Five Ways to Blow a Sales Call

The salesperson’s worst nightmare is an important meeting that goes horribly wrong. The laptop won’t work with the projector, the prospect is pressed for time and distracted, lunch indelibly marked your shirt with mustard, you forgot the client’s name and had to ask three times, you have a cold and no tissues…I could go on but it’s way too painful.
Even though these are the bad dreams we have the night before a big meeting, we’ve all had the opportunity to blow a sales call.

Most blown sales calls are our own fault. Some examples?

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1. You make a bad first impression. Research has shown that you have about 20 seconds to secure a good first impression. There’s no wiggle room if you’re late, unprepared, exhibit bad personal grooming or don’t have a firm handshake.
2. You don’t listen. Believe me I’ve been there. If you’re thinking up answers or what you are going to say next, YOU’RE NOT LISTENING. Take a deep breath and focus on what the other person is telling you. Listen between the lines, ask great questions, be in the moment.
3. You are inauthentic. Why? Maybe you don’t believe in your product, maybe some sales class you took taught you you’ve got to manipulate the conversation; maybe you’re just a jerk. If you can’t get over this, find another profession.
4. You haven’t done your homework. Your information about the prospect is sketchy or non-existent, your own product knowledge is incomplete. NO EXCUSES. A wealth of information is at our fingertips and not backgrounding is indefensible.
5. You think you have to be friends to do business. Well, you have to be friendly. You have to be likable. You have to be someone your prospect would like to work with. You don’t have to be friends. As a matter of fact, I have found that the most ineffective salespeople carry this belief. Would you be offended if your friend chose your competitor to do business with, or worse, would you send your friend to collections if they didn’t pay? You may be friends with your clients, but you’ve got to be able to keep a business relationship businesslike.

Sales is hard enough, we don’t have to be our own worst enemies. Even though everyone makes mistakes, the world of sales is strictly survival of the fittest.