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20 mistakes EVERYBODY
makes when selling (and they
have no idea they’re doing it)
1. Focusing too hard on the
product
Case: You’ve secured a meeting and you couldn’t be more
prepared.
✗ You walk in, shake hands, and launch into your
fabulous presentation. Wrong!
✓ Before anything, talk to your prospects. Spend five to 10
minutes chatting and helping them relax.
2. Taking it all too seriously
✗ You’re not there to stop famine or
human trafficking.
✓ Keep it light-hearted.
✗ You’re not there to be liked or taken out for
dinner! People buy from people they respect.
✓ B2B selling is about positioning yourself as an
expert with a solution to a business problem.
3.Flirting
4. Hiding behind emails
✓ It’s not 1995! If a prospect isn’t
answering then try contact via Twitter,
LinkedIn, Facebook and mobile phones.
X People still send blanket emails that go nowhere.
5. Not making enough calls
Case: Sometimes it takes four phone
calls before a prospect calls back.
✗ This isn’t being stalker-ish!
✓ This shows you care – that you
really want to speak to that person.
6. Making too many calls.
✗ If they don’t call back after
eight calls, stop calling. (You’re
being stalker-ish.)
✓ Change tact.
7. Being individualistic
✓ There’s power in
numbers – a team
effort always
generates better
sales.
8. Calling at the wrong time
✓ Think about which times might suit
them best and get in touch
accordingly.
✗ (9.30am on a Monday is never a
good time, FYI.)
9. Getting impatient
Remember Buffet’s saying:
“you can’t make a baby in a
month by making nine women
pregnant”.
10. Letting the ego lead
You have weaknesses,
we all do. Recognise
them and delegate.
11. Not adapting
Somebody wants your business, but not quite
how you’d normally do it?
Close the deal and figure out how to deliver it
along the way.
✓ Learn to adapt and see the solution not the
problem – remember Darwin?
12. Dressing wrong
If you’re meeting a tech start-up don’t show up in
a suit.
And if you’re meeting a high street bank don’t
show up in jeans!
Simple.
13. Not preparing
Know the business inside
out and never be late for a
meeting.
14. Assuming they are like you
✗ The likelihood is they’re nothing like you and they
don’t want to talk about shopping, football or anything
else you’ve assumed they want to chat about.
✓Find out what their interests are and talk about that.
(Even if it’s cricket.)
15. Being themselves
✗ It sounds harsh, but showing up to a meeting
either deliriously happy, hacked off or uber excited
is a no-no.
✓ Contain your emotions, chat to your potential
customer and work out what kind of state of mind
they’re in, and then mirror it.
16. Ignoring Twitter
It’s not going anywhere –
get on it and start using it.
17. Ignoring LinkedIn
Also not going anywhere,
grow your network and start
posting links and updates!
18. Answering calls or emails in a
meeting
✗ It doesn’t matter if it’s Samuel L. Jackson wanting
to know if you’re free for dinner. Don’t do it. In fact,
don’t take your phone out of your pocket because...
✓ ...for the duration of that meeting, the only person
that counts is your potential client.
19. Losing sight of winning
Not just for yourself, but for
your team too.
20. Taking no for an answer
They said no? Then you
didn’t explain your
proposition well enough,
that’s all.
