While browsing sales-themed websites and blogs, you might read about the “new era of sales”, stating that sales has evolved tremendously this last decade. Well, it did, because it had to. Make no mistake about it, sales professionals did not initiate these changes, the consumers did, just like they always have. Today, prospective buyers have never been more informed and conscious about the spectrum of solutions that exists to solve their problem, and that is precisely why they do not yearn for the sales rep of 2000 or even 2010. They expect more.

By minding these 5 common sales mistakes, you will speak to your customer the way he/she desires to be spoken to:

1. Standard conversation ↔ Personalised conversation

Sales representatives make countless (cold) calls on a weekly basis. They hope to have perfected the ideal elevator-pitch by convincing their prospective customers to talk to them, meet them, and ultimately buy from them. The use of email-templates for follow-up emails are also very common. Both, however, ensure that the customer feels like just another prospect, whom the sales rep is trying to close.

  • Today, a highly personalized approach is a prerequisite with 75% of prospects being more likely to buy into a customized offer.

If you slightly alter your cold-calling script, or your cold email by:

  • greeting the customer (use their first name!)
  • mentioning that you know what the company he/she works at is doing, what they are good at and/or what their mission and values are.
  • describing his/her unique situation or problem (show you understand what he/she is experiencing)

You will find prospects being much more likely to offer you what you long for.

2. Feature driven ↔ Value Driven

Your prospect knows about Google and uses it. They KNOW about the features of your product or the characteristics of your service. No need to ramble on about statistics, how many more Watts, Gigabytes or whatever your product offers over another.

If by any chance they don’t, they can find out in a flash, learn all about your competition, and make an educated decision by themselves.

To make sure your prospect understands the value your company can bring to his/her company, ensure that you:

  • understand the issue at hand
  • understand the impact this has on the company
  • understand what the ideal outcome after the implementation of a solution would look like

Then, and only then can you adequately explain how your product/service can aim to bring added value that will prove to be the solution that fits his/her needs.

 

Recommended Article: How March Madness Is One Of The Best Sales Contests You Will Ever Run

 

3. Price ↔ Consultative

This is a tempting one. If you are the cheapest in the market, it is incredibly easy to base your entire sales-pitch on this aspect.

Don’t.

  • If you can persuade a prospect based on the price of your service/product, they will leave you as soon as a cheaper offer comes along.

To close the deal show them you understand their problem by brainstorming about what an ideal outcome would look like, with or without your involvement. They don’t need another supplier, they need a partner! This will not only highly augment your probability to make the sale, but be the basis for a trusting long-term relationship, which is very good for business.

Do not get me wrong, being cheaper is a real benefit, but unless you operate in a real commodity market, it should be the cherry, never the cake. 

4. Seller focused ↔ Buyer centric

If you didn’t get the message by now: the prospect doesn’t care about you. They don’t care about how good your company is doing, or how many others your product/service has helped, and they absolutely do not care about making sure you reach your target as a sales rep.

They care about themselves, and the issues they’re dealing with. As should you.

Your presentation, your questions, and your whole narrative should be based around the sole purpose of understanding what your prospects need, what challenges they face and about finding the perfect solution for THEM. Make sure they feel like you care.

The easiest way to achieve that is by actually caring.

5. Whatever you do, do not badmouth the competition.

Last but not least, nobody likes a sore loser… or a bad winner.

If your competition is doing better than you and your prospect points this out, you should focus on the areas where your company stands out. Talk about your USP’s, about your company’s determination to find the ideal solution for your customers.

If your competition sucks, let them. They are doing your job for you, no need to underline it.

Badmouthing the competition will only be harmful in the long run and can only get you a bad reputation, which you really don’t want. Focusing on outdoing yourself, your only true competitor, is the secret that will ensure long-term success.