The main goal of sales is to fill the gap between where your client are and where they want to be with your offer.  

There is a sweet spot between customizing your solution to fit your ideal customer’s needs and adding in the right tough points throughout the buyer’s journey. 

Let’s face it, sales are not crucial for business, it is your business. If you’re not selling your offers, then you don’t have a business, you have a hobby. And if you’re not selling your solution to your ideal client, someone else is. And if you truly have a solution that can transform lives, why would you deny that to your people? 

I hear people say this all the time…”It sells itself’. 

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you believe that, then you are the one being sold to. We sell something every single day, several times a day. In fact, we get quite crafty when it’s something we want, even without knowing the full extent of what we are doing. And if you have kids as I do, you have to get super crafty because kids are natural-born closers who don’t take no for an answer. 

Sales are the main vein of your business and it shouldn’t take a back seat. Never underestimate the power of sales, especially because it feels uncomfortable or you haven’t quite had the success with it you’d like. More times than not, you’re making simple mistakes that can be corrected, and when they are corrected, watch out…because the floodgates of growth are coming in.

This is a craft that requires time and experience, just like any other area of development. Learn how to avoid the 7 most common sales mistakes and transform every offer into a win.

7 Common Mistakes of Sales

Mistake 1-Not setting clear expectations early on 

Mistake 2-Going off Script or winging it

Mistake 3-Talking too much

Mistake 4-Never really uncover the real problem

Mistake 5-Shying away from asking the tough questions

Mistake 6-Not Overcoming their objections

Mistake 7-Don’t follow up or follow thru

Mistake #1- Not setting clear expectations early on

We are going to look at this in two different ways.  First of all, you need to make sure your content, message, and overall brand deliver clarity and speak directly to your potential clients.  Transparency is critical to not wasting your valuable time.  Secondly, once your process is in full swing and you are face to face or on a call trying to sell your potential client make sure you set the tone with the agenda or the “order of the meeting”.  This establishes a clear baseline and flows that you both can appreciate.  It’s a critical step to release apprehension.  Remember every client wants to know 3 things.  What is it? What’s it all about? And what’s in it for me?

Mistake #2- Going off Script or winging it

Absolutely critical to sales is that you develop a script that you or your team works from.  The script is like a back-and-forth game of chess where you present the features and the benefits and knowing what the objections are before they arise allows you to script out the entire game trying to avoid common pitfalls.  Controlling the tempo and flow is critical to the entire sales process.  So if you’re winging it, STOP! 

The other challenge you face is a lot of times even though you have a polished proven script salespeople want to go rogue and get off-script.   This is how you lose momentum and get lost in the sales process.  Not good for the closing percentage.

If possible you need to record these calls if someone else is performing them or have checks and balances in place to inspect what you expect.

Mistake #3 Talking to much

Talking too much was one of my personal mistakes when I first started doing sales calls. Like so many, I thought that if I talked a lot and explained exactly what we do in vivid detail, and I made it all super clear, and I didn’t leave any detail out they would be like omg, this chick really knows her shit! And that they would sign up. 

The more I talked, the less I got to know what my client actually needed. The more I assumed, the less my client felt seen, heard, and understood.

You were born with two ears and one mouth for a reason.  Why? So you can listen to understand and uncover what’s needed to solve problems.  Remember sales are not about you it’s about your client.  There was an old saying when I first started sales years ago “Silence will double your income.” It took me some time to grasp the full meaning of this saying but when I did guess what happened?

Mistake 4-Never really uncover the real problem 

Sales is all about solving problems.  Real, genuine, authentic challenges that you as a salesperson have to uncover.  Breaking down the protective walls is critical to begin to uncover the real pain your client has.  They typically don’t just hand over their weaknesses and vulnerabilities.  You have to earn the right to be candid and go digging.  This is why this is such a common mistake with sales.  In order to truly transform someone or their business, you have to travel to the core to uncover the real reason they are struggling or failing.  Meaning you have to travel well beyond the surface and this is usually accomplished by connecting on an emotional level through a series of questions and silence.  Think about it like this your the doctor and your job is to pinpoint the root cause of the pain and then prescribe the medicine to fast track your client back to optimal health.  A routine examination typically won’t cut it.  You’ll know once you uncover it and when you do that’s when the magic happens.

[H2] Mistake 5-Shying away from asking the tough questions

When you feel weak, you must act strong.  You must get extremely comfortable being uncomfortable.  What does this mean? So many rookies in sales are scared to ask the hard questions or upset their potential clients by offending them in some way.  You can’t be scared to lose something you don’t have.  Your high closing percentage lives behind these uncomfortable questions.  There are moments in the sales process where you give pause and think should I ask that or say that? Those are the times you need to act strong and rise up.  Let me give you an example.  My husband is the most dynamic closer I know.  He was a master at commanding the tough questions.  15 minutes into his presentation he says to his potential clients “When we get to the end of the presentation I’m going to ask you 2 simple questions.  If you have liked everything that you have seen and if my product is affordable.  If you say no to either one of those questions my product is not for you.  But if you say yes that you like it and it’s affordable I’m going to ask you to buy my product today, can you give me a yes or no answer today?”  Most people would think why would you ask that question in the first 15 minutes? Because questions are the answers.   This does a few things.  #1 Sets the tone for the ask.  #2 this typically flushes out the objections or the reasons why they don’t want to commit #3 This gives you a great read on your client.  This is a prime example of setting the tone of asking tough questions.  Remember when you feel weak, you must act strong.

Mistake 6-Not Overcoming their objections

In the sales process, you must be able to isolate objections.  The best way to do this is to have it built into your script.  As you play out and scenario your sales process you must be able to look into the mirror and be honest about your weaknesses and use those as strengths.  Example-If you have only been in business for a short time and someone is going to question your credibility.  Then in your script, you present a few features and benefits showcasing your credibility and then you trial close your client by asking them so would you feel comfortable doing business with a company like mine today? Net Net overcoming objections is not about reacting to situations it’s about proactively setting the narrative up long before the presentation starts to overcome 

When deals go down they are fairly seamless.  You have attracted the right client you make a connection and everything flows down quite simply without a hitch.  Now that being said you still have to be quick and witty and think on your feet to make sure the pulse of the sale continues where you want it to go.  The only real objection you should have to overcome is money.  Your mission is to eliminate all resistance other than the money.  Once you get it down to the money that’s when the closing starts and let’s pray you to have financial options built into the script for everyone. 

Mistake 7-Don’t follow up or follow through

Many times you will not get a one-call close especially if it’s a higher-ticket item.  You need a follow-up script and process to nurture those potential clients who are on the fence to tip them over your way.  Depending on the nature or scale of the potential client this could take months.  Pursue these potentials as long as you feel good about it and remember some people are incapable of making decisions.

Follow through I always look at it this way.  One client is not one client it’s three clients.  Referrals and word-of-mouth business is where you transform.  You must always under-promise and over-deliver.  It’s the little details that your clients remember like a birthday card or a kind gesture in some way.  When you go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional experience this is a game-changer.  

7 common mistakes of sales: The bottom line

Sales is a fluid game always in motion.  Ideally, you capture the attention of your client early on in the beginning and you’re able to convert them into paying customers.   Or you’re learning more practical ways to not make these common mistakes and evolve into a better closer.  Regardless you’re either winning or learning.  

Sometimes, we all want a little hand-holding. My Strategy Call Script is just that. 

It gives you a reliable roadmap for how to open up a dialogue with prospects, overcome common objections, and how to close more deals with ease. As a result, you’ll never feel at a loss for words again when speaking to your customers. 

Download it today and level up your sales pitches for bigger, faster, easier conversions. 

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