One of Three-How Salespeople BLOW it!

I often post articles on the things that we need to do to get stronger results in Sales and Leadership. Below, find the first of three articles on how salespeople today BLOW IT on a reguar basis. Why is this important? If we are not learning from our losses, we are doomed to repeat them!

How do salespeople BLOW sales and LOSE customers?

1.They’re focused on what they sell rather than what the customer needs.
The typical salesperson comes into almost every sales interaction with the same intent: To tell the prospect as much as they can about the product or service that they offer and then get them to buy it. It’s no wonder that customers hide behind voicemail and screen us out! Who wants to be put through that? Sales professionals need to understand that customers are only talking to you because they have a need that they wish to have met. Instead of throwing up on the customer, the salesperson needs to find out what those needs are, as well as how the customer wants them to be met. How can this be done? SHUT UP AND SELL! Ask questions and listen!

2.They have very little, if any, pre-call planning.
We wouldn’t expect our attorneys to go into court on trial day winging it, would we? We don’t expect our doctors to go into the operating room without a plan. We assume that the sports teams that we watch have a game plan that they execute for every opponent, don’t we? If we wouldn’t expect any of these professionals to “fly by the seat of their pants” when it comes time to earn their pay, why in the world do we allow our salespeople to do it?
The most valuable asset that our customers have today is their time. And salespeople are getting less of it! Especially ones who are coming into the interaction unprepared and without a clear strategy and plan to execute it. In what areas can your people be more prepared? Here’s a major one: What is the purpose of the call? Without a clear purpose for the sales call, the salesperson will invariably waste their time and the time of their prospect, customer, or client.

3.They act and sound just like everyone else.
I got a chance to sit through a day of sales presentations this year for a software development client company of mine. They were reviewing a few components that they were seeking to add to some of their products and had invited several companies to present their offerings on the same day-one after the other. What an eye opening experience! One after another, the salespeople and their engineers filed in and gave their presentations. One after another they set up their PowerPoint presentations and began the show and tell sessions. A bit of introductory mambo jumbo was typically followed up by a “Thank you for your time today and the opportunity to show you why we……blah, blah, blah, blah.
No matter what company they represented, their sales processes typically followed the same dance steps. The salesperson spent the opening portion speaking about their company, it’s history, it’s customers, it’s special qualifications, etc. Next, they started extolling the many features and virtues of their product or program. Not one of them asked the customer (my client) what it was that was most important to them. Not one of them asked what it was that my customer wanted as far as a result of ownership. I found myself “glazing over” when they spoke because I felt, as did my client (their prospect) a profound sense of non-involvement in the process. I felt as if I was watching a bad re-run over and over!
Let your approach be your main differentiator this year. Don’t dance the same dance and sing the same song as the rest.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I post the next 7 things to look out for in your sales team's performance. Pay attention to this stuff or pay in another way in the long run!