The secret to success in sales is that there is no secret. But when it comes to doing it wrong, there is an endless list of rules to follow. Every lead, every prospect, and every client is different, and smart salespeople know that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to selling success. David Freeman, Director of Sales at sales and negotiations specialists, Huthwaite International, the team behind world-famous SPIN® Selling, outlines the top characteristics of unsuccessful salespeople and how to avoid making these age-old mistakes.
- Talk, talk, talk
When first launched in 1978, SPIN® Selling was considered controversial and revolutionary. This was because in the 70’s salespeople played a largely informative role. Customers couldn’t find basic information like pricing, product features, terms of service or testimonials online, so they relied on sales reps to provide that information. However, SPIN® Selling told sales reps to stop talking at their customers and instead, to start encouraging the customer to talk.
Today, that is more important than ever. Potential customers can find all of the information they need online and often access it before even considering meeting the sales team – meaning ‘death by PowerPoint’ simply isn’t a tangible sales tactic. Instead your primary goal as a salesperson is to determine how your product or service aligns with the challenges and goals of the people you’re speaking with. Find what issues your customers are facing and you can demonstrate exactly how your product or service works to address this challenge for the client.
- Don’t ask questions
If you think asking questions makes you come off as intrusive, you’re wrong.
When it comes to selling, asking clients questions not only gets you closer to your destination (i.e. making a sale), but also opens up other sweet spots (e.g. upselling, cross-sell, referrals, etc.) just waiting to be revealed down the line.
Asking the right questions is a methodical science that takes time and effort to master.
- Failing to prepare
The saying “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” has never been more important in sales. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, the customer will expect you to have conducted your research and have a good understanding of their company and their values.
A great salesperson should be constantly ready to answer the phone to a customer for a quick question or conversation with their clients and prospects. Working to keep your finger on the pulse and up to date with key industry updates, will strengthen your position and help you to gain a real understanding of the challenges your customers are working to overcome – further solidifying your solutions focused sales approach.
- Being too pushy or not being persistent
Finding the balance between too pushy and not pushy enough is difficult to gauge, it is different for every customer and what can be too pushy for one person isn’t pushy enough for another. The worst trait any salesperson can possibly have is that of being pushy. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to take no for an answer. It will not only lose you the sale but it will also destroy any prospect of a relationship or any future sale.
However, on the other side of the spectrum, don’t give up if you don’t get a sale the first time. You have to become a bit of a pest to some extent because if you don’t keep trying, you definitely won’t get the sale.
The key here is a balance between the two: don’t annoy the prospect into hating you and buying from a competitor, but don’t let yourself fall at the first hurdle.
It isn’t a bad thing to be putting a little pressure on someone. You shouldn’t be afraid to press the prospect to find out if they’re really interested or not, just as you shouldn’t be afraid to take it on the chin and accept that they won’t buy from you this time and come back again for another attempt later on.
One of the key challenges salespeople will face is apathy, and the best way to deal with it is to be straightforward and ask someone if they’re interested or not.
- Forcing squares through round holes
A bad salesperson won’t know when to walk away from a prospect.
Not many prospects are circles. Most are squares, some are triangles, and a few are even a kind of weird, octagonal shape. Unfortunately, what you’ve got is a hole. A perfectly circular one and nothing will fit through it but a really well-rounded shape.
What’s more, it will more than likely take a few interactions before the prospect warms up. Until then they can’t even begin to change shape.
Bad salespeople try to warm the prospect up, change their shape and force them through the hole all in the first phone call. Great salespeople realise that time is as important a factor in moving someone through the process as what they’re saying and how they’re saying it ever could be.
By not knowing when to walk away from a pitch you’re not only wasting the prospects time but also your own. The time that is much better spent speaking to those circles rather than the squares.
