Top Mistakes During the Sales Process -

We all make mistakes.

The good news is that most of us can learn from them, improve, and even share with others so they don’t make the same ones.

Unfortunately, I see many business professionals, especially during the sales process, make the same mistakes over and over.

Here are some of the TOP MISTAKES we see regarding sales.

After you read each one, or each section, take an honest, no blame-no judgement, look in the mirror at yourself (and at your team) to see if you are making any of these errors.

OUTWARD MISTAKES

Showcasing all your knowledge and basically verbally vomiting. This overwhelms them with information, and if you have not asked them any questions and listened to their answers, then the information may not even be relevant to them. Don’t try to WOW them with your expertise or explain all the aspects and angles of the topic. You may come across arrogant, tooting your own horn, or talking over their head which runs the risk of making them feel inadequate. Not a good impression.

Not asking the right questions or not asking the right questions in the right order. This matters. Your questions can take them on a journey. They lead them to open their minds to exploring other options and opportunities. Ask them wrong, or in the wrong order, and you risk confusing them, putting them on the defensive, or worse, convincing them that everything is fine and they don’t need a change. LISTEN to their answers – this will give you a language bank to pull from later.

Not honoring their internal dialogue. They have thought about the issue and possible solutions or outcomes they desire. Regardless of if that internal dialogue and solution is valid or not, regardless of if it would work or if your solution would be better, you have to acknowledge that they ‘think’ they know what they want. If you carte blanche discount that, you are basically calling them stupid. They know what they want as a final outcome – take the time to listen and let them tell you the internal dialogue. There will be time to shift their thinking as you go along.

Using a perfectly developed ‘pitch’. Again, there is no one-size-fits-all pitch. It will sound canned (because it is) and you will lose likability and credibility points. ANYONE can memorize a script. You should have your products and services so internalized that you don’t need a canned pitch. Instead, use their words in your ‘pitch’ (I like to refer to it as an invitation to buy). If they said that they want more market share and more sleep at night – use those phrases in your invitation.

Positioning your offer around features, facts, cost, or process. Frankly, they don’t care. They want to know and be reminded of the benefits and outcomes that it will give them. The increase in revenue, reduction of cost, improvement of XYZ, expanded market share, more joy, or better life. That is what they care about. Present them with the ripple-effects they will experience in addition to the immediate and obvious benefits. Your process, features and price are just a vehicle to get them there. Package it and talk about it as such.

Not using care and connection as a competitive advantage. If you can explain back to them what they are experiencing, even better than they can, you have effectively put yourself in their shoes and they are amazed at your understanding. You can also be the ‘gauge’ by which they measure any competitors they are speaking with. Share with them what they should be looking for as they shop around. Set the bar so that you reach it and others will struggle to reach. By giving them the ‘scoop’ on what to look for they will see that you just want the best for them and measure everyone else to you.

INWARD MISTAKES

You have a low IQ about your products and services and can’t answer their questions in a clear, concise, and confident manner. You can’t discuss or have a conversation around the benefits, or the ripple-effects of using/not using the products or services. You should know the top 10 FAQ and have a stellar answer for each. You need to embody what you sell and the process they will experience if they purchase.

Having no clarity of your own objectives. How many times I have asked clients, or prospective clients, what their objective is…and they don’t know, or they stumble. They know they want to earn ‘more’, have ‘more’ clients, get ‘more’ leads. More is not a measurement. More than what? Know what you are trying to achieve (like add 20 names to your contact list each month), then DECIDE to make it happen and work at it every day. (Members – see the video titled “STOP Setting GOALS! DECIDE what you want and Achieve It!” in the Video Library)

Not knowing what activities are producing income and which are not. You need to know where/how you get your best leads. You need to understand what you do/say that produces the best conversations. You need to know your conversion rates. You need to know your average sales cycle. These are non-negotiable. If you don’t know – how can you focus on and increase the time you spend on those activities instead of activities that are not producing the results that you desire.

Having a pessimistic outlook. This is a killer. If you are not a natural optimist, that is ok, but you need to intentionally focus on shifting your mindset to a positive outlook. Start by owning the value that you bring. Show gratitude for even the little things. Reframe any setbacks to learning opportunities. There are a TON of mindset and positive thinking/optimistic related podcasts out there. Use your ‘windshield time’ as you are driving to listen in. SMILE – it is amazing how a forced smile turns into a real one, quick.

Lack of competitive spirit. You don’t have to have a cutthroat attitude, but a little competition is good. It keeps you sharp, looking out for the WIN, and brings on another level of desire to work and to achieve. With a healthy competitive spirit you will be inclined to take more consistent action, swim upstream, take on difficult tasks, and leave no stone unturned.

Too big of an EGO. Yes, your ego can be the death of your business. You have to be open to constructive criticism, even seek it out! It is important to check your EGO at the door and be a life-long learner, invest in yourself, possibly a coach or a mastermind, and shape your business with all the input and experiences of you and those around you. Doesn’t mean you can’t show confidence. Confidence and EGO are two separate things. Oftentimes those who lack confidence overcompensate by asserting their oversized EGO.

Lack of Accountability. Self-discipline is tough. Having an accountability partner or group can increase your productivity enormously. Study after study has been done to prove this. Get involved with an accountability system sooner rather than later. (Members: Be sure to join the Accountability Lab.)

Not embracing Fear. We all have a certain amount of fear when it comes to our business and our livelihood. If someone says they don’t they are either lying to you, or lying to themselves, either way – it is destructive. Fear can stretch you and push you if you let it. Acknowledge it, embrace it, strategize around it, and possibly invest in it. Invest in someone to help you forge through the fear to the other side (where there may be a new fear looming – but that is OK – you will handle that too!)

PROCESS MISTAKES

Unpredictable processes. Without a defined process, for nearly everything, you risk looking like a second rate shop. Unpredictable processes makes you vulnerable to your competition swooping in and dazzling your prospects with their clarity and certainty. People like to have confidence in you knowing what you are doing, and in understanding the next steps. If you don’t know them, how will they?

For internal processes: these are like a recipe for your business and what you are supposed to do when. Define them. Don’t let things, or prospects, fall through the cracks. The better the processes are defined and implemented, the less you have to rely on sheer willpower, self-discipline, and persistence (all of which are limited and exhaustive resources).

Uncontrolled distractions. It is up to you to put into practice the elimination of distractions during critical activities of the day. That means your phone, notifications silenced, maybe even a change of environment so you can concentrate. Make it part of your routine to submerse yourself into a distraction free zone.

No defined traffic source progression. This is basic prospect journey mapping. Start with where your highest amount of traffic (for leads) is acquired. Map out the exact, most productive, highest conversion process from that point to transaction. Automate what you can, systemize pieces, and create a conversion process that you can consistently implement. Without this defined process you are blowing in the wind – and your prospects see it.

No next step defined. If you have set a process (like above) this shouldn’t be a problem. At every step you know what the next step should be, so you communicate that and set another appointment, or expectation for the prospect. If you have encounters and there is no next step defined…everyone is wondering what is next. Not good.

No credibility or social proof. Yep, in this world people WILL look you up. If all they see is an outdated website, 2 year old BLOGS or articles, and only photos of your last vacation on your social media, you have lost before you started. Update stuff, keep it current, add in some testimonials or case studies from past clients, and generally make sure that your digital personality is just as engaging as your real-life one.

Not watching the numbers. KNOW your numbers. Conversion rate, high traffic sources, where your speed bumps are, what your ‘open’ and read rates are, your click through rates, and, and, and… Each business has different metrics you need to track. Define them. Watch them. Improve them. Figure out where the sales process is broken and fix it. If you don’t then your leads cost too much and this can then handicap your marketing efforts as well. Then you are in a death-cycle…no money to market, less leads coming in, less sales, even less money to market, etc. An endless downward spiral. (Members: Watch “Small Data…Big Impact! Knowing your Numbers Accelerates your Ability to Grow and Scale” in the Video Library.)