You may need to get out of sales if you…

(With a nod to Jeff Foxworthy…)

You may need to get out of sales if you:
•Say “Please tell me about your main objective” and then don’t use the information you’re given in your response
•Talk more than you listen
•Talk more about your features than how the benefits will benefit them (specifically)
•Don’t offer an alternative solution when you don’t have the exact solution
•Use tricks instead of respect and concern for the buyer
•Send emails that are self-focused rather than customer-centric
•Think great features trump an emotional bond with the product
•Ignore qualified prospects after just one attempt to engage them. Or two.
•Stalk prospects and customers.
•Offer concessions as a wild &^* strategy to close the sale
•Expect your client to want to give up his valuable time so that you can talk about your product/service
•Expect your client to want to read your 59 page brochure
•Expect your client to follow-up with you without a good reason for them to do so
•Expect your client to have to take time out of her busy day to do anything that you could have done for them
•Write long rambling emails
•Write pushy, inauthentic emails
•Email without a clear next step – and a reason for your customer to take it
•End presentations with a procedural or transactional comment
•Think your competition doesn’t offer something equal to what you offer
•Help your buyers feel safe and smart selecting you, your product and service
•Want only to get but not give away
•Think price is the decision criterion
•Ignore the phone and rely only on email to start and maintain relationships
•Forget that when all things are equal, relationships always win the business
•Create emails that sound like spam
•Value your customer’s time more than your own
•Don’t do your “homework” before each call/email
•Believe prospecting is old school
•Don’t help your client envision her success with your product or service
•Forget that you are the virtual bridge that connects what your customers read on your website, TripAdvisor, etc with your brand
•Forget that every interaction should extend your hand and help your customer feel comfortable and confident with what you offer
•Don’t follow up when you say you will
•Don’t have a customer-focused strategy to follow up
•Rely on your product to sell itself
•Aren’t able to diffuse and negotiate difficult situations so that the customer feels valued and special
•Become complacent with the way you’ve always done things
•Attend training to prove the way you’re doing things is best rather than listening for fresh ideas to help you engage today’s buyers
•Too busy selling to improve and polish your skills
•Ignore leads because you’re too busy to respond with complete information.
•Think that how you say it is less important than what you say
•Think gold isn’t in the follow-up
•Believe that loving your customer isn’t the best way to close sales
•Think selling is harder today than ever before.

Sales professionals, have I been too hard on you? Fight back! Tell me what you agree with and what you don’t.