How To Fail At Sales

So your sales are down and you can’t figure out why. Your sales manager is frowning at you every time he sees you. Just what is going on? What mistakes are you making? Here are some possible examples of what you may be doing wrong.

* Bad attitude: Being unprofessional and downright rude is not acceptable at any time. This gives the potential customer a wrong impression of the company you represent. You should always be polite and smile because the customer, as you know, is always right.

*Consistently being tardy: Being on time shows consideration to the customer. It lets them know that their time is worth something. By being late, it gives a first time bad impression and will detract from the potential customer having confidence in the company you work for. The customer’s line of thinking will go something like this, “Well, he didn’t even show up on time, just how important is my business to him?”. You will lose a sale.

*Talking instead of listening: The sales person should be able to present the product in such a way that gives the customer a chance to ask questions. There is nothing worse for the customer to have questions that aren’t only not being answered, but they can’t get a word in edgewise because the salesperson won’t stop talking. Or the answer to the question isn’t to the question that they asked. This will make them very angry customer and you will not get a sale.

*Being pushy: This means pushing the product down the customers throat. Customers don’t like this. They do like to be credited with having the sense to make their own decisions after having all the facts. Push a customer and he pushes back..right out the door.

*Poor presentation: This means basically having no idea what you’re talking about. How can you sell something you don’t understand? If you don’t know the ins and outs of the product then take the time to find out. If your presentation is not up to par, then neither will your sales be.

*Not being articulate: This is as bad as making a poor presentation. If you can’t express yourself with confidence, then you need to practice. You need to greet the customer with assurance that you can take care of their needs and know all the answers. Your manner will show this and the customer will notice. If you have confidence in yourself, then the customer will have confidence in you.

By following these tips not only will your sales improve but your boss will stop frowning at you and start patting you on the back instead. Isn’t that worth it?

Comments, as always, are welcome

By Linda Lee Ruzicka

Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 8 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She has three poems in The Writing Village and an article in The Marbeler News. She also does freelances work for Beyond and for Salesheads. More of her blogs can be found at Salesheads blog.