The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made By Salespeople

In any work environment, mistakes are inevitable. But just because mistakes are unavoidable does not mean we should not strive for perfection. To that end, it is crucial to learn not only from our own mistakes, but also from the mistakes of others. This is especially true for salespeople as mistakes in a sales situation could result in the loss of sales revenue.

Many salespeople consistently make a handful of big mistakes - mistakes that could easily be avoided. So with that in mind, we put together the list below to help bolster your sales success.

The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made By Most Salespeople:

Mistake #1. Not Listening To A Prospect - This is easily the biggest mistake salespeople make when talking with a prospect. A great salesperson knows that sales is about listening and learning about a prospect's needs and wants. Solution: Ask a prospect a hard-hitting business question, then listen carefully to their response. If you don't understand it, have the person rephrase the question.

Mistake #2. Being On Autopilot When Selling - A salesperson who is on autopilot is an absolute turnoff to prospects - laying your sales pitch on too thick not only comes off as pushy and obnoxious but also insincere. Solution: Work on having a personalized conversation by asking business-related questions (see above). Do this and you will gain a greater understanding of their primary issues.

Mistake #3. Not Establishing Trust - Sales situations are a lot like dating; relationships need to be established by getting to know one another. Solution: Work on building a strong rapport with a person so they feel comfortable sharing critical sales data about their needs. Once done, a salesperson can gain a better understanding of how to position their product to solve their pain.

Mistake #4. Lack Of Preparation - When a prospect speaks with a salesperson, they expect him or her to be an expert on their product or service. Solution: Salespeople need to do their homework and come to every sales situation thoroughly prepared, knowing their product or service as well as their competition.

Mistake #5. Not Researching A Prospect - Just as a salesperson should educate themselves on their product or service, they also need to educate themselves on the prospect. Solution: One of the fastest ways to research a prospect is to go to their website before you make the call.

Mistake #6. Prejudging A Prospective Buyer - Prejudging a prospect is a surefire way to miss a sales opportunity or to start a sales call on a bad note. If you do, eventually it will get in the way of making a sale. One of the biggest mistakes people make is prejudging a person before they know their title or their relationship to someone who has decision-making authority. Solution: Assume everyone you talk with is an owner of the company or related to the person who does own the company.

Mistake #7. Going Off Topic - There is a fine line between being conversational, friendly and approachable and being an excessive chatterbox. The latter will not only eat-up valuable selling time, but will also give you a less-than-professional image. Solution: If you find yourself in a situation where someone is talking a lot about "non-business" issues, it is best to bring them back on track by saying, "So back to business for a minute..."

Mistake #8. Not Proactively Following-up - Not proactively following-up with a prospective buyer is one of the biggest mistakes many salespeople make these days. Solution: Do two things: (1) Invest in a marketing system for your business and (2) call your list of prospective buyers every 75 to 90 days - even it is just to say hello.

Mistake #9. Not Being Able To Close A Sale - It would be a huge mistake not to close a sale after going through all the trouble of courting a prospect and educating him or her on the value of your product or service. Solution: If a prospect seems sufficiently interested in your product or service, do not hesitate to ask them this: "When are you ready to get started with __________?"

Mistake #10. Not Actively Prospecting - There is no such thing as having too many prospects. Salespeople always need to be expanding their database of prospects, which requires devoting time to prospecting. If your database is not growing, sales will eventually plateau or even begin to dwindle. Solution: Make the time. It's as simple as that.

Executive Summary: As you can see, there is much more to sales than picking up the phone and telling people you offer competitive prices, great customer service or that you are a local or national resource. In fact, if that is what your sales approach is, you probably are not having much luck selling what you are selling. Today's economy has forced people to buy on the value you bring to their business. If you show every prospect you talk with today the value your products or services bring to their business, you will drastically improve your sales success.