Far too many salespeople and sales managers are still living as if it is 2013 or even 2010.
Things change and they change quickly, and if your sales process and strategies aren’t keeping pace, then you’re going to find yourself closing fewer sales.
Here are 6 Dead Horse sales activities you need to stop ASAP:
1. Sharing with the prospect an overview on your company and how great you are.
Skip the stupid stuff. Your prospect already knows a huge amount about you and your company. Don’t kid yourself into believing the person you’re about to meet with hasn’t already done some internet research on you. They have!
You must have passed the internet research test, because otherwise they wouldn’t want to meet with you.
2. Leaving a voicemail message stating you’ll send them some information via email.
Once upon a time that might have been a viable strategy, but today it comes across as screaming how you don’t have anything else to do but bug people. Send it to them via voicemail OR email, but don’t send the same information two different ways.
3. Leaving a voicemail message asking the person if they’ve received the email you sent them.
One word to describe this: Childish! I think people can read email. If what you’re sending is so pathetic or stupid it was caught up in their junk mail, then you have a much bigger problem.
4. Thinking your goal is to get past the gatekeeper as quickly as possible.
In today’s world, many times the gatekeeper is the defacto decision maker. Trying to blow past them only means you are going to miss out on key insights.
Today’s “decision makers” are busy, so they look to others who can assist, and many times that means the gatekeeper.
5. Leaving a voicemail message or email response stating you’re away from the office and won’t be able to return call or emails.
Excuse me, but are you planning to be in Antarctica? Business is 24/7. If you don’t want to do business 24/7, then you might as well forget about ever achieving any level of success.
I’m writing this on a Sunday afternoon at 37,000 feet with full Internet service. Get with the program. This isn’t 2010.
6. Giving the customer a price quote just because they asked you for one.
Skip the belief that you’re responding to a customer question. Just because they ask, doesn’t mean you have to answer it. The last thing you want to do is give a price to somebody you’ve never talked to who calls you up and says all they’re looking for is a price.
If that’s the case, save yourself some effort and put them on your website. The effort you’ll save will be needed to give you the time to update your resume.
Just because a customer wants a price doesn’t mean you have to give it to them. Prices should only be given to customers who you have qualified as being a motivated buyer.
When you look at the above 6 sales activities, do you see any that you do? How about any you do on a regular basis?
If so, it’s time to make some changes.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
Click on the below book cover for more info on boosting your profits!
6 Responses
Re no. 5 ; So not allowed to ever have holidays?
Voice mail? Never use it. Don’t listen to it. Don’t leave it.
If you haven’t made arrangements to call, or visit, you aren’t getting to me, even if you are the charlatan in the White House.
Anybody that does not display the price of a product on their website or refuses to answer a straight-forward question when asked can be assured to be another example of somebody using the cockroach business model.
Failure to display pricing information or being honest about the price indicates there is something to hide not to mention somebody sleazy on the other end of the telephone; their fear that honesty may lead to disclosure of price vs cost ownership considerations.
In any event then, one must ask themselves first and foremost if they can afford to do business with a cockroach whose objective is to manipulate you as a prospective customer keeping you in the dark as long as possible.
Thanks Mark! I have been wasting some time.
Thanks Mark! I have been wasting some time.
Great read! I will discuss these bad habits on our sales meetings!