Salespeople are one of the most important team members of any organization and often considered to be one of the most complicated profession you can find yourself. Most of the time, being a salesperson leaves you with fair enough process to carry out your tasks and accomplish your goal which is to close deals.
Salespeople in different industries are often faced with different challenges that can hinder their work progress. In this article, I will identify and discuss the top 5 common mistakes salespeople make in Nigeria.
1. Sharing Irrelevant Information
Naturally, people often perceive salespeople to be somewhat of a talkative which is not entirely true. Salespeople sometimes make the mistake of sharing too much information outside what the clients will like to hear which can bore a prospect and make the salespeople not sell.
Let’s say, you may sell a financial management solution and while talking to your prospect, you do into a detailed pitch about your company growth, your dog culture and other details that do not interest the prospects who just want to make a simple purchase.
As a salesperson, avoid getting out of prospect interests while trying to pitch your product or services to them. Identify their body signs, if you notice they are getting bored with your talk, ask them if they are ready to purchase and complete the sale.
2. Arguing with Client
This is one of the biggest turn-offs a salesperson can unknowingly fall into when talking to a client. It is considered a huge mistake to tell a client they are wrong even if they don’t have a clear picture of what they want.
As a salesperson, endeavor to listen to your client on what they want, agree with them before you start making your suggestions. Nobody likes to be told they are wrong, especially when they are ready to give you money.
Some of the most commonly used words by professional salespeople are “I understand where you are coming from, but then again…” this they do in other to justify their suggestions and make the client understand the product.
3. Dodging Important Questions
The worst thing you can do as a salesperson is not answering questions from clients or using questions to reply to questions. Avoid making up random answers to questions you don’t know the answers to, this will position you in a better status with the clients.
Ensure you reach out your team members for detailed before and after you go for meeting with clients. Reach out to the client after the meeting to share the correct answers with them as soon as possible.
4. Skipping Research
As it is commonly said that “if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail”, being a successful salesperson has gone beyond how you dress or even your oratory skills if you did not do your research. Inadequate research about your prospects often leads to questions you don’t have answers to and may let you lose sales.
Ensure you take your time to study new prospects, how your solution or offer can positively impact their business and even personal traits so you can easily relate with them during the sales process. Look up their website, check their Linkedin pages, social media pages and get as much information as you can about the company’s background and projections.
5. Neglecting Your Sales Pipeline
Salespeople sometimes focus only on existing clients and forget to build their sales pipeline by nurturing new prospects. It is advised to have a plan or reminder to know when to follow up on new leads to build the sales pipeline without neglecting your near close deals.
The sales pipeline helps build a connection into understanding the client’s problem better and how your solution can come in with deliverables. Ensure to balance your time between hot prospects and leads in your pipelines to keep growing your sales.
In conclusion, all salespeople have different techniques for closing deals and making sales. It doesn’t matter the niche you find yourself, as long as you can comfortably ask the right questions, provide the right answers, identify when to listen and sell, you are considered to be a great salesperson.
