What is the Number One Mistake Sales People Make?

This was a question asked by Tracy Johnson, a member or the Linked In group Sales Gravy.  Close to 100 sales professionals have posted their thoughts on this question in the last month.  Most of those listed one of the following as the number one mistake.

•    Poor listening skills
•    Poor follow-up
•    Not qualifying prospects
•    Failing to keep the pipeline full
•    Failing to ask good questions
•    Failing to ask for the business
•    Poor planning
•    Poor handling (or no handling) of objections
•    No passion

With the exception of the last one, all of these things fall into one big category.

Failure to Execute a Good Business Development Process!

A good sales process should document what to do, how to do it, and when as it regards lead generation, lead nurturing, and the sales process.  It should also include a way to track results and make adjustments along the way.

Since I love sports analogies and the NFL, here is one way to look at it.

The lead generation and lead nurturing process is like the preparation and practice that an NFL team will go through each week before a game.  Their entire week is scripted.  Team meetings are the same time on the same day each week.  The same "on the field" practice and game preparation methods are done at the same time on the same day each week.  (Of course the actual activity may vary based upon the game plan for the week.)

Whether you are in a large business or a sole proprietor, you need to have a consistent schedule wherein you execute the same lead nurturing and lead generation activities every week.  This consistency and professionalism is what keeps the pipeline full.

Game time is like the sales call.  The NFL team goes in with a game plan that they intend to execute.  However, within that game plan there are all kinds of contingencies that they have planned for and practiced.  In other words, they know how to instantly respond to each situation as it is occurring.

The sales process is the same.  The sales person is prepared to ask the right questions.  They are prepared to listen to the answers.  They are prepared to respond to the different issues a prospect may bring up.  They are prepared to ask for the next appointment or the sale.  They know how to follow up when it is over.

Does this sound like a lot of work?  It is a lot of work to build the process and to establish the habit of execution.  But like the NFL, business and sales is not a recreational sport. 

Play to win or don't play at all!

If you have questions about how to establish executable Sales Habitudes for your business, please contact me.

Comments

[Justin Brady]

One of the biggest errors I used to commit was getting the wrong contact and not fully qualifying them. I would get a middle-manager type that wasn't the decision maker, and of course would perpetually get stuck in Sales Purgatory.

Since, I have trained myself to do more thorough research on personnel, and if I get the wrong contact I am very careful to NOT build any kind of relationship with that person. Rather try to be forgettable, so I can try again in a different capacity...

Jeff, do you have any additional tips for avoiding the non-decision maker?

[Jeff Garrison]

Good point Justin. Part of the sales engagement process should include discussing with prospects their decision making process. I don't suggest you ask the contact if they are authorized to make the buying decision or some form of that question. Often they will say that they are when, in fact, they are not.

However, if you have a process for asking "what" decisions need to be made, "how" they will be made, "when" and by "whom," you will get a clear and accurate picture of how (and with whom) you should proceed.

There are a few other critical benefits such as unmasking "tire kickers" and learning that your prospects would appreciate extra guidance.