10 critical inside sales errors that will fail to increase sales
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, May 02, 2011 @ 10:02 AM
This past week I spent a lot of time listening to some calls that a new client recorded for me to hear prior to taking my inside sales training course. This company gets a tremendous number of inbound calls, and there’s a lot of business out there, provided that we build rapport with the prospects. I took notes, and while I always hear great things the reps do, the poor practices tend to stand out, because we can fix them. So read through the list, identify if you’re doing any of them, and resolve to change those behaviors this week. They are:
1) Not asking about the prospect’s business, and not determining the consequences of not moving forward. People buy from us because their companies are either trying to gain money or stop from losing money. If we can’t get into a conversation revolving around how we can solve a valid business need, we won’t get the business.
2) Missing “buying” clues. One great clue I heard this past week was “we’ve heard great things about your company.” But the rep didn’t ask who said it, or what it was. Maybe it was the CEO! And whatever it was, it played a big part in the prospect deciding to call in. And if you eventually get around to price negotiation, knowing what was said could be an important factor.
3) Talking too much about how great your company is. Prospects really don’t care if you’re “number one,” “award-winning,” or “the market leader.” They’ve heard a lifetime of marketing fluff, and they’re skeptical. What does impress them is if you take a consultative approach, do more listening than talking, and get them talking about their companies and the business problems you can solve.
4) Feature dumping. When the prospect asks about the product offering, we read through a list of features without understanding what the customer needs. Before reading off the feature list, as the prospect what he or she is trying to accomplish, then fit features to his or her specific needs.
5) Confusing the prospect by using too many acronyms. We’re swimming in a world of acronyms, and since we use them all the time at work, we assume the prospects understand them, too. When they don’t, they usually won’t ask for clarification, because they don’t want to appear stupid. And if they feel stupid, they won’t feel comfortable buying from you.
6) Sending out proposals before the prospect is fully qualified. This is a common problem when reps are compensated on the number of proposals sent out. If they’re unqualified, they don’t convert to sales, and reps have the added problem of not having subsequent calls returned. By taking the time to ask good qualification questions, you’ll create better proposals that will having a higher percentage rate of sales.
7) Sending the prospect to your website. By doing this, you’re training the prospect to avaoid you in the future, and possibly the website could make the prospect more confused. Instead, get used to making recommendations based on the prospect’s need, and keep him or her off the website unless absolutely necessary.
8) Insisting on having technical discussions with non-technical people. Oftentimes, prospects driving the business won’t know much about the technological minutiae of your solution. If you need to ensure that the technical requirements of your solution are there, fully qualify the prospect, and if the prospect doesn’t have your technical answers, ask to be transferred over to someone that does. Baffling non-technical prospects with information they can’t assimilate can lose you the sale.
9) Typing out proposals while engaged on the telephone with the prospect. One of the great myths is that inside reps can talk, listen, ask good questions, and hear clues while typing away. Your mind should always be on hearing what the prospect says, and listening for clues that will provide you with a more consultative --- and effective --- sale. Be an effective note-taker, ask good questions, and learn the prospect’s business. Do your typing after the call is over.
10) Closing prematurely. Prospects don’t want to feel they’re being “sold,” and instead need to feel they’re involved in finding a solution that really meets their needs. One example of this mistake is asking for the order prior to determining what the business requirements are. That invites an “I’ll have to think about it” response, and the prospect is right. He or she really will have to think about it, to ensure that good money isn’t being thrown away.
So there are have ten of the most common sales errors I’m hearing these days. They’re made not only by junior reps either, but also by senior reps that have fallen into bad habits. So if any of these resonate with you, go out and fix them this week, and add avoiding these 10 behaviors to your Best Practices Playbook.