Are These Five Big Sales Mistakes Costing Your Business Money?

By Jeff Charles

“Sorry, I just don’t need it.”

You take the time to discover what your prospects need. You invest the energy that is required to give a great sales pitch, but your prospect still says, “no.” Why can’t it be easier to get to a “yes?”

But what if you are making rookie mistakes that are killing your sales efforts? Suppose these mistakes are easy to remedy, and you stopped making them. What would your sales efforts then look like?

Here are five little-known sales mistakes that you might be making, and how to stop making them. If you follow this advice, you'll find it easier to turn prospects into customers, and understand why these mistakes have hurt your sales efforts. You'll also be able to change your sales approach in a way that will help you close deals more easily.

Sales Mistake #1: Rushing Through Your Sales Process

Let’s face it. It’s really easy to become impatient when you’re trying to sell to a prospect, isn’t it? Chances are, you know exactly what your prospect needs, and why they need it. Because of this you might be tempted to make one of the most harmful sales mistakes. You may be tempted to rush through your sales process without taking the time to establish trust and understand your prospect--but that’s not a good idea.

If you rush right into pitching your offering, you are all but guaranteeing that you will lose the sale. You will be making things a lot harder on yourself.

Here’s the thing, even though you might think you know exactly what your prospects need, you actually might not. There may be other important factors that you are missing. Maybe your prospects have more reasons to buy from you than you think--or maybe less! The more you know about your prospects, the easier it will be to get them to buy from you. It’s Sales 101.

What would happen if you went through your entire presentation only to find that your assumptions were wrong? What kind of damage would that do to your sales efforts? If you fail to go through the proper sales process, chances are, you may be leaving money on the table.

But suppose you took the time to introduce yourself the right way. Imagine what it would look like if you asked the right questions before presenting your solution. It would be so much easier, wouldn’t it?

It’s not about pitching the solution you think your prospects need--it’s about finding the solution your prospects actually needs. Trust me, it’s worth taking the time to set up your presentation the right way. Do yourself a favor. Don’t rush the sale. Your prospects will appreciate it.

Sales Mistake #2: Not Having an Established Sales Process

Of course, the only thing worse than rushing through your sales process is not having one to begin with. It’s a rookie mistake that many have made.

Sure, you might think that you can go into each sales interaction and “wing it.” It might seem easy to fly by the seat of your pants. As a matter of fact, you may have even won some sales by doing it this way.

But the bottom line is this: if you’re not using an established sales process, you are losing sales. The Harvard Business Review has shown that companies that use a sales process generate 17 percent more revenue than those that don’t.

Some entrepreneurs fail to create a documented sales process because they don’t want to feel as if they are using a script. However, the issue isn’t following a script word-for-word--the issue is developing a set of guidelines that determine how you manage each sales interaction.

It’s about creating a sales plan that will enable you to have better control over your sales conversations. When you create your own sales process, you will discover how much easier it is to move things along when you’re talking to your prospects. You will see how much better you will become at taking control of each conversation.

You don’t have to write out detailed scripts. Your sales process isn’t a rigid set of steps that you take in each conversation. It’s actually a fluid “battle plan” that you will use to guide your sales efforts.

Sales Mistake #3: Being a Corporate Robot

If you want to be more relatable to your prospects (and who doesn’t?) then you can’t afford to act like a corporate robot with no soul. Nobody wants to deal with someone who isn’t human. Being a corporate robot is a HUGE mistake that can hamper your sales efforts. But it’s a mistake that is easy to make, isn’t it?

Sometimes people believe that being more human will cause us to lose sales. We think it’s unprofessional. However, it’s not about being unprofessional. It’s about being able to be professional while still being human.

Here’s the thing: people make their buying decisions based primarily on emotion, not logic. That’s why people buy from those they know, like, and trust. Nobody knows, likes, or trusts robots. Think about it. When’s the last time you ever saw R2D2 sell anything? Exactly.

You must be relatable to those you wish to persuade. When you show more of your human side to your prospects, it makes it easier for them to connect to you. If you have noticed that your sales efforts aren’t going the way you like, it’s possible that your prospects haven’t connected to you as a person.

Try something different. Instead of just “getting down to business” right away, try building some rapport. The conversation doesn’t always have to center on business. Find some areas of commonality between you and your prospect.

Here’s some things you can talk about:

• Family--Do they have kids? How many? Boys? Girls?
• Work--How did they get into their current line of work. Why?
• Travel--Have they been overseas? When?
• Hometown--Where are they from? Have you been there before?
• Sports--What sports are they into? What are their favorite teams?
• Politics--Just kidding. Don’t talk about politics. Ever. Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.

If you learn how to build better rapport, your prospects will be more comfortable with you. And this will make them more likely to buy from you.

Sales Mistake #4: Being Too Afraid of Being Pushy

Many entrepreneurs fail at sales because they’re too afraid of being seen as pushy. It makes sense, nobody wants to be “that guy,” right? You know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about that guy or gal who aggressively tries to pressure you into buying something with no regard to what you might actually need or want. These people don’t care whether or not you want what they have to offer. They just want your money.

Nobody likes those types of salespeople, so it’s natural that you wouldn’t want to be perceived that way; the good news is that you don’t have to be. You don’t have to be pushy to be a great salesperson, but this doesn’t mean you can’t be assertive. As Zig Ziglar said, “Timid salespeople have skinny children.”

If you have done your due diligence during your conversations with your prospects, you’ve earned the right to ask for the sale. Due diligence means you have positioned yourself effectively. You have asked good questions in an effort to understanding what their real needs are. You have presented a solution that fits their needs. You have answered any questions or concerns they have.

If you have done all this with your prospects, you deserve to ask for the business. You’re not being pushy because you have done the work to show the prospect that you’re there to help them, not just get into their wallets.

Sales Mistake #5: Not Checking for Mutual Understanding

How many times have you been in a situation where someone is talking and talking and talking to you, but you have no idea what they’re talking about? It’s happened to all of us--it’s not fun. And when you’re not understanding what a person is saying to you, what usually happens? That’s right. You start losing interest. You begin to tune the other person out.

If you’re not making sure your prospects understand what you are saying, they’re probably doing the same to you. It’s one of the worst things you can do when you’re trying to get a prospect to become a paying customer. Of course, it’s an easy mistake to make, isn’t it?

It’s easy to assume that your prospect understands what you’re saying. It should be clear, shouldn’t it? It’s not.

Chances are, your prospect doesn’t know your industry and offerings as well as you. It’s because of the curse of knowledge. When one person has accumulated a wealth of knowledge over time, they tend to forget what it was like to lack that knowledge.

This means that when you’re speaking with someone else who doesn’t know what you know, you will explain things in terms that they cannot understand. When you hear someone who is using a lot of complex industry jargon, it could be the curse of knowledge taking effect.

You have to be careful with this. Make sure that you are communicating as clearly as possible. The best way to do this is to make sure your prospect is understanding everything you’re saying. Fortunately, this is easy. All you have to do is ask if what you’re saying is making sense. Pretty easy, right?

Well the issue isn’t how easy it is to ask the question. The issue is actually remembering to answer the question during the conversation. This will keep you from losing sales because you’re overloading the prospect with too much information.

In Conclusion

So how many of these mistakes have you caught yourself making? Chances are, you may have been making at least one of these mistakes. It’s normal. If you implement this advice, you'll find it easier to convince more prospects to become clients, and in the end, you will close more deals.