Sales Mistakes that Every Salesperson Should Try and Avoid

Sales Mistakes that Every Salesperson Should Try and Avoid

Veterans who are successful in business today learned valuable lessons from customers that got away. Every sales person, regardless of the industry, product, or skill level, makes mistakes during a presentation. Over the years, I’ve coEdit Htmlmpiled the following list of the top 10 mistakes to avoid.
Lack of professional appearance. People naturally base purchase decisions on first impressions. If you want people to listen to you and heed your advice regarding your product you have to look and act the part you are playing. Be appropriately groomed and sell with confidence.
Not listening. Each fortunate human being is given two ears and one mouth, which means we need to be doing twice as much listening as speaking. For example, too often jewelry sales associates sing the praises of a product without hearing what the customer wants. “I want a pair of earrings that my wife can wear everyday. Ones she can wear to work but are also dressy enough to wear out. She tends to fall asleep with her jewelry so I want a pair she won’t lose either.”
Not Identifying. The customer has told you want they want now identify it. Offer the solution right away and repeat what they’ve told you so that they know you are listening and are actively paying attention to what they want. “These beautiful white gold diamond huggie earrings are ones your wife can wear everyday. They are casual enough to wear with jeans when she’s out with her friends and will even sparkle at night when you’re out at dinner. They don’t have a post and instead snap shut so they won’t poke her if she falls asleep with them on and they don’t have a push back so she you won’t have to worry about her loosing them.”
Overselling. There is a fine line between being a good salesperson and being pushy or obnoxious. A non-stop sales pitch doesn’t let the customer make an intelligent decision. Selling is when you ask questions to get customers to talk about their needs.
Being unprepared. Whether you’re making a sale over the phone or in a showroom, you need to know the details about what you are selling and be able to answer all pertinent questions specific to that product.
Not Telling the Truth. It is more credible to say, “I don’t know, but I will find out for you,” than to try to sound like you know what you’re talking about.
Getting to Know Your Customer Without Going Off topic. Get to know your client a bit but don’t overdo the need for a relationship with excessive babbling. Other types of salespeople think they have to tell potential clients everything they know about a product even after a client has indicated that the item is right for them. While you do want to build a relationship and make your customer comfortable, the goal is to make the sale. Taking the time to educate your customers is a good way to build rapport, which builds trust while you’re still talking about the product.
Prejudging People. Salespeople routinely miss sales because they prejudge their customers. Do not let race, gender, ethnicity, or appearance stand in the way of making a sale.
Not closing the sale. Once you have provided your customer with the information he or she needs, ask if the customer is ready to make a purchase. In many cases, all you have to do is ask a direct question in order to close a sale; For example, would you like me to wrap these up or would you just like them in a box.
Not differentiating yourself. Every store claims to do quality work or sell a quality product. You must communicate the differences not the similarities. All you have to do is be slightly better than your most effective competitor to get the order.