10 Stupid Mistakes to Avoid in Sales?

By Paul Piotrowski on Apr 14, 2006 in Business and Career

Steve Pavlina recently wrote an article on 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self Employed. After reading the article I realized that the mistakes he mentions don’t just apply to people who are self employed. The rules can just as easily be applied to sales professionals in any business.

From Steve’s article, the 10 Stupid Mistakes are:

1. Selling to the Wrong People
2. Spending too Much Money
3. Spending too Little Money
4. Putting on a Fake Front
5. Assuming a Signed Contract Will Be Honoured
6. Going Against Your Intuition
7. Being Too Formal
8. Sacrificing Your Personality Quirks
9. Failing to Focus on Value Creation
10. Failing to Optimize

Here’s my take on these mistakes and how they relate to the sales profession:

1. Selling to the Wrong People

Taking the time to identify who your ideal prospects are can save you a lot of wasted time selling to the wrong people. All clients are not created equal. Having a clear mental image of what kind of client you’d like to attract is very important. If you’re in sales, and you haven’t already done this, take the time to identify your ideal client.

2. Spending too Much Money

Spending too much money in your personal life or getting into credit card debt can leave you desperate to earn the next commission cheque, which can lead you to start Selling to the Wrong People again. Have you ever made a sale to a client you know was going to be more trouble then they are worth, just because you needed the commission? This is not a good place to be, so learn to manage your money well so that you aren’t desperate when you sell. It will turn off good clients and attract exactly the type of clients you don’t want.

3. Spending too Little Money

On the other side of the same coin, spending too little money is not the right thing to do either, especially when it comes to investing in yourself or your sales career. Would a new laptop, a new suit, a new book or course help you with your sales? Don’t be cheap and learn to invest in yourself. Read my article on Building Wealth by Growing Your Biggest Asset for more ideas.

4. Putting on a Fake Front

Have you ever had an amazing experience with a sales professional? Someone who made your purchasing process enjoyable? Were they genuine or did they put on a fake front? Did they try to flatter you with fake compliments or did they connect with you like a human being? Putting on a fake front will not win you the next sales award. Have integrity, be honest and don’t put on a Fake Front.

5. Assuming a Signed Contract Will Be Honoured

A good spin on this topic that relates directly to the sales is the mistake sales people make counting too much on a signed contract. If you think your job selling is done the minute a client signs a contract, you’re not going to be very successful in sales. You need to maintain your relationship with clients long after the contract is signed. Your clients will watch for that. Ever have a real estate agent or sales rep that is super friendly and super helpful until the contract is signed and then they fall off the face of the earth. Don’t be one of those sales reps. If you are, you will not be very successful at getting referrals, your clients will spread the word in the marketplace (”Don’t sign a contract with them…” etc.), and if they are not happy, they might terminate the contract anyways.

6. Going Against Your Intuition

If your intuition is telling you something is wrong, listen to it. If your intuition is telling you a client needs more attention, listen to it. A client calling you asking strange questions all of a sudden? Questions that sound like they spoke with your competitor? Client a little too eager to sign the contract? If you’re intuition is sending you red flags, listen to it.

7. Being Too Formal

People want to buy from a human being, not a corporation. Even if you represent the largest corporation on the planet, people still would rather purchase from a human being that will take the time to understand them and their needs rather then someone who speaks like a trained robot.

8. Sacrificing Your Personality Quirks

Your personality makes you memorable. Your personality will make your clients talk about you, which will get you work-of-mouth advertising and referrals. Be different, be yourself and don’t sacrifice your personality quirks.

9. Failing to Focus on Value Creation

As a sales rep the value you create comes from understanding your clients unique and specific needs and understanding how the products or services you sell can meet those needs. Your clients are counting on you to study and understand the marketplace and to offer them the solutions that meet their needs. If your company offers a solution that will help your clients and you’re not offering it to them because you’re too lazy to keep up with your company’s offerings, you are not creating value for your clients.

Understand your clients, understand the solutions you can provide them, understand the marketplace and continue to build value for your clients long after the contract is signed. See an interesting newspaper article? Mail it to the clients who might find it interesting. Find ways to be more valuable.

10. Failing to Optimize

What parts of your sales process can be optimized? In #9 I mentioned that you could mail an interesting newspaper article to your clients if it will bring value to them. You could optimize that process by scanning the article, saving it as a PDF file and emailing it to your clients instead. This is just one simple example. Are you using a contact management software? Are you up to speed with the newest sales technologies? Look for ways to optimize your sales process.

Steve’s article focused on the self-employed, but as you see here the mistakes can equally apply to the sales profession.

-Paul