101Josh Barnett

SALES MISTAKESAND HOW TO

AVOID THEM

Text Josh Barnett, 2014Cover Art Joshua L. Loveday, 2014

“101 Sales Mistakes and How To Avoid Them”by Josh Barnett

Edited by Jillian B. Loveday and Joshua L. Loveday

Printed in the USA

First Paperback Printing, July 2014First Ebok Edition, July 2014

ISBN978-1500493141

1500493147

1 Using the “Grandma Voice”

Mistake:

I’ve seen sales representatives speak to people their own age, and say, “Hi, how’s it going? Are you the homeowner here?” in a higher, sweeter tone like you would to a grandmother.

Solution:

To avoid this mistake, I advise my sales representatives to pretend like they’re talking to a friend. Use a voice that is ca-sual, yet professional.

2 Working an areatoo fast

Mistake:

Whatever the sales profession is (knock-ing doors, making calls, etc.), a new sales representative will burn through an area way too fast. Before they know it, they’re out of the area.

Solution:

Stop burning through the area. Talk to a company leader who has an equal amount of area as you do and see how they’re working through it.

You’ll have to come back and re-work your area if you don’t work your area efficiently.

3 Wasting time with your map & area

Mistake:

I’ve seen sales representatives on the street who are looking at the area, looking at the map, and then looking at the area again. These sales representatives look lost, and this causes the neighborhood to worry about them. Don’t waste time look-ing at your map on the streets.

Solution:

Look at your map on the doorstep after a sale. Know where you are when you get out of your car, so that you can focus on finding more people and getting more sales.

4 Letting the “no’s”get to you

Mistake:

Have you ever played a video game? In my generation, I was one of the kids who got the original Nintendo with Mario and Luigi.

Sometimes you die when you play a video game, but you understand dying is part of the gaming experience. It is the same with selling. You’re going to get “no’s” from people, they’ll be rude to you and slam the door in your face. But just like a video game, it shouldn’t phase you or stop you from finding success. It’s ok, because you can start again with the next customer.

Solution:

Save your energy for the “boss level.” If you let the injuries of “no’s” deplete your enthusiastic energy, you won’t be able to succeed with the decision makers on the “boss level.”

Know that getting rejected is a part of the sales process, and sometimes you just need to hit the restart button to try again with the next person.

5 Going too slow onan approach

Mistake:

Sometimes while selling some customers are thinking, “Okay...Is there a point?” By going through all of the “steps,” you lose the attention of the customer, and you have forgotten to personalize your mes-sage.

Solution:

Recognize the personality style of your prospective client and adapt your mes-sage to fit their needs. By doing this, you will condense your message so that it will only focus upon things your prospective client would want to hear. Don’t take too much time on something the customer does not care to hear.

6 Going too fast onan approach

Mistake:

Have you ever given a sales approach where you were talking so fast that the customer couldn’t understand what you were trying to sell? Slow down! It is pos-sible to be too enthusiastic at the door-step!

Solution:

Slow down your approach by asking ques-tions. Asking questions will not only slow down your approach, but also will involve the customer.

7 Not adjusting theapproach

Mistake:

Sometimes sales representatives will as-sume that everyone has the same needs. That’s like assuming that all females look for the same qualities in a guy and that all males look for the same qualities in a girl; it’s not right. People have different needs and interests.

Solution:

Make sure that what they are looking for is found. If you listen, you will be able to find the needs of each potential client.Ask, “what do you like about your current company?” or, “what do you dislike about your current provider?”

8 Not talking toenough people

Mistake:

I often have sales representatives com-plain about not having enough sales, or not having enough people interested in the product. But when I look at their route sheet to see how many doors they’re knocking on, they’re not talking to enough people.

Solution:

Don’t assume that the entire area will be the same because you had a few rejec-tions. Talk to more people!

9 Not beingpersistent

Mistake:

I’ve seen sales representatives go to the door, offer a product and immediately give up after the first excuse or rejection.

Solution:

Successful sales representatives, push through the “no’s.” Some sales represen-tatives make it a game to see how many “no’s” they can get through before they get a “yes.”

When you were a child and wanted to have a party, a new toy, or a friend come over, did you stop asking after the first “no”? Sales is no different, keep asking until you succeed. Be persistent without being pushy.

10 Showing up andthrowing up

Mistake:

I’ve seen sales representatives go to the doorstep with so much information in their heads that they spew all of it out; If you do this, you will lose sales. A customer cannot receive so much information that they feel overwhelmed.

Solution:

Stop showing up and throwing up. Don’t tell them everything about your product or company, only tell them what they need to hear. Personalize your message.

11 Being too formalor impersonal

Mistake:

A lot of times, we will hire sales represen-tatives who used to be religious mission-aries for their church. It’s good to be a missionary, I was a missionary, but mis-sionaries sound professional. If you sound too professional to a potential client, they will treat you like a professional salesman and ask you to leave a card, and get off their doorstep.

Solution:

Stop being professional and start being casual. Act as if you were a friend of a friend.

12 Giving a solution before you know the problem

Mistake:

What if you went to the doctor’s office, and he didn’t ask for your name or inju-ry. Instead, the doctor gives you a pair of glasses. He explains how important and top of the line these glasses are. Is he an effective doctor for your sore knee or bro-ken arm? No, because he isn’t addressing the real problem.

If you go to the doorstep and only speak about solutions, without knowing the problem; the customer will be frustrated and won’t listen to what you have to say.

Solution:

Find their problem and personalize the solution. You have to diagnose the prob-lem before you can recommend a solution. Ask questions to find their specific needs.

13 Awkwardpauses

Mistake:

Have you noticed how awkward it feels when you pause too much on your ap-proach? Did you forget what comes next? Awkward pauses leave an awkward feeling customer.

Solution:

Practice your approach. By practicing your approach, you will eliminate the awk-ward pauses.

14 Not resolvingconcerns

Mistake:

When a customer provides you with a concern, the worst thing to do is to ig-nore it and continue with your approach. If they’re concern is not resolved, they will not want to buy from you.

Solution:

Identify the concern, resolve, it and move on. Don’t just skip over the concern. If you go around their concern, you will not get the sale.

15 Not askingquestions

Mistake:

There will be times that you are going through your entire approach, and the prospect isn’t even paying attention. Why? Because you do not involve them by asking questions! You waste your time by going through your entire approach when they aren’t paying attention.

Solution:

Identify the people that aren’t going to be paying attention to you. Ask them ques-tions to involve them. Somehow grab their attention to get them to talk to you.

16 Knocking onempty doors

Mistake:

Knocking on doors where no one is home is only a waste of your time. You can tell which ones are home and which homes are empty; someone is outside, the garage door is open, or there is a car in the drive-way.

Solution:

Start with the homes that have signs of someone home first. If there aren’t any of those signs, save those homes. Notice that I didn’t say skip those homes; I said save those homes. If you are making phone calls, ask the prospect when is the best time to call them. Find people that are going to be home.

17 Not having confidence

Mistake:

When a salesperson is too timid, or wor-ried about doing something wrong while going through their sales approach, the customer will not be confident in their abilities. Here’s the thing, your custom-er doesn’t know what you are going to say next! So, don’t shoot yourself in the foot by saying, “Ah! Can I start again?” or, “Let’s see, what’s next?” Don’t do that!

Solution:

Memorize your approach. You’ll know which step of the process they should be going to. If you mess it up, back track. The customer doesn’t know the order either way!

18 Not practicingyour approach

Mistake:

People who struggle are the ones who don’t practice. Successful sales repre-sentatives are practicing their approach. There will be times when you have to do your approach in 30 seconds. There will be times where a customer is going to ask you questions out of order. You have to be able to adapt your approach and person-alize it.

Solution:

Learn how to pull out step 3 and 7 before you even do 4, 5 and 6. Take the time to practice it!

19 Making a “serious”first impression

Mistake:

Some of you have a tendency to talk down to people. Talking down to people only makes them feel inferior to you. Custom-ers don’t buy if they are feeling inferior.

Solution:

Stop talking down to people. Treat them as an equal! Talk on their level. Be happy and friendly.

20 Not tellingjokes

Mistake:

Don’t make the mistake of eliminating jokes. Customers that laugh are custom-ers that buy. For my sales representatives, I give them specific jokes along the way because it lightens the mood.

Solution:

Be sure and laugh. Laughing is good for the heart.

21 Not talking tothe boss

Mistake:

I have seen sales representatives do an approach to the kid of the household; I have lost sales that way. Clearly the owner of the house is not home, so they decide to do it to the child. You should be able to recognize who is in charge of the house-hold.

Solution:

Be sure to recognize who are the adults and who are the kids. Don’t tell the kids who you are, because when the parents come home, the kids will say, “Hey some guy who wants to sell you insurance came by.” And you are not going to get the sale. So stop telling the kids who you are and what you do. Just say your name and ask when their parents will be home.

22 Telling yourself that“it’s a bad day”

Mistake:

You can’t have bad days. You can have a bad hour; you can have a bad afternoon, but you can’t have a bad day.

Solution:

Don’t allow yourself to think that it is a bad day. It’s not a bad day; it’s maybe just a bad afternoon. You are simply getting all of the “no’s” out of the way, so you can make room for all of the “yes’.”

23 Not workingeffectively

Mistake:

I have seen sales representatives bounce around neighborhood to neighborhood, wasting a lot of time traveling when they should be selling. Don’t constantly be thinking, “Oh, I should go to this area.”

Solution:

Stay in your area and cherry pick. If you are constantly moving around different areas, you’re not going to be able to sell a lot.

24 NotStudying

Mistake:

In our organization, we give our sales representatives a sales bible. In the sales bible, there is a spot for notes for motiva-tional thoughts, goals, training from the manager, and feedback from practicing their approach.

Solution:

Take time to study! Top earners are always top learners; they study their compa-nies products, and they are also studying other motivational books and techniques. So, congratulations for reading this book because you are taking time to invest in yourself!

Successful people take the time to invest in themselves.

25 Communicatingvia email

Mistake:

Sometimes when you are sending e-mails or text messages, communications can get lost. Prospects feel more comfortable can-celling a meeting or a sale without face-to-face interactions because the commu-nication is impersonal.

Solution:

Communicate face-to-face whenever pos-sible. Talking face-to-face makes the com-munication more personal; they can see you, they can read your body language, and they can see that you are a genuine human being. If you can’t communicate face- to-face, a telephone, voice-to-voice conversation is the next best thing. Through voice-to-voice, the conversation is still made personal by hearing how a person is feeling in their tone of voice.

26 Having a middayfreak-out

Mistake:

Many sales representatives freak out because they have only one sale by 5:00. However, the majority of sales happen in the evening, from 5-9.

Solution:

Take a few minutes to breathe and medi-tate.You did not get a terrible area. You are not a bad salesman. Be calm, and collect-ed. Then, go out and sell more!

27 Setting ineffectivecallbacks

Mistake:

A customer will say, “well, you’ve got to talk to my wife.”

And the salesman will say, “okay, I’ll come back later.”

And then the salesman leaves. How do you know when you are coming back!? An effective call back has a time frame. It’s almost like an appointment.

Solution:

Make sure you ask what time you can come back before you leave!

28 Underestimatingyourself

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will tell them-selves that they can only get x number of sales. You will never perform above your own perception. So if you think you are only a 4 sales person, you will only get 4 sales. If you perceive yourself as a 9 or a 10 sales person, you are going to sell 9 or 10 sales.

Solution:

Don’t set low goals because you think that is all you will be able to achieve. You can sell more, I promise you.

29 Not asking the customerabout their provider

Mistake:

In sales, you are always going to have to know your competition. How can you identify what strengths and what weak-nesses they have if you don’t even know what company your prospect has?

Solution:

Find out who their current provider is. By finding the current provider, you can bring up some perks that your company has that their current provider doesn’t, thus making it easier to sell!

30 BeingNegative

Mistake:

When you start the day with a bad atti-tude, you are not going to get any sales. Imagine the great Michael Jordan thinking, “I hope I don’t trip! I hope I don’t miss the basket!” Do you think he’s thinking about that? No! He’s thinking about how awe-some it’s going to be when he dunks it!

Solution:

Think of how awesome it’s going to be when you get the sale. Stop being neg-ative! I don’t know anybody who has had positive results from thinking nega-tive. Start thinking positive, and you will achieve success.

31 Not knowing yourcompetition

Mistake:

I remember I was shadowing a particular sales representative. The customer men-tioned that their current company didn’t have a feature that I knew our company did. But the sales representative just stood there while the customer was about to close the door.

So, I told them that we offered the service they wanted and guess what? We got the sale! Why? Because I knew what the com-petitor offered and did not offer.

Solution:

Take time for you to write down what you and your competitors are selling. What do they offer and what do they not offer? By knowing the competition, you will be able to get the sale!

32 Taking longlunches

Mistake:

Everyone has to take a lunch! I am not giv-ing you a hard time for taking time to eat. However, I am telling you that the top per-formers I’ve seen don’t take long lunches.

Solution:

Take enough time to eat, and then get back to selling. Don’t waste any extra minute. Successful sales people don’t take long lunches so they can have more time to make sales.

33 Getting sold onother companies

Mistake:

On every single doorstep, a sale is made, either they sell to you on why they don’t have to buy, or you sell to them on why your product or service is a better solu-tion. At the end of the day, are you a buy-er or are you a seller?

Solution:

The person with the most confidence wins, so be confident on what it is that you are selling. Don’t allow them to per-suade you that their current company is a better company. You need to be able con-fidently persuade them. You are the seller, not the buyer!

34 WastingTime

Mistake:

Many sales can be made in a day; you just have to manage your time wisely. Those that don’t succeed have a bad habit of wasting time. Whether it is with social me-dia, sleeping in, going to bed early, spend-ing too much time on the phone or in the car, wasting time only takes away time from getting more sales; this also applies to spending time with customers who are clearly not going to buy.

Solution:

Be productive. Multi-task. Wake up ear-ly, stay off of social media and don’t let anything distract you from selling. Also be aware of the time wasters, people who have no interest in buying your product or service. Be cautious with your time!

35 Setting callbacks farapart from each other

Mistake:

If you are a door-to-door salesman and you set callbacks that are far away from each other, there is no possible way to make good use out of your time. You only waste time setting callbacks that are far apart.

Solution:

Set your callbacks in the same geograph-ic area, so you aren’t wasting your time driving all over the place. Be efficient and productive with your time.

36 Having a presentation instead of conversation

Mistake:

I remember a particular sales representa-tive who was struggling with his approach. Everything we taught him to say was spot on, except one thing. He wasn’t asking enough questions.When you stand, and just talk the whole time, that is a presenta-tion. But when you are asking questions, involving them, it is more of a conversa-tion. Conversation vs. Presentation.

Solution:

Ask more questions. Let them talk by in-volving them into the conversation. Let it be a friendly conversation, not a straight-laced presentation.

37 Skipping people that you haven’t spoken with

Mistake:

It is hard to work area effectively if you don’t know who you have already talked to. Do you have an organized system of keeping track of the houses you are con-tacting?

Solution:

Keep track on your Ipad, phone or even a piece of paper. Successful sales profes-sionals all have an efficient way to orga-nize all of the people they have contacted. Whether it be the people they haven’t spoken with, who their callbacks are and who they shouldn’t waste their time with, sales professionals know that by keeping track, they will be able to make their area last longer.

38 Not being able toanswer a question

Mistake:

I have seen a sales representative who wasn’t able to answer a question. “Uhhh…yeah...I don’t know,” he said with a deer in the headlights look on his face. Not being able to answer a question that a customer has, does not give confidence in the cus-tomer to buy.

Solution:

Have answers to all of the questions. If you don’t know the answer, don’t make one up! Be a problem solver. Call the manag-er, or another colleague. Find a way to answer their questions! The customer will not buy if their questions cannot be an-swered!

39 Not making anemotional connection

Mistake:

Are you making an emotional connection? Successful sales professionals understand that the sale is based on an emotional connection. People justify with logic, but they buy for emotional reasons.

Solution:

Be sure to take time to get them emotion-ally involved by having them know what they can do with the extra money they are saving.

They will enjoy your service more because you got them emotionally involved in the sale.

40 Not knowing the stepsto your approach

Mistake:

Have you ever seen a sales representative that was awkwardly fumbling over their approach because they didn’t know what they were doing? If that is you, you need to stop.

Solution:

Practice your approach. Find the top per-former in your company and record their approach. Go home and study the ap-proach so you can incorporate the things that work into your own.

Many sales representatives wing it and their approach sounds horrible. So please, write down your approach from the intro-duction all the way down to closing the deal.

41 Letting the customercontrol the conversation

Mistake:

Have you ever been at a sales appoint-ment where the customer is dominating the conversation so you can’t get in a word?

Solution:

Ask questions. Questions control the conversation. By asking a question, you can completely take control to guide the conversation.

42 Losing a sale because ofa competitor’s price

Mistake:

When a customer says, “I’m with xyz com-pany” many sales professionals will just quit and give up on the sale because the customer is “happy” with their price.

Solution:

Don’t give up so quickly. Your potential customer could have problems with their current company that your company could resolve. Other companies may not offer services that your company can.

Don’t lower your price to match your com-petitor, explain why your product is worth the extra amount.

43 Accepting a “happy”customer response

Mistake:

Almost every customer will have a current provider (depending upon your industry). Don’t be surprised if a customer says, “I’m happy with my current company.”

Don’t be so quick to say, “Thank you for your time.”

Solution:

I train my sales representatives to say, “We’re not looking for unhappy people. If you were unhappy, you would’ve switched before I came along. We’re helping people see all the benefits. People are switching to us because we can provide services that your current company can’t.”

After you’ve done this, explain what your company can offer them.

Be confident in your product.

44 Blaming everyone& everything

Mistake:

Sales representatives that are unsuccess-ful will automatically place the blame on someone or something else.

They’ll blame their area, partner, boss, product, and everything that they can think of before they’ll blame themselves.

Solution:

Don’t blame others for your failures. If you want to succeed in selling, you have to take ownership for your numbers. Those numbers don’t belong to your company or your manager; they belong to you--take ownership of them.

45 Contacting people at thewrong time of day

Mistake:

Many sales representatives don’t know how to set effective callbacks because they don’t know the best time for the cus-tomer.

Solution:

Find out when is the best time of day to meet your prospect and make sure that it is specific. An effective callback would in-clude the date, time, and back-up contact information (in case the appointment falls through). Don’t just walk away without having the specifics.

46 Overexplainingthings

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will over-ex-plain everything.

If you hear a customer say, “Uh-huh….uh-huh….uh-huh…” then you are talking at them, not with them.

Solution:

Ask questions along the way. You should be making small closes along the way by getting them involved.

47 Overcomplicatingthe sale

Mistake:

Some sales representatives want to share every single thing that they know about the company, and they over-complicate the process. Don’t overwhelm the custom-er with information.

Solution:

Only tell the customer the basics.

Leave them a brochure that will provide them with more information, and give them time to think about your product or services.

Remember to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stu-pid).

48 Overusing or forgetting to ask for their name

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will forget to get the customer’s name, or they’ll over-use it when they have it.

Solution:

Getting the customer’s name is critical. Referencing them by name will help them feel comfortable with you enough to ask questions. However, don’t overdo it.

Saying the customer’s name in every sen-tence is a bit much. You should only refer to them by name a couple times in your approach.

49 Letting thenerves show

Mistake:

Nervous sales representatives are fidgety. They play with their fingers, stutter with their approach, avoid eye contact and dis-tract the customer.

Solution:

Practice your approach in front of a mir-ror or video camera. Watch yourself, and study your nervous twitches.

If you notice mistakes; correct them until they are perfected.

50 Not askingfor help

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will continue to go through the motions even if their numbers are low; that is a huge mistake.

Solution:

You never want to go more than an hour without talking to someone. If you do, something is wrong.

Be willing to stop and ask for help. If you are struggling, call another team member, call your manager.Those that are success-ful know that asking for help is a necessity.

If you are not hitting the numbers that you are supposed to, take the time to ask for help.

51 Thinking it willbe easy

Mistake:

Some sales representatives fail to take training material seriously; they prefer the easy option and refuse to work hard.

If you go easy on yourself; your job is go-ing to be a lot harder. However, if you are hard on yourself during the training and the preparation time, your job will be easy.

Solution:

Be hard on yourself. Study company or product manuals, and attend training sem-inars.

52 Not putting inthe extra work

Mistake:

Some sales representatives are late for training and prospecting. Those same rep-resentatives are also last from lunch and the first to head home for the day. They are also the sales representatives with the least amount of success.

Solution:

More time = More results.

53 LackingEnthusiasm

Mistake:

Can you tell when someone doesn’t like their job? Yes.

It shows in their face, body, and voice; you can tell that there is an extreme lack of en-thusiasm.

Solution:

If you want to be successful, you have to have a lot of enthusiasm. You don’t have to be over the top, just be excited.

Enthusiasm is contagious. If you are able to be enthusiastic about your product or service, you can transfer that energy over to your customer.

54 Not takingnotes

Mistake:

It is very common for me to call up and give sales trainings. In these trainings, I ask my representatives or clients to take notes and email them to me. I’ve found that the top performers are the ones with the longest notes.

When I ask my team what they have learned, top performers are also learning from every single person on the team as well.

Those who don’t take any notes always have significantly lower numbers because they are not taking their work seriously.

Solution:

Take notes at your next sales meeting or training. When you take the time to write down what you have learned, your chanc-es of successfully applying those princi-ples double.

55 Letting yourself havea bad day

Mistake:

It’s possible to have a bad door, phone call, or hour, but it is impossible to have a bad day, week, or month. Those who are unemployed in the future are those who let bad hours turn into bad days, weeks, and months.

Solution:

Instead of saying, “it’s a bad day,” tell yourself that it’s merely a “bad door/call” or “bad hour.”

Top performers can turn bad hours into a great day.

56 Not helping customersover hurdles

Mistake:

With each step of the sales approach, there is a hurdle that the customer must jump over. Some sales representatives make the mistake of ignoring the hurdles; they go through their entire sales ap-proach without asking questions. While the sales representative is racing around the sales track, the customer is left in the stands--uninterested.

Solution:

Ask open-ended questions. Getting the customer involved lets you know that they are following you along the track; jumping any hurdles that may appear.

57 Taking the joblightly

Mistake:

I have seen sales representatives say, “Wow, you are taking this way too seri-ously...It’s just a job.” No, It’s not just a job! I have a beautiful wife and 3 children at home, so when I leave my family to come to work, I’m not just leaving to do some meaningless job. I am leaving to do some-thing important. If it weren’t important, I would be at home with my family.

People who take their job too lightly have lower numbers and success than those who take their jobs seriously.

Solution:

Find a reason to take your job serious-ly. My reason is to provide for my family. What’s yours?

Serious selling leads to serious results.

58 Giving uptoo soon

Mistake:

“The business is closing in five minutes...I better stop,” or “People are probably eating dinner at 5:00; I better not bother them.” There is always a good excuse for giving up early, but it doesn’t mean that we should use them.

Solution:

Keep prospecting. Don’t just stop because you think people won’t open up to you. Success is hiding where you least expect it.

59 NotBelieving

Mistake:

Sales representatives fail to succeed when they don’t believe in themselves, their company, product, or industry.

Solution:

Study your product, company, industry, and yourself and find a reason to believe. Ask yourself “why do I need this?” or “how would this benefit the customer?”

60 Being too quick to set a callback appointment

Mistake:

Some sales representatives are too quick to set up a callback when customers say, “I don’t have time for this” or “I’m busy right now.”

Solution:

My usual response to such statements is: “You know what? I don’t have time for this either. I’ll make it quick for you,” then I’ll jump into the approach.

I’ll get their attention by referencing a neighbor or someone they know that switched over to our company.

This solution may only give you an extra 30 seconds, so you need to make sure that you have some strong bullet points and benefits to share with them.

61 Not askingfor referrals

Mistake:

Sales success comes from more than good service; you have to ask for referrals. Some sales representatives assume that customers will tell everyone they know about their product or service, which isn’t always the case.

Solution:

Let your customers know that you appre-ciate doing business with them and ask if they have any friends or family members that can benefit from your product or ser-vice. Try to get the contact information of at least 2-3 people.

Doing this will solidify your sale by giving the customer a chance to explain the ben-efits of your product or service to others.

62 Not havingmotivation

Mistake:

Representatives who lose steam in the sales world sometimes make the mistake of not having enough motivation to keep selling.

Solution:

Listen to motivational speakers, watch motivational videos, and find other team members to get you motivated again!

63 Being afraid of“No Soliciting” signs

Mistake:

Roughly 80% of the people with “No So-liciting” signs will be glad that you came. Sometimes signs are there from former residents, or a current owner that buys everything.

Only 20% of homes refuse solicitors.

Solution:

Knock on the doors with the “No Solic-iting” signs. Don’t be afraid of the word “no,” because most customers will be glad that you came.

64 Being afraid of selling with your team members

Mistake:

Some sales representatives are afraid to sell with other team members because they want to own the sale themselves. However, selling with another successful team member gives extra power to the sale.

Solution:

When the opportunity arises to sell with other members, do it! Not only does hav-ing a second person with you give power to the sale, it also lets you learn new tech-niques to improve your sales when you go solo!

65 Thinking that you areannoying people

Mistake:

One sales representative that I had was afraid of being “one of those annoying salespeople.”

If you see yourself as an interrupting and irritating sales representative, that’s how the customer will see you.

Solution:

Be confident in yourself and don’t see yourself as annoying. See yourself as a person who has a product or service that could benefit them.

66 Feeling like you areusing others

Mistake:

Some sales representatives fail to see the need for their product, and they feel like they are using others to get money.

Solution:

Make sure you own your product. You won’t be able to help a customer see a need if you don’t see a need. Believe in your product or service.

67 Rushinga sale

Mistake:

Many times, sales professionals will show up, explain a couple of things and then hurry to close the sale. If you want to be successful, you can’t close the sale right away.

Solution:

Take the time to get to know the custom-er, and explain the benefits of your prod-uct; this will help your customer feel like you care about them as an individual, and it will help them see a need for your prod-uct.

68 Ignoring the successof others

Mistake:

Sometimes a sales representative will dominate the week, month, or year and other sales representatives make the mis-take of attributing their success to their area or sheer luck.

These sales representatives are dominat-ing because they are in control. If you think that their success is not in their con-trol, then your success is not inside your own control.

Solution:

Know that you are in control of your suc-cess.

Learn from the success of others and ap-ply what you’ve learned.

69 Setting callbacksduring primetime

Mistake:

One of the biggest mistakes that you could make as a sales representative is to schedule a callback during prime pros-pecting times (usually 5:00 to 9:00). You only lose time for more sales by setting callbacks during this time.

Solution:

Try to schedule your callbacks after prime prospecting times (usually 9:00 is a good starting time for call-backs).

70 Setting callbacksfor the next day

Mistake:

Customers think in terms of days and weeks, but successful sales professionals think in terms of minutes and hours.

Never set callbacks for a day or week lat-er; the customer will have too much time to think of excuses.

Solution:

Set callbacks that are a couple of hours away; this leaves you with success today instead of appointments tomorrow.

71 Being a pushover(being too nice)

Mistake:

Some sales representatives try so hard to be nice that they let the customer bully them around.

Solution:

If you are confident, the customer will see the importance of your message.

Don’t accept an immediate “no.” Fight for the sale.

72 Being late to meetingsand appointments

Mistake:

There is a very clear rule that if you want to be on time, show up ten minutes early. Showing up on time is being late. Do you want to lose a sale? Be late to an appoint-ment.

Solution:

If you want to be a top performer, show up early for meetings and appointments.

73 Gettingdistracted

Mistake:

Many sales representatives get distracted by outside influences such as social media, movies, television shows, home occurrenc-es, or previous sales experiences.

Solution:

Don’t get distracted by negativity or out-side influences. Keep moving forward.

The front windshield of a car is large, and the rear-view mirror is small because it is more important to look and move forward.

74 Getting told bythe customer

Mistake:

Sometimes customers will claim that a certain product has a feature that it doesn’t, and some sales representatives will agree with them--even if they know the feature doesn’t exist.

Solution:

Be confident, yet tactful. Explain that oth-er customers like your product or service because they provide specific features. Then back up your evidence with custom-er testimonials.

75 Lookingsloppy

Mistake:

It’s hard to take someone seriously if they don’t even take themselves seriously. Have you ever seen a sales representative that was unprofessionally dressed in sloppy, wrinkly clothes?

Solution:

Be dressed for success. You should always be able to look the part.

Make sure that your attire is appropriate for the area and customer that you are selling to. For example, I have a friend of mine who is a financial advisor. He has two cars; a nice Audi and a beat up pick-up truck. He thinks of which car fits the area before meeting with a customer.

76 Not helping yourteammates

Mistake:

Some sales representatives don’t want to help anybody else because they think it will take away from their own success.

Solution:

Give back by helping others in any way that you can.

77 BeingPushy

Mistake:

What is the difference between being con-fident and being pushy?

Confidence gives the customer security in your knowledge of the product or service.

Being pushy means that you are not lis-tening to the customer’s concerns.

Solution:

Listen to the customer’s problems and help them see how your product or ser-vice could benefit them.

78 Using the “blanket” approach

Mistake:

Some sales representatives feel like they can use the same approach for every cus-tomer, but that isn’t true. Each customer has specific needs that you have to ad-dress.

Solution:

Don’t assume that one sales approach is enough. You need to be versatile in your approach so that you can customize each approach to the current customer.

79 Lacking closingpower

Mistake:

Some sales representatives wait for the customer to close for them.

If you are ever waiting for the customer to close for themselves, they are probably going to brush you off.

Solution:

Close with confidence by giving them soft closes along the way. A small close could be asking them what color they would like, or what time of the month they would like to have their service.

80 Lying to thecustomer

Mistake:

You would think that this would be an obvious thing to avoid as a sales represen-tative, but it happens more often than you think.

Sales representatives might lie about someone who bought their product or service, or they might lie about a non-exis-tent feature or service.

Solution:

Stop lying! Tell your customers the truth. Lying loses credibility for you and the company. While referencing neighbors, reference real names.

81 Not takingmeetings seriously

Mistake:

I am always annoyed when I’m giving a training, and I see a sales representative that is distracted. Nothing is gained from attending a meeting if it is not taken seri-ously.

Solution:

Put your distractions away and pay atten-tion. Get involved, ask questions, answer questions and take notes.

Your chances of getting something from the meeting will be much higher if you are attentive.

82 Not being able tosolve problems

Mistake:

Sometimes sales representatives will call up their manager and complain about their current situation. However, the com-plaining only wastes your time and the manager’s time.

Solution:

You are being paid to be a problem solver. If you think about it long enough, you will be able to solve your own problem.

Before calling a manager with your prob-lems, try to see if there is a way that you can solve the problem yourself.

83 Not knowing theterritory

Mistake:

In the musical, “The Music Man,” there is a line where a salesman says that the Music Man, also known as Harold Hill, “doesn’t know the territory!” One thing I always tell the sales representatives is that it is im-portant for them to know the territory in order for them to make a sale.

Solution:

Drive around the area and scout it out. What is it like? What are the people like? What do they need? Become familiar with the territory, so you are better prepared to sell in it.

84 Not working thefull day

Mistake:

Some sales representatives end up cutting the day early; this only wastes your time and talent in the sales field.

Solution:

Don’t cut your day short; you could be making more sales.

You are only cheating yourself when you go home early.

85 Bashing thecompetition

Mistake:

Talking bad about other companies only shows a lack of professionalism.

Solution:

Build up your company instead of break-ing down other companies.

Talk about why you love your company so much, that way the customer will hear only positive things in the sale, which rein-forces positive feelings.

86 Forgettingto smile

Mistake:

Some sales representatives forget to have a smile on their face. If you forget to smile, the customer will see your lack of enthu-siasm, which poses the question: why should they be happy with your product if you’re not happy?

Solution:

Let the customer know that you are happy and excited about your product or service by smiling.

If you are selling through the phone, remember that customers can hear your smile by listening to your voice.

87 Not being able toadapt to change

Mistake:

Some sales representatives make the mistake of thinking that a new city means a brand new sales approach--which isn’t true.

Solution:

Be an effective communicator. Just be-cause an area is different, doesn’t mean your approach has to be different. Jump right into the sales game and change if needed.

88 Playing dumb when they indirectly said “no”

Mistake:

You are going to get “no’s.” So when you sense that they are trying to tell you “no” by saying that money is tight, etc., know when to pull the plug and move on.

Solution:

Don’t waste your time on the “no’s.” If you can tell that they won’t budge on how they feel, don’t feel like you need to finish your approach. Pack up and find someone who will give you a “yes.”

89 Not being ableto read people

Mistake:

Having the difficulty of not being able to read people could cost you sales. Top per-formers are able to read people and no-tice language and communication through tone and body language.

Solution:

Find a professional who has a better un-derstanding of tone and body language. Get tips from them on how to better read people so you can better tailor your ap-proach to your customers.

90 Thinking that you can make up for lost time

Mistake:

Sometimes sales representatives will go easy on themselves by taking more time off than they should.

Solution:

Top performers always put in extra time. Put in extra time in your work instead of taking too much time off.

91 Settling forlower numbers

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will see the numbers they have, and they’ll settle for a lower number. But low numbers today will result in low numbers tomorrow.

Solution:

Never settle; always aim for bigger num-bers. Even if your numbers are high, don’t settle; always aim for something higher.

92 Not sharing what you’ve learned with others

Mistake:

Some sales representatives are intimi-dated by other representatives in their company, industry, or area. They think that their tricks of the trade are theirs alone.

Solution:

Successful people follow other successful people. Share your success with others so they can be successful too. What you learn is valuable to others.

93 Not burningyour bridges

Mistake:

Many people hold on to an escape plan so when things get difficult, they can bail. However, having an escape plan is a crutch that stops people from succeeding. When people get scared, they find excus-es not to do something.

Solution:

Burn your bridge. When you make the de-cision to go out and sell, make that deci-sion permanent so there is no backing out. Not having any other option makes you more motivated to do well.

94 Not assumingthe sale

Mistake:

Some representatives go through their entire approach without indicating that the customer may want to buy. However, assuming the sale by making small clos-es along the way makes a customer feel more inclined to buy.

Solution:

Make small closes throughout your ap-proach, and you will have more customers buy.

95 Not beingcompetitive

Mistake:

Some sales representatives are too tim-id to defend their company, product or service. They are already defeated when they hear that their prospects are already doing business with their competitor. This defeatist attitude is a mistake.

Solution:

Fight back. Business has always been about competition. There has been no successful representative who hasn’t fought hard for their company.

96 Chatting too long afterthe sale has been made

Mistake:

Some sales representatives will close a sale then stay with the customer and chat for a while.

Doing this is an ineffective use of your time.

Solution:

Building a relationship with the customer is good, but staying to chat after a sale is wasting your time. After closing the sale, give a friendly goodbye and be on your way.

Staying to chat with one customer could keep you from closing a sale with another customer.

97 Being afraidof people

Mistake:

It is within the nature in all of us to be afraid of approaching people that we are unfamiliar with, but top performers do it anyway.

Solution:

Take small steps by challenging yourself. Set the number of how many people you want to talk to during the day, and then increase that number daily.

98 Accepting a concernas a “no”

Mistake:

Some sales representatives make the mistake of thinking that the customer is refusing a product or service when they are really bringing up a concern.

Solution:

The best way to know if it is a concern or a refusal is to ask yourself, “Is this some-thing that can be resolved?” If it can be resolved, it’s a concern; If it can’t, it’s a refusal.

99 Beingunorganized

Mistake:

If a customer sees that you don’t have everything together, they will not take you seriously enough to buy from you.

Solution:

Keep your presentation in a binder with tabs. Organize your presentation. Have a callback schedule that you frequently update. Without organization, success will never be achieved.

100 Not makingeye contact

Mistake:

Some sales representatives find it hard to make eye contact with complete strang-ers. The problem is that if there is no eye contact, the customer will feel like the sales representative is a stranger too. Without eye contact, the sale is less per-sonal, and the customer is less likely to buy.

Solution:

Make eye contact. The interaction does not have to be intense or intrusive to make a connection. People are more inclined to trust you with eye contact.

101 Not taking careof yourself

Mistake:

Without taking care of yourself, you can’t take care of customers. Without the prop-er sleep and nutrition, sales are less effec-tive, and you are a more irritable salesman.

Solution:

Get sleep and eat right! You can’t take care of the customer’s needs if you can’t even take care of your own.

For more tips, tricks, and techniquesfrom Josh Barnett

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