What separates a good sales rep from an average sales rep? Professionalism? Work ethics? The number of deals closed? Or mistakes made? It can be anyone from the above things. But the most important thing is when a sales rep makes mistakes and tries to rectify them.
How successful a sales rep will be will depend on the skills and habits they are trying to develop. Sometimes, the skills lead to some sales call mistakes which not rectified in time can cost you sales. So, let’s take a look at what these sales call mistakes are and what you can do to solve them.
Sales call mistake 1: when you don’t conduct a pre-call research
You have just scored a meeting with a prospect. Congratulations!
The time and date for the meeting have been decided. But did you research your prospect before doing the meeting?
If the answer is no, then you should. Do that pre-call research before talking with your prospect. By doing so, you will save a lot of time and back-forth with the prospect to just learn about the basics.
A 5 min pre-call research will tell you what problems your prospects are facing and if your product can solve those issues. You can look at their website and social media profiles to learn more about them. This way, you can directly talk about the main points and present them with a solution that will benefit them.
Sales call mistake 2: when you talk a lot during the meeting
It’s the job of a sales rep to sell products. To do that, they need to present their view to the prospects. At one time, it’s okay. But you need to understand when you’re overdoing it and when you need to give an opportunity to your leads to talk.
A good sales rep should know when and where they should let others speak. Not following the cue can cost the sales deal.
The idea is to engage with your prospect in a conversation. Instead of a one-way street, it should go both ways where both parties should get a chance to share their views.
Sales call mistake 3: when you give a lot of unnecessary information
Another common mistake that many sales reps make is when they give too much irrelevant information to their prospects.
Sales reps’ information can include sharing their company’s value, mission, vision, history, past clients, or financial information. It is not necessary to share this kind of information most of the time. Only prospects care to know about if your product or services can solve their problem.
So, try not to take a lot of time from your prospect; share only meaningful information with them by letting them know how your product can benefit them or solve their issue.
Sales call mistake 4: when you don’t take the lead in the sales process
This sales mistake happens when you shy away from taking the lead. You let the prospects decide the course of the conversation. When that happens, leads usually choose not to pursue the deal further, and so they convince you to drop the conversation.
To avoid the dropping of leads, you need to control the conversation. You can do it by asking the relevant questions related to their problem, and then you can decide whether the deal is worth pursuing or not. This also helps you gauge the prospect’s interest and needs and establish yourself as an expert. It will allow you to take the lead and avoid changing the direction of the conversation.
Sales call mistake 5: when you don’t do your homework for the sales presentation
Not coming prepared for the sales presentation is commonly done by beginner sales reps, who are still learning how to close the deal. It’s the duty of the sales manager to remind them to get themselves prepared before giving the sales presentation.
To prepare for the sales presentation, sales reps can learn about the prospect’s problem, product’s pricing, testimonial, how it works, and a set of questions that they need to ask during the sales call. You can also try to prepare a checklist containing all the information you can review before the call.
Sales call mistake 6: when you don’t ask the prospect to close the deal
Usually, sales reps think their job is done after asking the questions and answering the prospect’s queries. But your main job starts after the conversation; after satisfying the lead’s queries, it’s your responsibility to ask them to sign the contract. Failing to do so many stretches the contract for too long, or it may never be signed.
While asking them to sign the contract, try to be cheerful and respectful. Don’t be too pushy or salesy.
Following the points mentioned earlier will decrease your chances of making sales call mistakes. By measuring the sales volume and keeping track of sales data analytics, you can know how else to improve your sales strategy. Let us know in the comments below if any other common sales call mistakes are made by sales reps.
