Based upon Boyens Group research, let me share with you the ten ways to screw-up a sale:
- Prospect aimlessly…grab anyone who will listen and give them the same sales pitch over and over and over again
- Be oblivious to the prospects buying rhythm…just jump in and sell!
- Lead with as many features as possible…something’s BOUND to stick
- Sell as low in the organization as possible…never bother the decision makers
- Try to sell something to someone who can’t buy
- Make sure that your demos cover every aspect of every feature…or at least until your audience falls asleep
- Bad mouth the competition
- Miss deadlines…break promises
- Discount your price early and often
- Never differentiate yourself from your competition…after all; we’re all the same aren’t we?
Naturally, the best salespeople do the exact opposite. If you want to improve your closing percentage, increase your average order size while maintaining your margins make sure that you follow these five steps:
- Understand your prospects needs
- Analyze the financial and operational impact of those needs
- Create a new vision with a bias towards your capabilities
- Differentiate yourself from your competition in the eyes of your prospect
- Cost justify your solution to make it easy for your prospect to do business with you
