“In an age of technological parity, it doesn’t make sense
to go out and sell exactly like your competition.”

Poor Selling Behaviors

The following is a list of poor selling behaviors that cost organizations a fortune in lost sales. Salespeople use these behaviors because they “don’t know what they don’t know.”

1. Their social style is in their way.
2. They have poor listening skills and often interrupt the prospect. 
3. They get impatient with slow talkers and finish their sentences.
4. They get defensive easily and go into a reactive mode.
5. They don’t follow any structured sales process and therefore, miss certain steps.
6. They don’t do any research before new appointments and show up uninformed.
7. They don’t set clear expectations over the phone for the fact finding meetings. 
8. Their idea of a good sales call is to show up and throw up!
9. They sometimes neglect to qualify the buyer for buying conditions.
10. They don’t know how to conduct a thorough “needs assessment.” 
11. They don’t ask enough questions about each stated “need” to understand what it means.
12. They break into a sales pitch within 5 minutes of a fact finding meeting. 
13. They don’t take notes during needs assessment meetings. 
14. When they hear a need, they immediately blurt out a solution.
15. They don’t prioritize the prospect’s needs. 
16. Their presentations are a product dump with generic benefits. 
17. They don’t know how to create or present a value proposition. 
18. They don’t know how to create cost justification for the purchase.
19. They don’t know what questions to ask the head decision maker.
20. They don’t know how to customize presentations.
21. They don’t know how to customize benefit statements. 
22. They don’t solicit feedback during presentations.
23. They talk too much in presentations.
24. They get excited when they hear positive statements during the presentation which makes them talk more. 
25. They don’t know how to position their differentiating capabilities as needs. 
26. They answer “loaded questions” without understanding their hidden meaning.
27. They get defensive when they hear objections and start talking louder and faster. 
28. Some salespeople consider the product demo the presentation…it isn’t.
29. They use outdated trial closes in major sales.
30. In small sales, they miss buying signals and don’t ask for the order.

Sales Managers – Skills Assessment Exercise

1. Give this list to your salespeople and have them check off their poor selling behaviors. If they check five or more, you are in trouble. 
2. Take this list on the road and check off all poor selling behaviors you see.  
3. Compare the two and then discuss sales training.