, even bluntly, because the customers understand that it is his job.
Most often, every sale is closed with an objection from the prospect. Almost all the time, customers come up with several objections before making the final buying decision. As a result, knowledge and preparation about how to handle objections are critical. This is another common mistake made by salespeople.
If the salesperson fails to overcome objections successfully, regardless of the price, product quality, sales pitch, company reputation, or any other aspect, a sale can be lost forever. Therefore, a sales team must be made ready to answer any and all questions positively with reasonable explanations to clear customers’ doubts. By sharing real-time experiences, sales team members can obtain proper objection handling information in their regular presentations.
Disagreeing or arguing with the customer, mostly during the objection handling time, is a mistake. A customer may become unreasonable and vehemently contradict the opinion of the salesperson. Nevertheless, the salesmen have no ethical permission to lose their temper and get into arguments under any circumstance.
Mistake
Therefore, it’s best to avoid arguments and be friendly and helpful. If the salesman holds himself properly, there is a good chance that the prospect will calm down and offer to buy the product he needs.
A salesperson has to communicate with the decision-maker to complete a sale. Often, they waste valuable time and resources on gatekeepers who usually stand between the seller and the prospect. Therefore, salespeople must identify the real decision-maker at the initial stage of the selling process. This is why sales trainers insist that salespeople do their homework before every sales presentation.
Salesmen often fail when their knowledge of competitors is not properly updated. No customer purchases a product or service without analysing similar products available to them as alternative choices. Due to the easy access to information through the internet, customers are well informed at present. Therefore, knowledge about competitive products and their marketers is an essentially important aspect of selling.
Finally, as discussed earlier, salesmen are naturally friendly, cordial, and knowledgeable individuals. Hence, at times, in order to build a better relationship, they may divert conversations to unimportant topics. This behaviour not only wastes time for both parties but also diverts attention away from the prospect. Hence, the salesman must set limits on small talk with prospects.
Selling is not as easy as many non-salespeople assume. It’s a hit-or-miss scenario. Depending on the situation and the skill of the salesperson, he either draws the customer to buy or repels the prospect away due to any one of the common mistakes discussed.