Brian Tracy breaks down six costly mistakes in sales: letting prospects control the conversation, skipping research, talking too much, throwing irrelevant information at them, showing up unprepared, and forgetting to ask for the sale. He argues sales success is 80% attitude and 20% aptitude.
Keep yourself positive, cheerful and goal oriented. Sales success is 80% attitude and only 20% aptitude. Hello, I'm Brian Tracyn. Today I'm going to Share with you 6 things sales professionals should never do when trying to make a sale. If you can avoid these mistakes, you'll be on your way to becoming a leader in your field and enjoy the wealth that comes with it. The first thing a sales professional should never do is never allow a prospect to lead the sales process. The best way to control a sales interaction and take the lead in the sales process is to ask questions. Asking quality questions can uncover specific personal or corporate issues and will allow you to evaluate whether or not your product can solve the specific problem your prospect is facing. This is also the best way to discover your prospect's real needs and values and establish yourself as an expert. The second thing sales professionals should never do is to neglect their pre meeting research. If you're fortunate enough to get a meeting with an important prospective company or executive that you're hoping to sell to, you better have done your research. Your homework I unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way. I remember a specific situation in which I had finally connected with a prospect that I had been trying to get a hold of for quite some time and I set up a meeting. However, I didn't take the time to research the company before I sat down with them and spent the vast majority of the meeting learning fundamental basics about the company. Instead of presenting a solution that my product would solve, I asked them questions about what they did and how long they've been doing it. Needless to say, I did not successfully close that sale and I also never neglected to do my research ahead of time again. So invest time in learning about your prospect before you call them and set up a meeting and you'll have a much better chance of getting to your sales objective. The third thing sales professionals should never do is talk too much. During the sales interaction, too many salespeople will get into a conversation and talk way too much about their expertise and their product, its features, their service, their company, and so on. This dialogue does absolutely nothing to convince a prospect that they should buy from you and instead makes them think that you don't care about their needs. Engaging with a prospect by asking them about their experience and needs allows you the time to determine the most effective strategy or solution for them. The fourth thing sales professionals should never do is to provide the prospect with information that is irrelevant. When I was working in the corporate world, I was subjected to countless presentations where the salesperson shared information that was completely meaningless to anyone in the room. Remember, a prospect cares very little about your financial backing or who your other clients are. They only care about whether or not your product or service is going to help them personally. Make the most of your presentation by telling your prospect how they will benefit from your product or service until they are convinced that it will solve their problem or make their life easier. The fifth thing that sales professionals should never do is to be unprepared for your sales presentation. I remember when I was first getting into sales, I made a cold call expecting to get my prospect's voicemail when he unexpectedly answered the phone. Instead of asking qualified questions that would have allowed me to take control of the interaction, I spent the entire conversation answering his questions. This allowed him to take total control of the sale, or as I should say, the non sale. Whether you're making a cold call or giving a sales presentation, it's absolutely critical that you are prepared, even over prepared. This means having all relevant information at your fingertips, including pricing, testimonials, samples, and a list of questions you need to ask. To direct the sales conversation, I suggest creating a checklist of all of the information you will need and reviewing it before your next call or presentation. No matter how many times you've made a sales call or given the same presentation, always review your material ahead of time. You only have one opportunity to make a great first impression, so don't waste it. Finally, the last thing that a sales professional should never do is to fail to ask for the sale. If you're selling a product or a service, you have the obligation to ask the customer for a commitment, particularly if you've spent time researching and discovering their needs and you know that your product or service can help them. As long as you ask for the sale in a non threatening, confident and cheerful manner, people will usually respond favorably. Even the most seasoned sales professionals make mistakes from time to time. But if you can avoid these six things sales professionals should never do, you'll decrease the likelihood of making sales blunders and increase your ability to make and close the sale. Before we wrap up, I'd like to leave you with a thought to share with your friends and followers. It is Keep yourself positive, cheerful and goal oriented. Sales success is 80% attitude and only 20% aptitude. Now I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is which closing strategy has worked best for you in the past and why? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to follow up with you. If you enjoyed this video and feel it was valuable in teaching you what not to do in sales. Subscribe to my channel and share this video with your friends or anyone else who might benefit from this information. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action. And take action now. If you'd like to learn how to close more sales by applying the closing techniques I've been using for years, click the link on the screen or in the description of this video.
