WHAT'S NOT HAPPENING!!!!

WHAT'S NOT HAPPENING!!!!!!

You play your first impression cards perfectly. It was all for the decision maker who is a prospect you were connected to through your social networks. You go home enthusiastic enough to even start budgeting ahead of the commissions you forecast you will be getting. The link up was so smooth that you scheduled a negotiation meeting to be held in a few days time. That night, as you lay your head to sleep, you literally feel your hands touching the sky…

YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE! 

Comes morning the day of the negotiation meeting, you have a discussion with your Relationship Manager from the bank on how you will be taking the top-up loan; I mean you are just about to reel in a cash-cow under your name. You enter your car singing, swaying or whistling to your happy song playing in the background on your way to the meeting. You even hold the door for everyone entering the office on that day. Yes life is perfect!

Meeting goes on smoothly then without a warning sign, for some strange reason, you get turned down by the prospect. You get very disappointed, worked up and remember all the time, effort and resources you invested trying to secure this sales deal. You just can not understand why you failed to get that transaction...yet you were so close...

This is just but a case scenario of a typical sales cycle gone wrong and sadly it happens all the time. Some times its beyond the salesman’s control however under a magnifying glass sometimes it is the salesman’s fault. How??? Glad you asked. Here are some instances which you can avoid as all they do is place a salesman in a position where you are attending a gunfight only to realize you came equipped with a water gun or knife.

Talking too much 

Fine there is a lot you can say about your product in the name of having “passion” for it but not only does talking too much bore the prospects easily, it also tends to make them forget the vital information you passed on earlier. Cut to the chase and stop beating around the bush.

Not enough follow-throughs 

When proper follow-up isn’t done on prospects, it’s more likely that the competition would win them before you realize it. Never forget that your competition is always close-by. So, to really succeed in closing deals and turning prospects into clients, consistent follow-ups are a must.

Pitching to unqualified prospects

Truth be told, you would never allow yourself to go on a date with just about anyone. Everyone has a subconscious checklist of preferences and if the candidate doesn’t fit the criteria, you move on…swiftly. The same applies when it comes to sales, whatever you are selling is not a one size fits all...unless its salt and sugar. You have a certain profile for clients for each product you are selling. Thus selling a product to a prospect who does not fit in the target market criteria is pointless. This is because you end up chasing a person who has no, leave alone little, interest or desire to buy. As a result you end up wasting your time chasing your tail when you could have focused your attention on someone who was serious about making a purchase.

Not Listening

When selling to prospects, we always assume that we are trying to sell to prospects something they might need but are not aware about. Thus we always tend to focus more on what we are going to say next rather than listening to what the prospect is saying. Sadly, we end up being sleazy salesmen.

Getting Names Wrong

Yes you have just met and yes you have met tens or hundreds of people so far. It isn’t a mistake made literally when you call Christine Caroline or Peter Patrick. It also isn’t intentional when you misspell names in emails like Yugin instead of Eugene. Never the less it is human that everyone and I mean EVERYONE loves the sound of their own name. We as human can't help it as it is our sole source of identity and moreover it makes us feel important and valued. Thus Getting someone's name wrong is a sign of uncaring.

Being Funny (NOT!)

This is quite straight forward, you only tell certain personal jokes to your circle of friends, don’t stretch your boundaries to colleagues and customers. This is because if your sense of humor involves making someone else the brunt of your jokes, then you might leave the listener with the question in their mind of when they will become the next person to be made fun of.

Not respecting boundaries

"Pushy salesperson" -On-ground definition is that person who ignores your "no" and who can't hear you when you say that you need time to think. Need I say more….

Espousing strong religious or political beliefs to non-believers

Not everyone shares your beliefs. Whether what you saw, read or heard broke your heart and made you bitter about the political or religious situation in the world, it should not be a source of conversation with your prospects…it is not considered as a safe ice breaker. It actually is the surest way to put people off when you push your beliefs down others throats without their permission.

All mistakes can be avoided but in reality everyone has to make them...Franklin P Jones once said,"Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again." Lets learn from our mistakes shall we then :)