As a salesperson, your primary goal is to sell your product or service. However, sometimes it’s easy to forget that the interaction and presentation can be the most impactful part of the sales process. It’s not always possible to make that quick sale! Just like in any job, sales teams have to practice, take risks, make mistakes and learn from them. However, to make your sales journey a little less bumpy, here are three of the biggest sales mistakes that you should avoid at all costs.
Are You Providing Value
When you first meet your prospect, it’s important to communicate things of real value, rather than just going straight in with the hard pitch. It’s all well and good you explain your product or service, but how can it actually solve a problem for the potential customer? Your product might have all the latest bells and whistles, but you need to convey actual knowledge or insight about the prospects’ challenges or goals that the prospect didn’t already possess. Salespeople often avoid doing this, in fear that giving too much information away could equip the prospect with the knowledge to accomplish the outcomes they desire without your product or service. However, one of the most common misconceptions here is that you discuss concepts without actually revealing the specifics of implementing them. You have to remember that prospects must buy into the concept before buying the actual product or service. This is a vital step in your sales process, don’t let the fear of giving too much away hold you back. Chances are, you’ll help your prospect develop new perspectives on their challenges and you’ll be contributing real value to the meeting. This could make the difference between a prospect doing business with you or not.
Presentation Pitfalls
Just like your initial first meeting, your presentation also has to carry some value to it. Although you might be thinking ‘I’ve managed to get them this far, now I can just go in for the hard-sell’, you’d be wrong. There’s still a bit more work to do! Some people might be impressed by a presentation that’s got charts, graphs, illustrations and all of the lengthy documents you need, but you’ll soon realise something is missing. Prospects not only want to know what you’re going to do, but more importantly they want to know how you’re going to do it! You’re meant to be solving a problem for them, not giving them another one by leaving them questioning your approach. If you don’t make it clear how you’ll accomplish the outcome the prospect desires, you might as well save your breath and hand over the presentation to another salesperson!
Don’t Overcomplicate
When it comes to the final hurdle, the offer, don’t overcomplicate it. This is quite possbily the biggest sales mistake, but it’s easily avoidable if you play your cards right. Two of the most frequent reasons that an offer can become overcomplicated, is either adding too many elements and turning it into a complex solution or trying to justify the price tag by offering unessential elements. Although some of these added elements may be helpful, they don’t directly address the prospects needs, therefore adding unnecessary complexity. Often, prospects are more likely to appreciate a clear and concise offer. This makes it easier for them to connect your product or service with the outcomes they are looking for.
So there we have it, 3 of the biggest sales mistakes you should never make and what you can do to avoid them. If you want your sales results to improve, maybe it’s time to revise your strategies and make some changes. Remember, mediocre strategies get mediocre results!
