10 Mistakes That Hurt Your Sales. A Quick Guide for B2B Salespeople

Even a motivated client can be discouraged. Sales is a complex game, in which mistakes cost a lot. Learn how to avoid these! Below we list the problems most salespeople face, even if they don’t realize that.

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1. You mistake research for starting a buying cycle

Today consumers go through as much as 90% of a buyer’s journey on their own, without reaching out to salespeople. They are passionate about research and product evaluation. There are so many tools to do it! Gathering knowledge costs nothing, only a few mouse clicks and a couple of minutes.

For salespeople, it can be misleading. Don’t overestimate visitor’s purchase readiness. If you begin selling too soon, you might use a lead that could be ready to discuss a buy a month later.
The solution: Use Marketing Automation to score your contacts. That way you know that leads to approach firstly, and which should be nurtured for a little while.

2. Me, me, me

Many salespeople adopt a product perspective: in front of their leads, they list features and present cases as if on autopilot. They don’t ask themselves, “is it even necessary for that person?” A lead feels as if talking to a machine that spits out some random facts.

The solution: Explore customers’ needs and identify their challenges. Research the company before, check person’s history in Marketing Automation system (a material that the individual read can be a great conversation starter), but before all, learn to listen. Ask questions. People like to talk about themselves if you only let them.

Don’t be afraid of silence. Let it sound. Give your lead time to think, don’t rush. Then remember to focus on a particular lead’s situation. Nobody buys because a product is objectively perfect. We reach for our wallets when we know that the item can help us, in our particular case. If a person can’t see how the product will change their lives, she won’t bother.

3. Vagueness

You talk about how wonderful your product is, but do you have substantial evidence to back up your argument?

The solution: Be prepared to each call. Use:
– testimonials
– case studies
– examples
– data and numbers
– clients’ names

To overcome buyer reservation, share stories of others. Deliver social proof.

4. Skipping the education part

Your client is rational. She makes data-driven decisions based on research, her best knowledge, and experience. Shortly speaking, she won’t buy if you fail to provide necessary information.

The solution: Know your company’s educational materials to suggest your lead something to read. Maybe you have an ebook on the problem she is facing? You can also recommend an expert blog from the business, not only a company blog. Let your lead see that you’re a professional.

5. Avoiding hard questions

Some of them are like an elephant standing in the room, and everybody pretends not to notice it (for example when you can sense that user is not convinced). Others are elusive like a smoke (when you’ve sent the proposal, and nobody calls back, or they postpone the closing to infinity).

The solution: we all prefer to hear “maybe” instead of “no.” But without knowing what’s going on, you have a false picture and delude yourself. So just face the truth. Ask hard questions (“Will you sign?”, “Does it sound stupid to you?”). It will also show that you’re self-confident.

6. Wasting energy on people who won’t close

Some leads won’t deliver. They don’t have time or money right now. They have other priorities. They don’t understand your solution or don’t believe it will help them.

Such situation happens. It’s not your fault; it’s not their fault. It’s like a lousy date: you both look at each other and agree that it can’t possibly work out. So you finish your dinner, connect a polite conversation, say goodbye, and leave.

Do the same with your unpromising prospects.

The solution: one of the most valuable abilities salespeople acquire telling the difference between leads that can deliver and leads that can’t. Learn it. And stop calling people who don’t want to talk you!

7. Forgetting your promises

You promised to call. You promised to deliver a case study. You promised that a feature X works in a certain way. If you fail to fulfil your commitment, you lose trust. Without trust, you don’t have any relationship, and you can’t sell.

The solution: Use tools to assist your memory. Set reminders.

8. Not being prepared

What questions can your lead ask? What are her business challenges? What might she need? What could be her biggest problem with your product? If you call unprepared, your interlocutor will sense it. And if you’re not engaged, why should she?

The solution: Do your homework. Research. If you use Marketing Automation, check lead’s history – in what kind of materials was she interested? Make a list of questions she might ask.

9. Lack of sales-marketing alignment

Your customer should smoothly sail from marketing to sales: after she is educated and equipped with the useful knowledge, she can begin talking to salespeople. But sometimes leads are passed to sales too quickly.

The solution: Build the framework for sales-marketing cooperation. Find a common language. Have a unified lead definition. Use Marketing Automation Platforms to help you communicate. Maybe developing a Buyer Persona will help?

10. Not setting timeliness

Free trial? Time to consult with superiors? Waiting for a better moment? Of course. But set a precise timeline: when will you get back in touch? Don’t postpone the things into infinity.

The solution: Be specific.

And what mistakes irritate you most?