When you don’t close a sale, you may second-guess your entire sales process and spend some time wondering why it happened. You might ask yourself if your pitch was too aggressive, if your prospect actually needed your product, and other questions you may not be able to answer.
When your deal doesn’t go through, sometimes all you can do is guess. Other times, statistics may help you narrow down the answer. However, if you are using any of these six behaviors that a recent LinkedIn survey found will “kill” a deal, you’ve found the reason. You should avoid them at all costs.
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Providing Misleading Information
Providing misleading information damages the trust between you and your potential customer. If a possible customer discovers that you have provided misleading information, it can damage their trust in you and the products or services your company offers.
Additionally, providing misleading information can also be unethical and potentially illegal, depending on the nature of the information. This can damage the salesperson’s and the company’s reputation and make it difficult to establish and maintain relationships with other customers in the future.
It’s also important to remember that you don’t have to lie to mislead. Simply omitting important details can have the same damaging consequences. Always provide accurate and reliable information to build trust and establish a firm foundation for a successful sales relationship.
Not Understanding Your Customers and Their Needs
If you don’t listen to your customers and learn what they need, it can lead to the following roadblocks in your sales process:
- You may be unable to offer a product or service that meets their requirements. If the customer doesn’t believe that your offering will solve their problem, they are unlikely to buy.
- You may not be able to address their objections. For example, if the customer is worried about the price of your product and you don’t address this concern, you could lose the sale.
- You may not be able to guide them toward a purchase. For example, if the customer needs to consult with others before making a purchase and you don’t give them enough information, they may not proceed with the sale.
- You may not be able to convey the benefits of your product or service in terms that speak to your customers. If the customer doesn’t understand your product or service, they are unlikely to buy.
Understanding your customer is critical to closing a sale. By taking the time to listen to the customer and understand their needs, you can tailor your sales approach and increase the likelihood of a successful sale.
Not Understanding Your Products and Services
If you don’t fully understand your products and services, it can prevent you from effectively communicating their value to potential customers. This can make it difficult to close a sale because you may not address the customer’s concerns or demonstrate how your offering meets their needs.
Your customer may not completely know what they want, but they know the problems they are trying to solve and will ask a lot of questions. If you do many of these with “I don’t know,” they may find a competitor who can help them.
To be successful in sales, it is important to have a thorough understanding of your products and services, as well as the needs and preferences of your target market.
Not Understanding Your Competitor’s Products and Services
If you don’t understand what your competitor is offering, you may not be able to position your product or service as a better alternative. This can be especially important if the customer is considering multiple options and is trying to decide which one is the best fit for them.
You also may be unable to address any objections or concerns the customer has about your competitor and turn what could be another step toward the sale into a major roadblock.
Finally, if you don’t understand what your competitors offer, you may not be able to tailor your sales pitch to the specific needs of the customer.
Understanding your competitor’s products and services is an important part of the sales process, as it allows you to position your offering in the best possible light.
Being Associated With a Brand Customer’s Don’t Trust
If a customer perceives your brand as untrustworthy, they may be hesitant to purchase from you, even if you are offering a good deal or high-quality products. This can be especially challenging if the customer is not familiar with your brand. This may not be totally under your control, but a sales team can enormously influence how a brand is perceived.
To overcome this challenge, you may need to work with business leaders and other teams, like marketing, to improve the brand’s reputation and address any concerns or issues that may cause customers to lack trust.
Continuously Cold-Calling or Emailing
Cold-calling doesn’t work like it used to. Customers are looking for companies that are staffed with experts, will listen to them, and can address their needs. This involves a conversation, and cold calls and emails aren’t great at starting them.
Building trust and rapport is an important part of the sales process, and this can be difficult to do through cold outreach alone. It may be more effective to establish a relationship with the potential customer through more personalized interactions, such as face-to-face meetings or phone calls.
These six deal-stoppers are easy to avoid. Simply learn about the products and services both you and competitors sell, learn about your customers and their needs, and use that information to provide the details they need to buy. And throttle back on cold calling.
