12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

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  1

  dave.stein@...

  11/25/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  #13: Miss the opportunity to have enough specific, thought-provoking, business-oriented questions to get you through the allotted time AND leave your prospect believing you're different from the rest...

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  2

  Ian P

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  "Neutral topics like sports."
  I guess that comment could only be made in the US.
  For the rest of the world, sport, especially soccer,is a religion with ten thousand mutually antagonistic sects, all worshipping their own deities.
  From Mexico to Chile, London to Kamtchatka a discussion about soccer can guarantee a sale or kill it stone dead.
  Praise the wrong team or player, don't understand your sport or the local team's position in the league and you might as well walk right out.
  In many places you could get punched on the nose for a slight or insult that you never intended and wouldn't understand.

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  3

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  QUOTE: In many places you could get punched on the nose for a slight or insult that you never intended and wouldn't understand.
  
  Thanks for the correction. I'll amend the post accordingly. As somebody who thinks that spectator sports are a colossal waste of time, I forgot that other people take them seriously. My bad.

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  4

  renovicelli

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  What next...remember this call needs to lead to a "What's next.." dont leave without having a PLAN to HELP customer with a problem (provide a solution) or when to contact again.

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  5

  CMMER

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  # 14 - Don't assume you know who the decision maker is.

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  6

  mike@...

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  Ask questions and listen!

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  7

  ennyman

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  On the receiving end of a lot of pitches, I once decided to write up a list of the approaches I am tired of. In the hope that it fits, here's my list....
  
  Ten Sales Approaches I Am Tired Of
  
  1) Good Ol??? Boy Approach
  ???Hey, ol??? buddy, how???s it shakin???????
  My response: You are nice, but I do not have to be.
  2) Assumptive Approach
  My response: Please assume I am not interested. I have your contact info if that ever changes.
  3) Therapist Approach: ???Tell me about yourself.???
  My response: Do your own homework. At the very least, read our website.
  4) Razzle Dazzle
  My response: Yes, but we do not have six million dollars sitting around idle
  5) Rude Approach I
  Straight rude: ???Did I wake you up????
  My response: unprintable
  6) Rude Approach II
  Going over my head, ???to the top???
  My response: I will definitely say no on your way back down to my level.
  7) ???Let???s Make a Deal??? Approach (remnants and discounts)
  My response: If it didn???t have value to me before, why will it have value now?
  8) ???The Scalp Collector??? Approach
  ???I am not going to quit until I have a piece of you on my wall.???
  My response: Who let the dogs out?
  9) The Discounter
  My response: Obviously what you are selling has no value so you can sell it at any price
  10) Rude Approach III ???There is no way you can???t do this unless you???re just too stupid.???
  My response: I am so stupid I accidentally hung up without saying goodbye.
  
  Unfortunately, these are all real. And when I have a professional salesperson who is good... to me they are golden. I do NOT hate salespeople... just some of them.

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  8

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  QUOTE: Ten Sales Approaches I Am Tired Of
  
  These are too brilliant to bury in the comments to a post. I'm going to repost them next week in a full entry. Terrific!

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  9

  srivikas.u

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  i am learning about sales and marketing in my career.
  
  my question is on the 2nd point : Ask questions!
  
  how do i go about that ? should i make the cold call and give me him/her an intro about the company and what product we have and then ask question like - with a product like this , what would your needs be ?
  
  or ..
  what is the right approach ?

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  10

  patrick.fuller@...

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  Didn't see this on the list, but never, ever talk down to the customer. Make points, ask challenging, open-ended questions, etc., but never come off as a condescending know-it-all....nothing kills a sale faster.

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  11

  JacquesWerth

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  No. 12 Personal questioins

  We have developed the "Relationship Inquiry" process in which we ask very personal questions. It answers the main concern of the prospect, which should also be the main concern of the salesperson. Namely, ???Can I trust and respect this person????
  
  We have taught the Relationship Inquiry to over one thousand salespeople. There have been no reports of a violent incident or even an irate reaction.
  
  Less than two percent of their prospects refused to participate.

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  12

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  From a reader:
  
  
  
  
  I enjoyed your article. I more element I would add from my own toolkit - do the ground work. Sun Tzu modeled the world as consisting of nine different types of ground, or terrain, that a General could be fighting on, each with its own constraints and opportunities. The lesson to take from this is the value of creating an analytic model appropriate to one's own customers, industries, and products, that provide for the capturing of lessons learned and the ability to predict outcomes based on environmental indicators and metrics. Demonstrating thought-leadership to a customer, showing them that you have the same or even greater knowledge of their worries and outcomes than they do will give you a leg-up on all the others whose main value proposition is unloading some product and making a few dollars.
  

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  13

  jboyd@...

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  I would move #6 to the head of the list. If you do this, at least 8 of the 12 will disappear. As for #12, it is a bit too blanket of a statement. 100% of all buying decisions are made for personal, not business reasons (right brain vs left brain). We need to get permission to ask personal questions, but building trust - the heart and soul of selling - demands that we know a lot of personal ionformation about our prospect. You get that permission by asking lots of good open-ended questions that suggest a sepcific benefit that will arise from their answers. In the words of Steven Covey, if you are not talking about the person, their family or their business, you are not talking about anyting that is important to them.

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  14

  Perigrinus

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  When cold calling by phone, ALWAYS ALWAYS ask your prospect if they have the time to talk now, or whether they would prefer you to call back later. It's simply rude to assume that they have been sitting there waiting for your call. That aside, you have a far better chance of getting the prospects attenion, if you are not competing with other people/priorities.
  
  I have absolutely no interest in meeting anyone, just so that they can pitch a product that I may or may not have a use for.
  
  If you want to see me, make it worth MY while by researching what I do and the sorts of problems I might have. Then sell THE MEETING not your product. That you can do later, once you have understood my problems and shown me how your product solves them.

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  15

  may08

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  As an addendum to #10, don't forget the customer's name, I want to add one more caveat.
  
  Do not call them by a nickname you have not been instructed to use. I've had people do that to my name and it comes across very unappealing when I don't know them.
  
  Andrew for instance can be nicknamed "Andy" - but a friend of mine would absolutely go ballistic if you shortened his name.
  
  Many a slick sales guy thinks calling you by a shortened more familiar name like that is endearing. I find it annoying.
  
  Much like the following non-name oriented terms:
  
  Buddy, bro, man, gal, kiddo, sport, pal, etc.
  
  Nothing more annoying taht being over 40 and being hearing "Hey kiddo - got time to talk?"

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  16

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  QUOTE: "Hey kiddo - got time to talk?"
  
  Truly yucky.

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  17

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  From a reader:
  
  
  
  
  Another thing I see so much is sales people who can't shut up. Guys and gals who just perpetually talk and talk. I actually have people I won't take with me to calls because they monopolize conversations or had too much coffee.
  
  
  
  I subscribe to the SPIN system. I get them talking and let them take over the call. I ask questions so I know what they know and what they need. I rarely have trouble finding out what I need or getting to what they want. If the person sits there and won't talk, I know I'm in big trouble.

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  18

  zakirn

  11/26/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  nice article, an addition:
  #13 - never convince a laymen using technical jargon - use only simple language (customise as per level of competence of the recipient)
  
  could you advise a recomended methodology on "sealing the deal, wothout beating on the bush - to increase productivity of the sales pitch whilst not jeapordising the relationship"
  
  rgds
  Zakir

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  19

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/27/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  
  QUOTE: never convince a laymen using technical jargon
  
  Good one...and one of my special peeves.

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  20

  Samagevans

  11/27/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  Great article. I particularly agree with post number 14 about always asking whether it's a good time to talk. The only downside I see with all of this is simply where you must try a combination of approaches. The same things do not annoy everybody and what annoys one person, will make another laugh. You have 10 seconds maximum on a call to understand your Audience and you must try to understand exactly who they are from the way they answer the phone... Don't rush and don't blurt out what you want to say. Keep it flowing and very relevant. Be friendly, not over friendly, but equally accept that sometimes people get funny and awkward over the most silly of things. Good luck!

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  21

  Rytrik

  11/27/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  QUOTE Do not call them by a nickname you have not been instructed to use. I've had people do that to my name and it comes across very unappealing when I don't know them.
  
  
  Many a slick sales guy thinks calling you by a shortened more familiar name like that is endearing. I find it annoying.
  
  I've had people do that upon meeting me, shortening my name from Garrett to Gary, and I was cold with them instantly. You don't do that. Not unless they give you permission/you actually know them for awhile.

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  22

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  11/28/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  I sometimes get asked whether I prefer "Geoff" or "Geoffrey." I generally answer by quoting my favorite author, Jack Vance: "My name is of small importance; you may refer to me as 'Exalted One'."

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  23

  may08

  12/01/08 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  QUOTE: "You may refer to me as 'Exalted One'"
  
  I literally laughed out loud - thanks, I needed that one Geoffrey!
  
  I'll remember that one for a long time!

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  24

  ammar06

  01/01/09 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  I think, one should also obtain information about the potential customer's business and scope of work,products and services being offered by them. It gives a good impression of you being well informed and have interest in customer.

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  25

  britpilot

  01/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: 12 More Things to Avoid on a Sales Call

  Very good, Geoffrey, My version of that was, "is it Stephen or Steve?"
  My reply, "Don??t worry, to you it??s SIR!"
  Actually it??s Lord, so I hate being called Mr. When asked how I got the title I told them "Because all my family have died", (it??s a hereditary title). Anyway it??s all part of a selespersons pre-call research, in my case it??s on all of our websites.